Elizabeth Esty: “I refer to my colleagues as patriots when I am in my district, I say they are all patriots.”

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.

If they cannot see--the VSOs who are on the front line are unable to see the legacy claims, then we are not really getting the benefit--the promised benefits of this IT innovation.

I hope we can take the lessons that are being learned there and make sure that those are used every time with forward-going programs.

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.