As a Marine Combat Veteran of Operation Desert Storm it is a unique honor for me to address this committee.

Simply put, they completely miss the mark. It is actually the veteran that may have Post Traumatic Stress that is actually training the dog.

This audit was released over a year ago and to this day, the complaints of poor service from the VA to schedule timely medical appointments is still one of the most frequent by veterans in my district.

Now is the time to embrace hearing aid specialists to help meet the hearing health care needs of our Veterans.

The VA's recent Performance Accountability Report says that 41% of new primary care appointments are scheduled within 14 days of the creation date.

As a Marine combat veteran, it is a unique honor for me to address this committee.

It gives them a sense of purpose. And when they know that the dog, if they succeed and the dog is fully trained that then that dog is going to be given to a fellow veterans with physical disabilities, it is a veteran helping another…

Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) balcony.

I apologized. I called Michael Scotto. He was very gracious and accepted my apology. We're going to have lunch sometime next week and just make sure this is all behind us.

This is a man of honor and integrity. I think he was sincerely hurt. His staff disappointed him, especially people that he really trusted. They broke his trust and made him look bad.

Most importantly, he took ownership and I think that's bold leadership when one, someone can admit they were wrong which he did, and two, take responsibility for it.