This is my first hearing as Ranking Member of this Subcommittee, one of the most important subcommittees in Congress, and I look forward to working with Chairman Coffman and all of my colleagues.

This can perhaps be best summed up in the title of GAO's testimony--'Improved Data Reliability and Monitoring Needed for Department of Veterans Affairs.'

We will not arrive at the answers to all these questions today. But I am hopeful that beginning this discussion today will lead us to solutions that we can all agree on.

I commend the work that you have done and urge the VA in going forward with your audit, changing your administrative processes, getting on top of your billing and collection.

Our efforts to identify where problems exist at the VA could not be more important or more timely.

I want to get at the heart of the matter.

This is my first hearing as ranking member of this subcommittee, one of the most important subcommittees in Congress.

But we must also remember that our responsibility is not only to identify problems, but to work to find solutions.

We will not arrive at the answers to these questions today, but I am hopeful that the beginning of this discussion will lead us to solutions that we can all agree on.

How can we ensure that the information and data collected by the VA is, in the words of the GAO, accurate, valid, and complete?

This practice runs counter to the terms of the original deed, as pointed out by our chair.

we would like to stay in close contact with you about this and then work with Mr. Lilley and others in the community to make sure that the revenues that are generated in an appropriate way be directed toward this plan to end homelessness…