Roy Blunt: “I think the VA has been really short in taking advantage of that opportunity.”

I know we have a vote coming up. I have brief remarks, and I ask unanimous consent to complete them before the vote starts. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Through the strong, bipartisan action of this Subcommittee's leaders, Chairman Roy Blunt and Ranking Member Patty Murray, Congress is helping the agency regain lost ground after years of effectively flat budgets.

I want to join my colleagues in my appreciation for the expansion of NATO--as others have said, the greatest alliance, maybe in history, certainly in the last 200 years, an alliance that has served great benefits and now is growing. NATO…

when I gave my first speech on the Senate floor 12 years ago or when I cast my first vote in the House 26 years ago, I had really no way to anticipate the challenges and opportunities that were ahead of us. I come to the floor today…