Elizabeth Esty: “We have benefited enormously by that openness, but that makes us extremely vulnerable.”

I want to make sure that VA is using RAMP to inform the new system, and not as a means to disguise a true size of the appeals backlog.

I want to thank Chairman Roe and Chairman Isakson and Ranking Members Tester and Walz, in particular for their efforts on the Blue Water Navy veterans.

I am strongly urging this big new class of freshmen Members of Congress, whether they serve on this Committee or not, to honor that commitment to our Nation's veterans.

We should not expect our veterans to be experts in appeals law, Veterans Affairs regulations. That is not their job. It is our job to take care of them.