I am very concerned that it is more that this whole attack on proprietary trade schools is really focused on the working class Americans in terms of their ability to advance to the middle class.

I think that the fundamental mistake made by the Congress--and I was an Army veteran, I went to the University of Colorado under the Vietnam-era GI Bill...

On rollcall No. 520, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

I thank the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn). I think, again, going back to this Government Accountability report, it says that, on average, these projects are $366 million over budget; on average, these projects are 35 months behind…

I thank the gentleman from Colorado. As chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, I introduced H.R. 3593, the VA Construction Assistance Act, along with my friend and ranking member, Ann…

Well again, my understanding is that no action was taken on the complaints given.

Thank you for your service in the United States Army, and thank you for your service to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for your courage to step forward today.

But what does for the most part mean?

Today we have had a chance to hear about many problems and abuses occurring within the Board of Veterans' Appeals related to the processing of veterans benefits claims.

Our veterans deserve better.

Mr. Hearn, thank you for your service to our country, and for your advocacy and the American Legion on behalf of our veterans.

Yes. Documentation from your office shows that it took you 254 days to process one single case.

I am going to take it that that is in violation of current law.

I am particularly interested in hearing from Congressman O'Rourke about a voluntary alternative appeals process he developed with DAV.

Thank you so much for your service to our country, and your advocacy on behalf of veterans as a member of the Disabled American Veterans.

I want to start by thanking Chairman Miller for his dedicated work on behalf of our veterans. As a Marine Corps combat veteran and chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, I have spent the past…

On rollcall No. 452, I inadvertently voted ``nay.'' My intent was to vote ``yea.'' ____________________

I think any balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution is, I think, the greatest thing that the Congress of the United States can do to change the political culture in Washington.

I want to highlight a tragic story that emerged last week that captures how the failures of the Veterans Administration, those failures are hurting our veterans. For 2 years, Vietnam veteran Michael Sulsona, from Graniteville, New York, a…

I think Washington tries to do too much, and I think in the effort of doing that, does not do a lot of things very well.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I think the mere fact that we do not know what the costs are... makes it really difficult to say...

I think without the whistleblowers, the employees at the VA who really care about meeting our Nation's obligations to the men and women that have served this country, without you all, we wouldn't have any idea really what the magnitude of…

What we need is we need a new Secretary of the Veterans Affairs that is going to come in and is going to clean house.

I just don't see you as part of the solution. I don't see you able to get us out of this ditch.