Mark Takano

May I inquire as to the time remaining? The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from California has 12 minutes remaining.

I just want to address again the fact that most of us did, in fact, vote for the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act SES provision. I want to reiterate that the courts--not Congress, not the President--determine whether a law we…

I am glad that my colleagues on the other side believe that we need to protect whistleblowers. It is precisely the at-will nature, making all of the 200,000 employees of the VA at- will employees, which makes them more vulnerable to the…

Reclaiming my time, let me just say that I believe the Constitution applies to the Senior Executive Service as well as all of the 300,000 employees of the Veterans Administration. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms…

Just in quick response to my good friend, Chairman Miller, bringing up the issue of the SES provision, yes, most of us did vote for the Choice Act, the provision that dealt with the SES reform to make it easier to fire those employees…

The cost containment seems to be working, and I congratulate, you know, all of us for standing by the law.

As much as I'm glad to see the Majority cares about the plight of poor people but I'm wondering whether or not they care about the health of poor people.

I'm afraid my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are exploiting the public's frustration with the economic downturn to push an anti-environmental war on science.

My constituents and I have seen firsthand how the EPA can improve air quality and advance public health.

I join Vietnam Veterans of America, the Association of the U.S. Navy, American Veterans, and others in wholehearted support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 91, the Veterans I.D. Card Act of 2015. I ask my colleagues to join me in…

If they are pursuing their educational benefits under the GI Bill and they suddenly discover that they are having trouble succeeding in their course work, is the vet at that point able to go and seek eligibility under VR&E?

I appreciate the witnesses being here this morning to help us answer these questions.

We should really find out if our counselor capacity is adequate.

I, and I am sure others on the committee, are here to find out, are eligible veterans accessing the program.

We are here today to assess the effectiveness of the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you for calling this hearing. I will be brief.

I am very concerned to hear about the lack of funds to continue to provide treatment for veterans with hepatitis C.

Have you tried--you know, have you system wide tried things like salad bars, and position those salad bars first?

Good morning, everyone. And I get a sense from all of you that you have really the health of our children and young people.

It will disproportionately benefit workers of color because, again, they tend to be over-represented in low-wage, low-skill jobs, unfortunately.

Don't you also believe there is also a problem of politicization of the Department, that we, in effect, turn the entire department over to political patronage?

I want to make sure that we make good on that promise, that that promise is not hollow.

It is my own sense that it is a very important recruiting tool for our voluntary forces.

He told me he knows many young veterans who were not lucky enough to receive such good advice and chose to use their GI Bill benefits to attend programs that they later learned were not properly accredited.

I hope my colleagues will join me in support of this bill as we go forward.