"I share your concerns and I am disappointed that they are not here."
"I agree with you wholeheartedly about your disappointment and our disappointment that VA has failed to send a witness here for today's hearing."
"It is critically important that we know. So we put a lot of trust in the VA that they are meeting their benchmarks."
"I do believe that the numbers of women veterans committing suicide is becoming a much more significant factor."
"And I think part of that answer, quite frankly, is this, and that is, in August the VA reported more than 45,000 vacancies at the Department."
"I think this is a crucial issue and needs to be addressed."
"I shudder to think if you weren't on top of this compliant issue, it would be worse than it is."
"I think those, in many cases, those partnerships are going to help to better serve veterans."
"I too want to thank our colleagues on the Committee, Congressman Mast and Congresswoman Esty, for introducing these bills."
"I am open to the idea if there is space available and we are not taking away from patient care."
"I would have liked to ask the VA about this issue today, but unfortunately the VA wasn't given adequate time to prepare their views."