Mike Bost

Cairo is a small town in my district that was once a roaring city on the banks of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

The cause of this tragedy comes down to two words: Greed and neglect.

We guard our memories carefully, and we have to do it in such a way that it is respectful over centuries.

I believe that is your intent. The concern I have--and this is just a statement--is that in the future--and that is why we are here, is to make sure that doesn't happen again.

We are honored this morning by several of our colleagues who are going to be testifying about the bills they have sponsored.

The only concern I have there is spouses are not only just female. They are male, female, because we have serving male and female.

In the interest of time, I am going to keep everyone, including myself, to no more than 5 minutes for questioning.

I appreciate the fact that Mr. Renacci--under his leadership, we are going to codify this classification, and I am pleased to support this bill.

We are all concerned, and we are depending on you to make sure it happens.

Okay. This law was signed by the President in August 23rd, 2017, but you didn't deliver the detailed plan for the IT schedule until February.

Mr. O'Rourke, a number of VA employees in my district have reached out to me and they believe issues within the VA would qualify them as whistleblowers.

Is there intent for a larger, more in-depth written policy to be put together?

We want to make sure it is done right, but we also want to make sure that it is done in a way where the American citizens and our veterans can actually see it come to pass in a quick and efficient manner

One of the biggest shocks that I had whenever coming and becoming a Member of Congress was working to try to get the medical records simply transferred from DoD into Veterans Affairs.

Unfortunately, VA continues to fall short on that promise, due in part to failures in human resources management and operations.

HR 5693 gives much needed choice and personal agency back to these brave men and women who have selflessly sacrificed for our nation.

I do not know of any health care system that would hire or promote an individual to manage and oversee a human resources department without requiring a college degree.

This issue hits very close to home for me after the VA National Center for Patient Safety surveyed the Marion VA Medical Center.

Unfortunately, the VA continues to fall short on that promise due in part to failures in human resource management and operations.

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

I thank the gentleman for his support of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost). The amendment was agreed to. Amendment…

I also want to recognize today someone who works in my office that everyone looks up to, because he is so tall, is my chief of staff, and it is his birthday, Matt McAuliffe. Happy birthday. ____________________

I also rise today and feel it is very important that we recognize and remember that today is D-day, but also that 100 years ago today was the battle of Belleau Wood in the First World War, where the Marines earned the title of Devil Dogs…

Thank you so much both of you for what you do. And when you say that we need to make sure that our veterans--that their history is not forgotten.

What is the status on the restoration of the Clark Veterans Cemetery in the Philippines?