Richard Blumenthal

Each one of those people that leave the organization that should not is painful for us and we have to figure out ways to retain people.

What kinds of mechanisms and standards will be in place to assure that protection?

What kinds of mechanisms will you put in place to assure that there is education of those patients?

I would appreciate if you gave me whatever information that you can, hopefully in the next very near future.

Training our Nation's physicians is one of the premier public service functions of our VA system and it is a pillar of American medicine.

Is that the Veterans Experience Office that will be a center point or a core function?

This task of consolidating and reorganizing community care and the patchwork of programs we have now is certainly an urgent one and apparently a very expensive one.

Your issue about consumer rights, very important issue, very, very big in health care, and I would just very briefly say, the rest of health care, the private sector is dealing with this by no longer trying to be paternalistic and make…

Where do you get that data?

I want to make sure that this plan for care in the community is implemented as well as possible.

I want to know how that money is necessary and what specifically it will be used to do.

I share the concern about timing.

This effort is laudable.

I had asked the question as to privacy and I am assuming that you can safeguard privacy, as well?

I am very hopeful that the VA will support this bill. I think the failure to do so will send a message unnecessarily and unfortunately about its commitment to protect whistleblowers.

You can oversee and supervise their credentials and the quality of care? This is not meant to be a trick question.

I look forward to our continued cooperation and bipartisan collaboration with Chairman Isakson to work toward better serving those who have served our country.

Your information is strictly anecdotal?

I think that stronger deterrence and prevention are absolutely necessary. Punishment and enforcement are really important goals.

The catastrophic collapse of Corinthian Colleges earlier this year left thousands of students... stranded under mountains of debt.

I am very pleased today that the Committee is considering my legislation S. 2253, the Veterans Education Relief and Reinstatement Act.

I enjoy your speeches, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate them.

I want to thank all of the folks who are here today for your support for the Whistleblower Protection Act that I have introduced with Senator Kirk.

I am hopeful we can consider to advance this bill and other important education legislation, such as the Career Ready Student Veterans Act, through this Committee to ensure that our veterans have not wasted hard-earned education benefits…

The challenge here is to get at the root of the problem to protect the public interest, and the whistleblower is a means to protect veterans and the public interest.