NASA's Journey to Mars runs through Alabama, are the words that Director May--and I could not agree more.

So we look instead of making it more bureaucratic, we need to hold people accountable and that is what has been lacking at the VA is accountability.

These 2-7 medical centers are determined by objective criteria, a composite score derived from the VA's own SAIL data which measures key healthcare metrics.

This legislation focuses on the most dysfunctional medical centers in the Nation, ones that need major innovation and oversight at the highest levels of the VA.

I am not going to wait for a broken bureaucracy to fix itself.

What is clear here, though, Mr. Chairman, is that the status quo is not going to cut it.

What we are finding is that the directors and others responsible are not being removed.

I cannot overstate the malfeasance that took place during his tenure and the lasting harm that he inflicted on our veterans in Alabama.

Today the VA lacks the organization structure and systemic tools for swiftly addressing problems at the worst performing medical centers.

I cannot understate the malfeasance that took place during the tenure of James Talton and the lasting harm he inflicted on Veterans in Alabama.

I think the first message is that--is the message that you sent to your personnel the night of the attack, that you went home.