Did anyone ever bother to validate reverse auctions when they were introduced to VA?

Why does VHA not take advantage of reverse auctions conducted by VA, like those of the technology acquisition center?

So Mr. Matkovsky, let me refer back to you again, to explain to me why you went with FedBid? It does not make sense.

Last month I was joined by my colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Kerry to express concern about a potential interim agreement with Iran. Two weeks ago, such a deal was reached. It is a bad deal. The world rolls back…

I am appalled because our veterans deserve better.

I am not convinced that VA has taken the appropriate steps to correct these problems and I believe it is apparent that the veterans served at Jackson have borne the brunt of these inadequacies.

The culture of the VA has just gotten abysmal I am sad to say.

Veterans are literally dying at the Jackson VA because the VA cannot fix their problems.

Can I go back to the question, please?

Thank you, Ms. Lewis-Payton. Since the death of Johnny Lee in April, 2011, what efforts have been taken to improve supervision and personnel shortages to stop further preventable deaths?

Within 30 days I expect VA to provide this subcommittee with a detailed written account on what has been done to fix the many problems addressed today that continue to occur at Jackson VA.

there was a financial incentive built in; was there not?

If you cannot get the simple matters right it strikes utter fear in me when I hear the horror stories described earlier.

I think that after this hearing, I am convinced that there are other areas that they ought to be subject to state regulation too.

I want to know on behalf of the veterans of Mississippi, Mr. Battle, what are you doing to personally fix these issues?

Although the VA has made some progress recently, the pace is still too slow for many of our veterans waiting for their claims to be processed. As a Marine Corps combat veteran, I am proud to join my colleagues on the House Veterans'…

I would like to thank Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Michaud for their leadership on the committee and their commitment to maintaining strong oversight over the VA and their goal to reduce the backlog. During my time on the House…

Mr. Hale, I think as Under Secretary for the Department of Defense, you have really compromised your responsibilities.

The broad bipartisan consensus behind this bill exemplifies the deep respect the American people have for our military.

I believe the guidance issued by Comptroller Hale was based on a deliberate decision by the Department of Defense to misinterpret the Pay Our Military Act for political purposes.

I introduced H.R. 3210, the Pay Our Military Act, which I introduced in response to a possible shutdown of the Federal Government.

I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin for his leadership, as well as our own Congressman Cory Gardner from the State of Colorado whose district was very significantly impacted by this. I had the opportunity last Monday to go up with the…

As we near the final days of the fiscal year and come face-to-face with the possibility of a government shutdown, I have introduced this legislation in order to ensure that our military is not used as a political pawn in negotiations…

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Waxman just got up and eloquently spoke about the need to keep these insurance reforms in place, particularly about preexisting conditions. I would encourage him to read the bill--and it does that…

I would like to thank Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Michaud for working with the members of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees to pass this important legislation. Specifically, I am happy to see the extension of the…