Thank you very much. I agree. That sounds good in the sense of taking an additional role by the Federal Government paying for these things. The problem is, we've got a proposed budget by the administration of $3.8 trillion. Almost half of…

Again, and this is not a Republican or Democrat thing. I am just saying health care providers amongst all of us. When you add the experience up, the years of practice and things, you would think that this is the group that you would call…

More than 8 years after the September 11 attacks, our country is still fighting against terrorism. The attempted attack on Christmas Day has renewed the discussion of how to keep our country and its citizens safe and our Nation's interests…

We should do that just because--as was said, I spent a lot of time at Walter Reed in Bethesda with the young people, and it is the individual soldier or Marine who gets hit, but it is the whole family that has to recover.

Small business is the backbone of our economy. And as you guys know, it is very tough in the real world right now.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you for bringing us together to take testimony on 14 bills, including H.R. 1169.

I look forward to receiving feedback on H.R. 2461 and the other bills before us today.

We are proud to offer support for H.R. 1169, increasing the amount of assistance the Department of Veterans Affairs provides to disabled veterans for adaptive housing and automobiles.

In terms of priority, it always has to be for those who are the most disabled, and so the adaptability grants have to come first.

We commend Mr. Buyer for his 'Veteran-Owned Business Promotion Act,' and would also support that with two reservations.

I think that the use of the GI Bill is a good example. It is good investment to invest in veteran-owned small business.

I really do appreciate the Members bringing forward these bills, and I think it is just a great example...

All that you have done and which is extraordinary in the last Congress and this with the Post-9/11 GI Bill is extraordinary in terms of helping people go to school limited only by their own drive and their own hard work as to which school…

the vast majority, and you all would know the percentage better than I, although I should know it very well

It does seem that working together it is a very solvable problem.

I support Mrs. Kirkpatrick's bill to extend the Advisory Committee.

SFAA mentioned their willingness to work with VA to promote veteran-owned small businesses.

I applaud the progress made on verifying existing VIP entries, but more should be done to ensure our veterans are afforded the small business opportunities Congress intended then to enjoy.

AMVETS commends the Chairwoman and Ranking Member Boozman for leading the way in a call for transparency and accountability as it relates to Federal procurement.

The sterile cockpit rule violations have been notable factors in both the Lexington and the Buffalo plane crashes.

It shouldn't be happening but it happens all the time.

I certainly want to welcome everyone to our hearing today, and especially Mr. Wittman and Mr. Connolly.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

In the Bay area we have seen a tremendous increase in population.

The gentleman testified earlier that 90 days out of the year they are sending raw sewage into the river.