Brad Wenstrup

There is a culture that needs to be changed because we are there, they are there, to serve the veteran.

You know, I think you touched on some things we find too often in the system, that when you get out of the military, there is lack of access and lack of choice, and it is frustrating and very difficult.

There are also reports of substandard patient care, which, if true, should not go unpunished.

Although the announcement was ambiguous and the Department continues to try to downplay the allegations, news reports have stated that the situation involves misconduct within higher leadership at the Cincinnati Medical Center and regional…

The Committee will continue to pursue investigations into this hospital.

You know what? that veteran who is sick doesn't care. They want to be seen and they want to be taken care of.

But it would be nice if we were better coordinated with the things that we have to offer and more flexible with the things that we have to offer to match an individual's needs.

Without them, we have nothing.

I think the things we come away with are--and we have all known this--there is no one answer for every veteran that we face.

I appreciate the reality of that. We got it done. So I understand the frustration.

We passed H.R. 474, and I would love it if you would take a look at that.

And I think another thing, too, that was brought up is how do we prevent someone who is in a home to becoming homeless.

One of the things that we on the Committee over the last couple years have fully recognized is that we need to engage people while they are still in uniform.

I thank you very much.

Without helping veterans find meaningful employment through HVRP, we are only providing them temporary housing, but we are not setting them up for long-term and sustainable success.

It is great to work with a thoughtful legislator like Mark. He continues to put the goals of the veterans first.

Maybe a simple survey after people complete TAP to really see how much they picked up.

It is clear that this is an invaluable program for our veterans, it is something that guarantees them a job at the end of their training.

I think it was a constructive conversation. We all have got some homework to do.

I commend GAO for the report that you gave us because it is very constructive information on how we can move forward and do a better job for our veterans, which of course is our goal.

I am not necessarily buying that we need more funding for this to simplify the process.

I was just wondering if the methodology allowed for that, because that is good information, you know.

As far as getting people aware of the program, I get the challenge.

Well, that there are a lot of the visits to the sites being done by automation rather than actual individuals checking into the site.

I do appreciate the valuable discussion from all of our witnesses here today on how to improve these systems to help our veterans reach maximum economic success, and I look forward to working together to do that.