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.

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

I commend you for understanding that and encourage you not to back off from any attempts to begin to change it.

I feel extremely confident that we are the most fortunate at VA to have four incredibly qualified and passionate individuals chosen to be at the VA.

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

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

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.

Every year, more than a million full-time, first-time degree-seeking students start college. Yet fewer than 40 percent of those students pick up their degree in 4 years.

The United States is now the only industrialized Nation in the world where a kid has a lesser chance of graduating from high school than their parents did.

I hope for those that are shocked by the 70 percent graduation rate in high school, that they are even more shocked today to hear that barely 60 percent of our higher education students graduate in 6 years.

I take responsibility here, and this excellent appropriator--if we could look at what are those jolts that we could do now...