the status quo is not acceptable.

high workload is not an excuse for the current situation which has gone on since 2009, and which simply must change.

I do apologize to the Secretary--being so critical of him for not showing up.

I am hopeful that, working together, we can chart a new way forward.

I stand ready, and I know my colleagues on this Committee stand ready to sit down with VA and address our overdue requests.

we all want to do the best we can for our veterans.

I was very critical of the fact that neither Secretary showed up at that hearing.

That the Committee feels compelled to hold this hearing today should send a clear signal that the status quo is unacceptable.

Okay, because it is my understanding that OPM says that in order to give bonuses, it has to be a bare minimum of 5 percent of whatever that salary is.

There were things that were not being done according to the IG report relative to Pittsburgh that caused us to look not only at Pittsburgh, but across the entire system...

The debt we owe your loved ones and all our veterans can never be repaid, and we must do all we can to ensure that they receive the best quality health care that they have earned and rightly deserve.