Tim Ryan

I think we will reverse or further slow that trend if we are able to do so.

How we can use, potentially use some bonding capacity to be able to get this stuff done when labor is cheaper, products cheaper.

These projects, $1.5 billion today, in 10 years are going to be a hell of a lot more.

We have got a lot of work ahead of us in the tough budget year, but we look forward to hearing from you and working with you.

This is our home. This is where we work. My 3-year-old says, 'Daddy, are you going to Capitol?' That is where daddy works, and it is a pretty cool thing.

None of us could do our jobs without you here, and we know when we get our visitors and we take selfies with the Capitol behind them, we know that is your handiwork there.

It takes 10,000 employees to make the world of the House of Representatives run smoothly every day.

The men and women of our districts send us to Washington, DC, to be their voices and not to lose touch with what is going on at home.

We often call the House of Representatives the people's House, which says something important about this Chamber even if the phrase itself has become a cliche.

While this subcommittee may not appropriate the most money, the agencies and offices in our jurisdiction are among the most essential to the operation of our, small 'D,' democracy and our, small 'D,' democratic system.

This is our first hearing of the fiscal 2018 appropriations process, and I am grateful for the privilege to be here with you, work in a bipartisan way to make some good things happen.

We actually brought the entire commission, Governor Christie and Congressman Kennedy and others, there to Cleveland because they are one of the leaders in the country in the lowest rates of opioid prescribing.

The death rate from opiate overdose among the VA is almost double the national average.

In 2016, we lost 4,000 of our fellow citizens in the State of Ohio to overdose, primarily from opiates.

I come from Ohio, and we have, as you know, an opiate epidemic that is of immense proportions for us.

If 24 million people lose their health care, I don't know what the exact number would be, but we would assume that hundreds of thousands, at least, would be veterans----

The skinny budget from the President is proposing to flat-line the VA discretionary programs, which you are included in.

The deeper I get into the Appropriations Committee, the more valuable I find what you and your team do.

Congressman Womack and I are already working on some legislation to be able to do that.

I think that is going to be a big thing, not just for the vets, but out in society as well.

I think it is important for us to figure out how we can help you start to reduce this backlog.

I want to make sure, as we are moving to try to better administer the Choice Program, that these evidence-based programs are covered in the Choice program.

I think what you are doing in your patient-centered care area with Tracy Gaudet is some of the most exciting stuff going on, not just in the VA, but in government today.

Most importantly, what it does is it assures our allies that we actually are committed, and it deters Russia because they know we have the ability to respond.

We must prioritize our defense funding first.