Beto O'Rourke

I think we need the data and the facts to make informed decisions in every one of these areas.

If official time improves our ability to do that, then we should have official time. If it detracts from our ability to do that, we should not have official time.

It is my pleasure today to present to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health H.R. 1506 -VA Health Care Provider Education Debt Relief Act of 2017.

I think the most serious crisis facing veterans in this country today and for this Committee is veteran suicide, which you now estimate is 20 a day.

I think when we are talking about wait times and we were reminded about the wait time manipulation scandal, we need to know real wait times and we need to hold you accountable for that.

I want to thank you for the decision that you have made in not waiting for Congress to force the Administration to do it and showing the leadership in getting that done.

I think we share a common interest and goal in ensuring every veteran is served and treated with the utmost dignity and respect, gets the greatest quality of care, and the best outcomes.

I'm grateful to hear from almost every Member of this Committee their assurance that they are not opposed to union representation at the VA.

Mr. O'Rourke. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The veterans that I spoke to...said that they had received excellent timely care.

I'm also mindful of the fact that too many veterans in El Paso and every community in this country are unable to get an appointment.

I came to Congress, as I think most of my colleagues did, to make a difference, to root out the real problems facing our country, find real solutions.

So if I could--and I'm sorry to interrupt you, just as my time expires, if I could sketch out a scenario...

I want to see a real commitment in writing on paper to which we can hold you and the Secretary accountable for.

It's clear to me that this has not been a priority for the VA.

I share Chairman Arrington's concern about how long it has taken the VA to standardize its process to record official time.

Thanks for having me at the hearing today. Just to close the loop on your earlier question about block buys and oversight.

The invasion of Iraq set off a chain of consequences, some of them factoring into what we are talking about today.

The decision to remove Muammar Gaddafi in Libya had some very negative consequences, which we are still dealing with today.

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Add at the end the following new section: SEC. 11. AUTHORITY TO DISCLOSE CERTAIN MEDICAL RECORDS OF…

I remember how awful I felt being in that cell and how un-American that felt. I had not crossed an international border . . . yet was detained, questioned, and searched without probable cause. And that's a shitty feeling. And a lot of…

El Paso is the safest city when you look at violent crime. There's no reason to cordon off the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico border from the rest of the country.

I think that is the single greatest opportunity to stop these preventable deaths, if we take this seriously.

We want someone who knows how to treat veterans, perhaps only treats veterans and active duty servicemembers.

What it does is remove a privacy requirement that is unique to the VA that effectively prohibits the effective sharing of patient medical records between the VA and community providers through the Choice program.