They wanted it to be the single point of authority and not a facilitator who I tend to think of as lacking authority.

This is not within the highest reaches at least in the VA regarding responsibility.

I thank the Chair for acknowledging the Blue Water issue at the outset and look forward to its resolution.

So, Ms. Giunto, one thing I've always stressed--it can't just be the physician-patient relationship as it was with Marcus Welby, but there has to be an alignment of both the financial interest and the healthcare interest of the two…

Now, when you say that, though, you still have to have value.

I speak as a Senator who is also a physician. In my medical practice, I have learned that if the patient has the power, then the patient can make the wisest decision both for her health and for her pocketbook. I am here to support the…

I always think if you give the patient the power, including the power of knowledge and price, it makes a huge difference.

We have been working with Senators Bennet, Young, Grassley, Carper, and McCaskill to do a price transparency working group.

Let me just say, I have seen that prosperity. A prosperity that has filtered out to the working family who over the last eight years really suffered but now, because of high-paying energy jobs, actually has a better life, a better future.

LNG and increased natural gas production is good for the economy, good to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and good for international trade.

I rise to speak about Judge Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. Let me begin by saying the Senate has been hard at work vetting and confirming good judges to the bench. So far, the Senate has confirmed 60 of President Trump's…

I rise to speak about John McCain. As one of those rising to pay tribute, I am perhaps one of the least qualified to do so. I say that because although John McCain and I served together, it was only for the last 4 years of his storied…

I, too, want to emphasize the importance of introducing young students to computer science and coding courses as part of their education. I thank my colleague and friend, Senator Cantwell, for working with me on this issue. The answer is…

I think if we put Samoans, though, it would bend up like that.

I would just suggest that we begin to focus more upon obesity, which seems to be an outlier in terms of lack of funding relative to societal cost.

Obesity is implicated in Alzheimer's, implicated in heart disease, implicated in cancer.

FRA strongly supports Senator Bill Cassidy's draft bill 'Modernization of Medical Records Access for Veterans Act;'

FRA supports the draft legislation, sponsored by Senator Bill Cassidy (LA), to require the VA to create a program to provide grants for persons to provide and coordinate provisions of the suicide prevention services for certain veterans;

S.____, to be introduced by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a program to award grants to organizations (not 'persons') to provide and coordinate the provision of suicide prevention…

We applaud the work of the Senators Crapo, Tester, Cassidy and Sullivan on this in-depth, well thought out reform plan.

we are grateful to Senator Cassidy for bringing forth the draft legislation to create a grant program through VA for organizations working in suicide prevention.

there is mansions built upon waste, fraud, and abuse from Medicare.

But I do not want the best to be the enemy of the adequate.

I cannot help but say that under Graham-Cassidy, the amendment that we had put up, Medicaid in Alaska would have been--had their true costs recognized.

last week, the House voted overwhelmingly, by a vote of 366 to 52, to extend the National Flood Insurance Program for 4 months, until November 30, 2018. The purpose is to allow for the continued reform efforts of this program so as to make…