Jerry McNerney

We need to make sure that there are procedure and standards in place to prevent that.

The VA's claims processing system has many shortcomings which have left many disabled veterans without proper and timely compensation and other benefits to which they are rightfully entitled.

Today's economy is different and the effects of disability may be greater than just the loss of earning capacity.

I believe it is our duty to be vigilant in pressing for continued revision reflecting the continued advances and understanding in medical care and treatment.

Thank you, Lieutenant General Scott for your hard work, for your service to our country, and for your free and thoughtful answers here this morning.

I have in front of me what I believe are the Republican objections to the ARPA-E program...

The VA Rating Schedule has not been comprehensively updated since 1945.

The VA needs to adopt the right tools to do the right thing so our Nation's disabled veterans get the right assistance they have earned and deserve.

We should not be satisfied with a World War II era system for evaluating and rating their disabilities as a result of their service and sacrifice to this Nation.

I just can't abide with that approach. The market is not a free market.

Regulation is always tough, and I don't opine on whether we should have regulation or not.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding the important legislation before you.

I would like to--and I am really thrilled to welcome you here today and have you share the story of your success with us.

Well, you know, the improvement in accountability and transparency is terrific. It would be good to have an improvement in terms of being able to assess the impact of this funding on employment.

Is there anyone on the panel here this morning that could answer that question about the impact of the ARRA funding on employment in your particular department?

the majority party here is using at least in part this topic as an opportunity to bash the Obama Administration.

I can't say that I like that approach very well.

my recommendation is to take a less inflammatory approach to this if you want to get your idea across.

We need to have public buy-in on this, and using inflammatory language isn't going to help that happen.

we are not going to get this solved unless we have the public trust.

going to the private sector and letting them take care of it is not going to really engender public acceptance.

So then by building massive tunnels in the Delta where people who live there are adamantly opposed and are not included in the discussion and have been excluded from the process, is that okay?

The decline of the Delta ecosystem has important human implications, as you may know.

I cannot accept a massive canal or tunnel that would severely degrade the water quality for the entire Delta.

I am glad that we will be able to evaluate the findings in the Secretary's report.