Chris Pappas

I want to reiterate how important all the entrepreneurial development programs are to small businesses in New Hampshire.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And Mr. Madrid, thanks very much for your leadership and your comments here today about entrepreneurial development.

I want to extend my gratitude to all the members and witnesses who participated in it.

The way the bill is drafted causes some confusion as to who is eligible under the bill

From my perspective, the constraints on eligibility in the bill make it narrow, and it leaves people behind.

This would establish a service connection based on a specific occupation, which is a first, I believe, as opposed to dealing with specific service dates and locations.

This legislation would ensure that families of service members diagnosed with ALS receive critical assistance.

I look forward to working with Chairman Bost and my colleagues on this subcommittee to advance these important proposals today.

I will say that after 6 years of the establishment of OAWP, I think it is clear to me that there are major shortcomings within the initial law that was passed.

Obviously, the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund is so critical to all of our States in ensuring that projects can continue to move forward.

My question is, when there is a power of attorney on file for a beneficiary, is this considered?

VA's Fiduciary Program has a long history dating back to its establishment in the 1930's.

And as part of the omnibus bill, we were able to get $45 million in that bill to fund this program.

Toll credits are very important to a State like New Hampshire, and we use these as a Federal match on important projects.

I want to thank Congressman Golden for his leadership on this bipartisan legislation which will ensure that our rural small businesses know about the tools that are available to them.

Perfection is critically important in both of those areas.

It is critical to these veterans that they receive the benefits that they deserve for medical issues related to their military service and we certainly own them nothing less.

The C&P exam is a critical step in the disability claims process.

This underscores the need for congressional oversight to ensure that veterans are satisfied.

Ensuring these exams are conducted accurately and in a timely manner is critical.

I want to thank Chairwoman Kiggans for her leadership in drafting the VA Medical Center Security Report Act.

I am not confident that H.R. 4278 will have the intended effect of reducing the number of disciplinary actions that are overturned.

I believe Chairman Bost's intent with H.R. 4278 is to address the issues that have caused the courts and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to overturn disciplinary actions.

One of my primary interests here is to better understand the potential effects of Chairman Bost's bill, H.R. 4278, the Restore VA Accountability Act.

The Inspector General has documented widespread errors with the VA's temporary disability rating process.