Mazie Hirono

Thank you for giving us a fuller context in which the VA is undertaking these kinds of proceedings.

I care deeply about STEM education to our youngsters.

What it means is that all of our innovators, large and small now have easier access to both the educational content that we provide.

I appreciate that kind of perspective very much because I think that is the challenge in addressing the patent troll issues.

I congratulate both of our nominees for what I hope will be your confirmation to these important positions.

I am here to support and to voice a strong support for Judge Loretta Biggs.

I think you are probably the first person to give all of us your cell phone number, so I hope this is not a situation where, be careful what you ask for.

I think when you are dealing with a huge system like the VA system, you are going to get a lot of push-back from people who are used to being left alone in their regions or whatever the grouping is.

I expect that this Committee will work with you in a very open and transparent way, in a frank way, so that we can work together to move the ball and get the veterans the kind of attention that they very much earned.

I want to publicly thank Secretary Shinseki for doing that which he believed would be in the best interest of the Veterans Administration.

I am not going to sit here and say that you do not need more money to hire more caregivers and other necessary personnel to take care of our veterans.

I was told by the veterans that I have been talking with--many of them live on neighbor islands, so these are rural issues--I was told that even if they got vouchers to go out to get private care, the doctors on the Big Island and Maui…

So, if you were to have the appropriations to hire 10,000 people, how long do you think it would take for 10,000 people to be hired?

I want this Committee and this Congress to continue to be motivated by the sense of urgency.

I hope that in your review you are also looking at your hiring processes, because it should not take a long time.

What could be more pressing than to make sure that our veterans receive the care that they need and deserve.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 5:45 p.m., adjourned until Tuesday, July 15, 2014, at 10 a.m…

At 12 noon tomorrow there will be two cloture votes on the Bay and the LaFleur nominations to be members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and, if cloture is invoked, votes on confirmation of the nominations at 3 p.m…

I represent a State, Hawaii, that has been a leader in protecting women's health and safety.

I do agree that abortion is a different procedure from other medical procedures because its foundation is a constitutional right.

It is important that you make sure that regulation of abortion is not just about singling out abortion providers, but is actually based on good medical practice and scientific evidence.

Thank you, Chair Boxer and Ranking Member Paul, Senator Menendez, for inviting me to speak today on such an important matter.

I would like to stay in touch with you regarding how that is going, because half a million, that is a lot of people.

My understanding is that under the DACA program some 500,000 young people have come forward to participate.

We strongly urge the Committee to work to include these in the HEA reauthorization.