Sherrod Brown

Do you believe the VA has an obligation to provide medical care and disability compensation for veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals while serving our country?

I have grave concerns regarding the position in the administration about privatizing veterans' health care.

The VA Secretary needs to serve all veterans, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

I appreciate the efforts on eliminating veterans homelessness that began several years ago that, as you said, has made progress.

How can you say that withdrawing--cutting the budget 14 percent is going to make this a better situation?

Instead of taking responsibility, Mr. Secretary, you seem to want to blame others.

Despite the importance of affordable housing, it is increasingly out of reach.

Others would call it cruel.

Homelessness increased last year in the eighth year of an economic expansion.

I wish you had said that several months ago when this Congress passed a tax cut that went to you and the President's Cabinet and people in the top 1 percent that are getting millions of dollars in a tax cut.

HUD's mission is too important to do otherwise, and getting things right means fighting for the funding needed to help more people in this country get a roof over their head.

It is disturbing, extremely disturbing to read about one controversy after another at your Department--ethics lawyers ignored, procurement guidelines scoffed at, whistleblowers facing retaliation, antidiscrimination efforts downgraded, key…

Many in the President's Cabinet, because the 1 percent--and lots of them are well represented in the Cabinet--1 percent did really, really well under this tax bill.

You have acknowledged that HUD-VASH works better because we actually fund it.

I am not sure I made the right decision.

I think I speak for many on this Committee to hope that a year from now we see Secretary Shulkin sitting in that chair.

I know that there is a better budget for veterans than there is housing, but it certainly washes on you.

I am hopeful you will use your cabinet meetings and discussions with Secretary Carson to push for more vouchers.

None of them--almost none of them likes the idea of this move toward privatization.

Instead of addressing their problems, Republicans are working hard to help Wall Street banks that are raking in profits.

Nationwide, the unemployment rate for black workers is double that for whites-equal to the gap at the start of the civil rights movement.

Promises she will push back against foreign bank lobbyists and Secretary Mnuchin to ensure that no foreign bank with more than $50 billion in U.S. assets will benefit from any deregulation.

I just do not agree with that.

I hope in your conversations with the Chair of Supervision, Mr. Quarles, that you will insist that this is about the banks under 250.

I heard Republican after Republican say the tax cut was all about the middle class, yet 81 percent of the benefits went to the wealthiest 1 percent.