Mark Kirk

I want to make sure that--only this committee, I think, with jurisdiction over military construction and VA, can lean on both bureaucracies.

And that we move forward on that basis. You will be getting some pretty strong recommendations from this subcommittee on that point.

If we had a veteran who had a spot on his lung indicating cancer, the Joint Legacy Viewer would not share that with the VA so VA would not know about that emerging cancerous situation, is that correct?

I would like VA--remembering that the average age of people coming out of Service is going to be about 19, if you are a full blown citizen of the 21st century, you will live on this device.

When you cite that section of the law, it does use the word ``interoperable.'' I want to make sure we are not in a situation where it depends on what the definition of ``is'' is. We have to get away from that kind of thinking.

I would say analytics takes us to the next level.

I want to make sure that we have a robust and strong insurance sector.

I would say that Senator Collins and I have been working very hard to make sure the Fed recognizes the great difference between the business of banking and insurance.

I want to take you what you were just talking about, the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the insurance industry.

I agree with Senator Kirk that the money that was associated with those payments was ransom, but we do not have to get into semantics.

Because of killing of gay people left and right, you are kind of an unstable personality.

I would say on this Committee I will be encouraging our members to further define the subject of what a good fiduciary does, and investing in Iran is not that.

A hundred billion bucks a guy is a high ransom payment.

They wanted to say to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth.

I frankly did not think we had a more serious, more pressing National security threat than Iran's advancing, unchecked nuclear program.

That, sadly, lamentably, is not a new statement coming out of Iran.

Let me just follow up with my top priority, making sure that we could withstand or repel a missile attack by Iran against the United States.

When you talk about strategic risk, that is a very bureaucratic way of saying that this is what you would stick our soldier to live in.

I can say that not only because it's true but there are no other members here representing the other three who could contradict that statement.

Missile defense is one of my greatest priorities as chair of this subcommittee.

The answer to every VA problem is not 'give us more money, give us more flexibility.' We need to fix the VA's corrupt culture and all too often poor performance.

I requested all documents the VA had about wait time abuse at Hines VA.

Let me get you on the record about hepatitis C.

But, David, my staff has been trying for weeks to find out who was the person responsible for the Veterans Crisis Line.

Just see if it is part of socialized medicine to get the patient quickly out the door to give them Xanax and Ambien.