Mike Bost

The mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs is to care for those who shall have borne the battle.

Ensuring consistent leadership is the least we can do for our Nation's veterans.

This is for Dr. Draper and Dr. Kizer both. The Journal of American Medical Association released a study in January, and they found the VA generally outperformed the private sector with respect to wait times.

One of the main concerns that the staff has heard about and communicated several times is individual VA employees so--is the communication between your office and individual employees.

Is this an issue that you are following and what is the status of your involvement?

One of the points that I think is most critical is the increased oversight provided of foreign certifying agents.

We are looking at the consequences of federal policy failing to reflect the critical role that levees play beyond flood prevention, such as maintaining safe commercial navigation. This makes no sense and it's costing Southern Illinois…

The federal government is responsible for maintaining our nation's ports, harbors, and waterways.

Food production makes the United States strong.

Congress needs to spend money up front to prevent the damages in the first place.

Flood Control MUST be the top priority for the operation of the Missouri River flood control system.

Ultimately, the Corps of Engineers' orders come from Congress.

Many want to blame the Corps of Engineers for the recent flooding and floods of the past.

We spend billions of dollars in flood recovery, and in comparison, we spend very little on prevention.

Flood control infrastructure needs to be a national priority.

We have reached the tipping point, and we can no longer continue to conduct failed experiment after failed experiment at the expense of people's lives and livelihoods.

I hope this committee and Congress will act quickly and decisively to push the Corps forward with funding and oversight so repairs could be made as soon as possible.

Floods do not discriminate. They do not choose Democrats over Republicans.

Flood control needs to be the number one priority for the Missouri River Reservoir system.

The people in my district--the farmers there, you know, this isn't about their land anymore. Their land is gone.

We have got to start thinking properly and quit looking like the Congress that can't get anything done on issues like this.

This is a situation where common horse sense has flown out the window.

Shouldn't the Corps consider other economic benefits like commercial navigation when conducting the BCR?

Now we can agree that the navigation threat is no longer just a threat, it is real.

I have been saying for awhile that the levee breach is a hazard to navigation.