David Shulkin

We are going to have to construct different types of facilities.

I made the decision about 2 months ago to eliminate the Federal requirements on the States for building State nursing homes or State facilities with Federal money.

Senator Dole is an amazing person, and her foundation is doing amazing work.

The VA made the mistake, and this was our administrative error, and we are not going to seek recoupment of those funds from those 11 employees.

I do not support any policy that will hurt veterans or their families.

I do believe that this President's budget allows us to meet the mission of the VA.

Yes. We agree with you, Senator that the system was working well, and we want desperately to continue to have a system that works that way.

I feel comfortable with the President's budget, but you may be right and I may be wrong.

I think this changes it from what we have today, which is a system choice based on administrative rules 40 miles, 30 days.

We need to look at private-public partnerships.

I urge Congress to support and fully fund our 2018 and 2019 AA budget requests.

I think that if we continue talking about and throwing budgets up that do not fully address the problems of our veterans in this country--and we have been at war now for 15 years--and we have got Vietnam vets that are getting older and you…

I find it really difficult to tell people who have submitted into the appeals process that they have 6 years to wait on average to get a response.

That is a nonstarter, and I hope we can get your commitment today to keep this important benefit in place.

If the Senate votes to move the appeals modernization forward, as I think you are saying, Mr. Chairman, we will have a process to expedite those from the time that the law passes moving forward.

The new policies proposed in this budget to pay for private care are simply untenable.

We need your help to figure out the best solution about how to get more money into the Choice account.

To put forward a proposal that would, without warning, stop earned benefits payments to severely disabled vets is unacceptable.

The VA has recently taken several positive steps to care for veterans struggling with mental health issues.

we are going to have a program that is either going to be out of money, out of gas, or out of both.

I will not delay a day to keep these veterans out of the middle.

The Senate sent a pretty clear message to veterans that veterans are your priority.

I am saying I am not willing to put the veterans in the middle, and everybody at VA now knows they are to write those rules and get this fixed as soon as possible.

I want to publicly commend Secretary Shulkin on having the fortitude to do that, pulling that trigger, so to speak, and pledge my support to help in every way possible to see the transition is smooth and works.

we kept the veterans foremost in our minds, not ourselves as politicians or the press or somebody who wanted to play games.