David Shulkin

There is no pressure to privatize. There is pressure to fix the system.

Since April of 2017, I think this is a very much better environment for our veterans.

The VA has a responsibility to increase its capacity for substance abuse.

This is critical to us and our top priority to reduce veterans' suicide.

We need to be doing more of this in alternatives.

It just simply couldn't work by turning on a switch and privatizing it.

I believe that this was essential travel.

If that is true, let me make it clear right now, that should not be followed.

I find it outrageous that somebody would spend a hundred percent of their time on something other than the job they were hired to do.

We cannot continue to do business as usual and think that the VA is a sustainable structure for decades to come.

We think VA can help lead this for the whole country by making this interoperable.

We need to be doing more of that. There are, you know, the advances in science and technology are absolutely incredible.

I do not think is morally the right thing to do.

There is no excuse for these past projects, and we cannot continue to do business as usual.

Well, this fully funds our needs, and people should be filling those positions.

Yes, we will be able to do that.

We have $1.8 billion in the President's budget for ending Veterans homelessness.

I do regret the decisions that have been made that have taken the focus off of that important work.

We are putting the Veterans' needs first and the money follows.

They have waited too long.

I do believe that our unions are productive partners with us, and I do really appreciate the collaboration that we have because I believe that they care about getting the right services to Veterans.

I think that--my preference would be that we have--since VA uses a different model of primary care...

We have to give the people running our facilities, our medical center directors, more authority and accountability.

We cannot continue to do it the same way.

Since we have opened up the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, 1,300 employees have been removed in the last eight months.