Silvestre Reyes

We need to get claims done right the first time--as if a do-over was not an option.

Well quantity over quality will not work when it comes to our veterans. We need to get claims done right the first time, as if a do over was not an option.

VA should remember that VA should stand for Veteran Advocate and not Veteran Adversary.

I see today's hearing as a timely opportunity to focus on bringing more solutions to the table about how to improve the disability claims processing system to produce better outcomes for our veterans.

Well, quantity over quality will not work when it comes to our Veterans.

We must continue on a path to making the claims system provided to our veterans first rate, world class, and uncompromising.

We have veterans committing suicide in shameful numbers, the most recent figure being 18 veterans every single day.

I strongly believe that the professional staff and counselors at Vet Centers should be given the same tools to serve our veterans.

My legislation would expand the caregiver program to include not just serious injuries, but would also cover those who incurred or aggravated serious illnesses as well.

That is what makes it so frustrating for those of us who have had those experiences, to try to get legislation through and not be taken seriously by the way definitions are made, by the way people implement the law.

It is clear to me that the department needs to shore up their process of managing the construction and completion of significant projects.

Despite the recent round of proposed reductions, it appears to me that the United States will remain the world's undisputed leader in military aircraft capability for many years to come.

We have lost over 6,300 Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan and more than 46,000 have been wounded, since September 11, 2001.

I strongly support the Army's choice to protect this funding.

Allowing certain major prime contractors and vendor production lines to go cold may not be in the best interests or economically prudent to our national defense.

There are no easy answers, but we owe those who sacrificed themselves in defense of our Nation nothing less than the health care and benefits that have earned with their service.

One of the most critical functions of this Committee is to ensure that we are providing the men and women who served our Nation with the health care, compensation, and support they have earned.

I really do believe it is important, and our Ranking Member here can attest to it, when we had the full Committee hearing, one of the recommendations that I made to Chairman Miller is we have to bring in Secretary Shinseki and Secretary…

The fact that there are nearly 950 suicide attempts per month by our brave men and woman who have served this country is more than just a problem. It is a crisis.

What we need to do now is identify what tools these veterans need to fight the enemy within.

If we walk away from the F-35 program, we simply won't be able to project power in many areas of the world in the future.

The threat to continued American dominance in the air is real, and it is growing.

I support the program because in the future there is a very good chance that our military will have to overcome sophisticated air defense systems.

I want to express how much the subcommittee appreciates the contribution of the Guard and Reserve Components and want to recognize that they are maintained at a fraction of the cost of the regular military.