"Our ability to conduct oversight on what you have implemented before the next Congress kicks in is gone."
"I appreciate you, from the VA, underscoring the importance."
"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."
"I think we need the data and the facts to make informed decisions in every one of these areas."
"I see the value in official time. I see the value in a hundred percent 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'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."