On the recordJuly 23, 2014
as chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I want to take a few minutes to update Members of the Senate as to where we are on some very important issues that impact veterans all over this country. The first point I want to make is some good news. The committee had a hearing yesterday to hear testimony regarding the confirmation of Robert McDonald to be the new Secretary of the VA. I think I can speak for the whole committee in saying we were very impressed by what we heard from Mr. McDonald both in terms of his passion for the needs of veterans and also his administrative knowledge, his management skills, as the former head of one of the large corporations in America. I think he left us with a very strong impression. The result was that today, a few hours ago, by a unanimous vote, the Senate committee voted to confirm Robert McDonald as our new Secretary of the VA, and I hope very much his nomination will get to the floor as soon as possible. I think that is good news because the VA needs stable leadership. Sloan Gibson, who has been Acting Secretary, is doing an excellent job. He has already accomplished a lot. But it is important that we have a new permanent Secretary on board, and I hope the Members here see fit to confirm him as soon as we possibly can.…
