Mark Takano

[Of] the 1,086 removals during the first 5 months of 2018, the majority of those fired were housekeeping aides...I also find it hard to believe that there are large numbers of housekeeping aides whose performance is so poor that it cannot…

I feel a sense of trepidation about the amount of money that we are about to expend on this project.

I am just really concerned that there seems to be no urgency to fill these positions that are critical to oversee a $15 billion project.

How much time is remaining on my side? The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Holding). The gentleman from California has 11\1/2\ minutes remaining.

the independence of the IG is absolutely crucial and proper oversight will be extremely important in the years to come

We have not only the ability to affect the health care of veterans, but potentially all Americans through what we are trying to do here.

I have asked the Congress to actually re-fund, to fund again the Office of Technology Assessment.

We have a real chance to push issues like who owns medical data and to truly put that data in a portable position for the patient.

The VA is publicly owned and is therefore in many ways far more publicly accountable.

I don't believe--I don't think the Commission on Care, the bipartisan co-chairs believe that accountability will be achieved without a robust HR Department.

I think Mr. Beyer submitted for the record Supreme Court decisions which reaffirmed that.

The current law permits mainly health concerns and science to drive ozone standards, is that correct? It's not economic impact, is that correct?

Anyone who has been involved in any organization knows that stable leadership is fundamental to the success of that organization.

Based on your organization's mission, can you speak to the importance of having stable leadership in key positions and what impact these vacancies may have on the VA's success.

You can't fire your way to excellence and you can't discipline your way to--you need trained personnel.

As Members of this Committee, we can't find solutions to problems until we understand the full scope of the problems that we are facing.

I ask that my colleagues join me in passing H.R. 4635, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I want to thank the majority for including the report. I just want to remind the majority also that the OTA was never eliminated; it just was defunded. I believe it is time to fund it again. I refer back to the Facebook hearings in the…

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from California will be postponed. Amendment No. 17 Offered by Mr. Cohen The Acting CHAIR. It is…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: At the end of division B (before the short title), insert the following: Sec. ___. There is appropriated…

Do we know for a fact that the data that I am talking about, the geographic data of where that servicemember's unit was involved, is that integrated into the health record at the DoD?

With the development of a system where VA and DoD may share electronic health records, it will directly increase the quality of and access to health care for veterans.

Do we need to kind of have a different kind of dog tag to know where these servicemembers actually have been?

Well, my interest is, of course, that we have a more proactive approach to anticipating these sorts of symptoms.

So who would be responsible? Whose responsibility would that be to try and track--to try to correlate a servicemember's service record and any kind of diseases, ailments, or symptoms that there may be a pattern--recognized in that pattern?