Angus King

You are going to have fewer beds for veterans to go to.

It seems to me that opens up liability questions and it puts the staff under a lot of strain because it is just unrealistic right now.

We have got to cut the red tape. We have got to combat the fringe litigation. We have got to solve this problem.

We are sick of that smoke. I know the folks on the East Coast are, and we need to do something to try to reduce the risk of these fires.

One of the bills I have submitted, which goes along with the list that Senator Barrasso gave about different bills addressing this is one that would say that the Forest Service can allow less than eight-inch trees to be removed for free.

However, we are not taking cognizance of the big picture, which is the CO2 released by these catastrophic fires.

If we don't act, these catastrophic wildfires will continue to threaten lives.

But part of the shared value ought to be CO2 in the atmosphere.

What is very unusual is, we talk about climate. Living in the Northeast, climate always moves west to east.

It may be that we need to have more cutting in order to prevent that CO2 being released by fires.

Drought is a climate issue, as Senator Heinrich pointed out.

We pay for illness, not wellness.

We have been through a long hearing here without the word 'dementia' coming up, and it seems to me that that is going to be a growing part of your delivery of services as veterans age.

I want to thank all of you.

My sense it is not anybody's priority and it is not adequately funded.

On January 5th, 2021, not January 6th, but January 5th, the Congress passed a bill requiring reimbursement for domiciliary care.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Our veterans should not suffer because of the delay in issuing these regulations.

It is penny-wise and pound-foolish.

I hope that is a focus because I think we cannot lose these wonderful physicians.

We are not serving veterans if a home closes because they cannot meet the staffing standards because they cannot find the people. Let us get real here.

Because every day you can keep a veteran in their home they are happier and the system is saving money.

How do we get there, and are we in the process of getting there setting unrealistic standards that will in fact lead to nursing home closures?

We have got enormous staffing problems, and to say you have got to have a certain--it seems to me that opens up liability questions.

We should start with the programs to build the staff and maintain the staff that we have, then talk about increasing.