Johnny Isakson

The U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement has paved the way for $800 million in exports from Georgia to South Korea.

I have a warm place in my heart for South Korea.

Clear and accurate flood maps are a key factor used in determining the appropriate flood insurance rate for a specific property.

Thank you for holding this hearing with a two-fold purpose--to examine the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) ongoing work to update the accuracy of flood maps and to provide the necessary funding for this work that is expected…

In your testimony, you mention creating a Physician Advisory Board. Do you contemplate those physicians being only VA physicians, or do you contemplate having some outside physicians giving eyes on the system?

I, too, met yesterday with Ms. Bradley. We had a wonderful meeting.

Well, I think you have discovered what I have found in my travels over the past 6 months dealing with this issue, and that is there are a lot of people who want to help and there is a lot of help out there.

It took whistleblowers to actually bring it forward to us, which reflects the culture within the VA system right now, which is an insular, protective culture that you have got to open up.

Your primary job as CEO of Procter & Gamble was accountability and bringing a return to your shareholders, and your shareholders bought their stock with their own money. Your job at the VA, you also have shareholders, and that is the…

Mr. McDonald, thank you very much for being willing to accept this challenge. I think you are the right man for the job and I think you will do a great job.

The Black Lung Compensation Program is critical to those who work in the mining industry for workers' compensation.

The biggest enemy of manufacturing domestically in the United States of America is the U.S. House and Senate.

My experience of a lot of these problems lies at the highest levels of the veterans administration.

I think both of them told the truth. I do not think Secretary Shinseki ever saw it.

The reason I ask that question is I got into the Atlanta VA starting in August of last year when we had two suicides and a drug overdose.

What are you doing to put in place--the type of information transfers and conduits--that will see to it Mr. McDonald does not become a rookie victim?

It is a tragedy beyond words, not easily dealt with, but it is one that we have got to address.

You are a brave and courageous man.

That is not acceptable.

That is unacceptable.

If we can do a better job of incentivizing coordination, the best by-product is better care, but it also is less cost

You can improve quality and lower the cost of improving the quality at the same time by coordinating care for people with multiple chronic illnesses.

If we were doing more care coordination, we would be in much better shape financially as a country.

So, in other words, it costs more to do less and less to do more.

I thank the distinguished Senator from Iowa for relinquishing a little time to let me step in. I am very grateful. ____________________