Thank you, Senator Blumenthal, and we look forward to working with you and having further discussions about the importance of getting this right.

This simple, bipartisan legislation will provide the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) the flexibility they need.

I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 642, a bill that would help the men and women in our armed services who are victims of sexual assault get access to the care that they need. Sexual assault is not acceptable anywhere in our society. It is…

I am honored to again represent my district's veterans on this subcommittee and veterans around the country as well.

Last Congress this committee worked hard to create the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act, which expands opportunities for veterans to seek private care if the VA cannot provide the care they need when they need it.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, House Republican leadership has chosen to play political games with the security and safety of our Nation by including extreme partisan poison pill amendments to this Homeland Security…

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the gentleman from Arizona for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in support of my bill, H.R. 4867, the Economic Development Through Tribal Land Exchange Act, which is a noncontroversial…

If we can identify them early while they are in the Department of Defense, put them in a pipeline program...

Our veterans have spoken and I join them in their message in saying that anything less than the highest standard of healthcare that is veteran centered will not be tolerated.

The vast majority of my district veterans who responded said that they waited more than 60 days.

Our approach means the world of difference to veterans and we approach this with a spirit of problem solving.

About a third said that they cited a shortage of staff.

The vast majority again said, quote, 'people who care.'

I'm committed to addressing the appeals backlog as well and helping veterans resolve their claims timely and accurately.

This bill aims to reduce the appeals backlog by making the VA appeals process as efficient as possible.

Before I begin, I would like to thank Chairman Simpson and Ranking Member Kaptur for their hard work and collaboration on this bipartisan and important bill. I rise today to offer an amendment to H.R. 4923, the Energy and Water…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: Page 12, line 25, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced by $1,000,000) (increased by $1,000,000)''. The Acting CHAIR…

The OSC revealed that the VA's Office of the Medical Inspector frequently refused to acknowledge the systematic problems in the VA.

We need to create a veteran-centered culture of responsiveness.

we're not taking care of veterans. That is the bottom line.

lying to get a bonus flies in the face of our values as Americans.

I think that there's a--we need a very drastic cultural change so that when that question is asked again it should be in the top three answers as to what our VA personnel are measured against.

Unconscionably, senior executive who oversaw health care facilities with manipulated data were awarded bonuses, based, in part, on faulty wait times and, as Mr. Wenstrup said, clearly demonstrating a lack of integrity.

the lens that I have that should be the lens for the care to our veterans is to put veterans first

Our Nation is in the midst of a transportation and infrastructure crisis. In California alone, we have over 2,500 structurally deficient bridges in dire need of repair. Current investments into transportation infrastructure are barely able…