Angus King

My concern about that--and we'll talk to others about it--this is a rule that the--CMS is the federal agency...

I mean that can't work for very long.

Well, I thought Mike made an important point because we're all talking about hiring people but, Mike, you made the point about stability and retention.

It's not exactly a morale booster.

Always a bad place to be.

For the record, I totally agree with that statement.

I think Brunswick or Portland is halfway between Madawaska and New York City. People don't realize how tall Maine is.

It seems to me to start with your testimony, as I mentioned, the problem that you had with the VA wasn't with the programs or the adequacy, it was the time, and I'm delighted my office could help, but it shouldn't take that step to get…

One of the concerns--and I've heard this when I've met with their agencies, particularly in rural Maine, is an epidemic of loneliness.

The best news I've heard so far is the expansion of the home-based care.

Certainly that's important. You have what amounts to a nursing home at Togus.

We've really got to work on that because it would be awful to have somebody who's ready, wants a mission, wants to do it but they can't wait for nine months or a year.

I've told my staff I want to be the falls senator; without falling.

That's a big part of----

It would be nice to have WiFi in the CBOCs; just saying.

If you can't--if you can't get enough people, you're not going to be able to meet the staffing ratios which could mean a loss of capacity rather than a gain for the veterans.

And my problem with the regulation is it's the best being the enemy of the good because if the result is closed nursing homes and fewer beds, we haven't gained anything.

This is a field hearing of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Someone asked Buckminster Fuller, the famous architect, for advice on how to live a long life. His answer was 'always use the bannister.'

If we don't have the people to staff them, it ain't gonna work.

The truth is, the work just begins when the bill passes.

I want to publicly thank the chair and co-chair of the committee, Jon Tester of Montana and Jerry Moran of Kansas.

I like the idea. In other words, additional federal funds not generally but targeted toward workforce retention?

I don't think there's one in Washington County either.

You're dipping into savings to pay the rent.