Charles Q. Brown

This is unprecedented. A true Budgetgate, if you will, of our time.

Our veterans deserve it.

I don't personally want to see VA just going to a specialty. We need comprehensive care in certain areas.

Again, these are some of the most vulnerable disabled veterans. Mr. Chairman, I look forward to working with you in a bipartisan spirit of our committee.

I think it is important that during this hearing we not lose sight of what we are talking about here. We are not talking about costs or numbers, we are talking about people.

I am concerned that there may be nothing left in the account as long as we continue to pretend that we can fund the essential requirements of government within arbitrary budget caps.

It takes more money to really fix a problem, and not just slap some tape on it and call it a day.

I know that this Committee, as we have done so many times in the past, will work together to solve this crisis and fix this mess.

It is time that our colleagues in the Senate pass this bill and send it to the President.

I don't want a constituent calling me saying we are not providing care for veterans. That is unacceptable.

We cannot put the health and lives of our veterans at risk by spending our time and attention pointing fingers and assigning blame.

If you ask us and say this is what you need, I am going to fight for it.

VA's failures are not a matter of money, they are a matter of management.

I voted for the Florida lottery and that was the worst vote I have ever taken in my life, and I regret that one.

the vast majority of these deficiencies result from a disregard for the differing needs of women veterans and a focusing on the eighty-percent [80] percent solution for men who dominate in both numbers and the public consciousness.

If all requested records are not provided by week's end, I will ask my colleagues to join me in subpoenaing the documents.

I also look forward to beginning to figure out how we make sure that this does not happen again, where veterans have to wait years and years for a promised facility and taxpayers are on the hook for hundreds of millions more than planned.

Veterans across the country should be appalled that VA allowed this project to get so out of hand.

we are really being presented with a Hobson's choice here.

Let me be clear--this Committee, at the end of the day, will take care of our veterans in Colorado like we take care of all of our veterans across the country.

I feel like the only hope we have at this particular moment is you and your oversight, Mr. Secretary.

I know we have a hearing scheduled on April the 30th on female veterans issues, but I wonder if a hearing on homeless veterans or military sexual traumas... would not be more of benefit this evening.

Let everybody know where you stand, because you made a lot of commitments around the room.

I hope that we can discuss whether you have enough resources to ensure that veterans do not face intolerable delays in getting access to healthcare.

The President has proposed a large increase for VA. For FY 2016 the President has proposed nearly an 8 percent increase in funding for VA health care, personnel, construction, research, and claims processors.