I look forward in the 111th Congress--to us working together to improve the lives of our Nation's veterans and their families.

It is my belief that we should move this nomination as quickly as we can.

You have a huge challenge, and I think you will find all Members of this Committee more than willing to help remove any impediments that you might find because I believe the solution is in an architecture that we have yet to create.

We have a lot of good people and a lot of good ideas, but we consistently try to stuff it into the old framework of something that is antiquated and has proven time and time again will not allow innovation and creativity because it has no…

I believe that you will find GEN Shinseki to be exactly the kind of tough, innovative and insightful Secretary that the Department of Veterans Affairs needs at this extremely critical time.

I have the highest percentage increase of retired military in my State of any State in the country.

In order to become a 21st Century organization, DVA will have to change some past methods used to communicate with other government agencies, the Congress, the media, and most importantly, our veterans.

No veteran should ever have his access to DVA services blocked because of geography. Just as it did not matter where my hometown was when I enlisted, where I live now should not prevent me from getting the DVA services that I need and…

This is critical because VA programs cannot help improve the lives of veterans if veterans do not know about them.

Nobody knew when we went to war whether we were Democrats, Republicans, Independents. Nobody knows.

At a minimum, that means making sure veterans and their families receive the correct amount of benefits on time.

General, as Secretary, your charge would be to ensure that as more veterans come into the system, the quality of the health care provided by the VA does not deteriorate.

When you are confirmed as the head of the VA, you would be entrusted with one of the most noble missions of the Federal Government.

Unfortunately, too many wounded servicemembers do not experience a seamless transition from active duty to civilian life.

I cannot think of a better person to look after our 25 million-plus veterans than this true American hero.

And it disturbs me when the Secretary seeks an extension of time because we are forcing a veteran then to drag out the conclusion of their appeal.

I hope that is a goal that we can shoot for, though.

does not benchmark itself versus good private sector organizations to determine where gaps exist.