Mark Kirk

I look forward to better understanding how we can move forward in a very nonpartisan way.

I am dismayed that... not once did the Administration ever share that this was a pending item and/or that it was in the midst of a potential negotiation.

I am disappointed that we do not have a representative from the Administration here today.

When Rouhani and his folks are sitting there with $1.7 billion in their jeans, it can be made very much worth their while.

I look at the Adam Szubin problem not just in the context of are we serious about terrorism...

I am always concerned about what our policy is in the world as it relates to how we deal with achieving the release of hostages.

I would urge the State Department... to continue to press the Government of Iran to fully cooperate in our efforts to find Robert and bring him home.

It is imperative for the Committee, in its oversight responsibilities, get to the bottom of exactly how much cash has been transferred.

I want to thank everyone for their volunteering today.

This is one of the gravest threats facing our national security and the security of our allies.

I want to take an opportunity to reiterate my concern for Robert Levinson, an American citizen who mysteriously disappeared in Iran almost 10 years ago.

The only conceivable purpose for this money is to finance illicit activities, because the cash is untraceable.

I would say you could expect some further definition from this committee on that point, that we need to move forward on this point to make sure there is no net burden on the soldier and sailor when they come out of the Service.

I understand from the press we had the suicide hotline that had not enough responses for people.

Thank you. I want to go with a full blown Apple app and make sure all these 19 year olds when they come out, they just hit the application and can see a full blown record and can contact VA if they see errors.

I thought let's go with a Mark Kirk version, which would be to make all narratives Microsoft Word, all images JPEG, so we force the bureaucracy to talk to itself.

When I was at Walter Reed, the doctors and nurses said that stood for okay, let's all try again.

I would say that they are coming up with two different systems, and the only government bureaucracy that can mandate one system--my preferred outcome would be since LaVerne owns about 20 million patients and Dr. Waltman owns about 2…

When I talked to Cerner this morning, they talked about something that really addresses a key VA priority, which is suicide prevention.

Most people would think that a medical record includes x-rays that they had taken when they were in the service.

We should also use the combined size of the DOD and VA in the marketplace to establish a worldwide standard for health medical records.

This is the only subcommittee that has joint jurisdiction of both DOD and VA, so we are the only guys that can really ride herd on something like bringing you two together, DOD and VA together.

Interoperability is 'The ability of a system to work with and use another system.'

Whenever a soldier, sailor, airman leaves Active Duty and becomes a veteran, we should have a 100-percent seamless transmission of their health records to the VA.