Daniel Akaka

The salary level is not competitive.

We must ensure that people who seek help in dealing with complex financial issues, such as debt management, are able to locate the assistance they need.

My legislation, which I will be reintroducing shortly, requires companies to inform consumers how many years and months it will take to repay their entire balance if they make only minimum payments.

We must do more to educate, protect, and empower consumers.

Too many in our country are burdened by significant credit card debt. Not enough has been done to protect consumers and ensure they are able to properly manage their credit burden.

At present, decisions by the Board are not precedential, meaning that regional offices are free to ignore decisions of the Board.

Moving to a paperless file system with electronic medical information must remain a top priority for VA.

Tackling the problems will require action on many fronts.

The goal of the Committee is to ensure that claims are adjudicated accurately, in a timely fashion, and as close to the veteran's home as possible.

It will be important that TARP resources be used for lending, but they must not be used to support predatory lending.

How do we create a regulatory structure that better protects working families against predatory practices?

Families have been pushed into mortgage products with associated risks and costs that they could not afford.

I would tell you that one of the huge problems that this country has is that this country is financially illiterate.

By moving to advance appropriations, veterans' health care programs would accrue all three of these benefits.

Chairman Akaka, we were pleased that in September of last year you introduced legislation--S. 3527, the 'Veterans' Health Care Budget Reform Act'--that would reform the VA budget process by providing advance appropriations for veterans'…

The Veterans' Health Care Budget Reform Act would ensure that the goals of the partnership--sufficient, timely and predictable funding--are met.

Chairman Akaka, we were pleased that during the 110th Congress you introduced legislation, the Veterans' Health Care Budget Reform Act, S. 3527, that would reform the VA budget process by providing advanced appropriations for VA health…

I have said this time and time again: veterans' benefits and services are a cost of war and must be understood and funded as such.

The Veterans' Health Care Budget Reform Act which received bipartisan support to achieve sufficient, timely and predictable veterans' health care funding.

Could a public works program like that be useful in the economic situation we find the country in today?

Mr. Potter, GAO and others have stated that it is important for the Postal Service to work with the unions in much the same way to realign labor needs with the needs of the postal workforce.

The postal reform bill we passed in 2006 intended to make the Postal Service operate even more like a business, as we have said, and be independent of any Federal funding.

Service and deliveries may need to be cut back in order to balance the books of the Postal Service.

I look upon what is happening as something that will affect our entire country, including Hawaii.

I want to thank you for holding this timely hearing.