Bernie Sanders

You are telling us you believe you need 28,000 new medical staff?

We have given you tools, for example, in the Education Debt Reduction Program.

The vast majority of VA employees... work tirelessly and work very hard to do everything they can for our veterans

We thank all of his staff for being here as well.

Most veterans believe the care they are getting once they are in the system is of high quality

The lack of providers was a common refrain heard throughout the hearing.

The IG's report provides troubling details about a facility that failed to meet our Nation's obligation to provide timely, high-quality care to veterans.

The people who lied, who acted dishonorably, who manipulated data in Phoenix and elsewhere clearly must be held accountable.

The perception is you have hit the ground sprinting, which is exactly what this Committee wanted from you

Clearly congressional oversight is critical, as is VA's efforts to increase accountability within its system.

Our goal in passing this legislation was to provide VA with the tools needed to address the serious problems veterans were facing in accessing care.

What happened in Phoenix is inexcusable and must never happen again at any VA facility.

This bill contains language which will allow the Secretary to fire people immediately who are doing -- who are underperforming or lying. It gives number 21 day period of appeal without pay during that period.

One more second. I wanted to paraphrase. Tell me if I am misquoting. I do not have it in front of me, but when we were debating this bill on the floor, the Senator said--we were talking about emergency funding--something to the effect of…

The issue of money in politics has been raised at this hearing with the suggestion that environmental folks are pouring huge sums of money in and I would argue that their money is being dwarfed by the industry.

I will tell you just in one area, in Vermont we have put some money, Federal money into weatherization.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, in 2013 the oil, gas and coal industries invested at least $170 million in lobbying the Federal Government.

I find that is really remarkable that one of my Republican colleagues would dare to raise the issue of campaign finance and the amount of money folks are putting into the political process.

I would also add that I find it remarkable that some of my Republican colleagues in this debate have expressed a deep concern about the needs of low-income people and the elderly.

I suspect your point is that once industry gets moving in terms of sustainable energies, et cetera, we can be a leader in providing that technology.

Finally, the truth won out. And the truth will win out on this debate as well.

If we cannot accept what the overwhelming majority of scientists are taking, and there is no more debate, the overwhelming majority of scientists are saying, A, climate change is real, climate change is caused by human activity, climate…

And if we do not get our act together by significantly reducing carbon and methane emissions, that situation will only get worse.

That is not really a debate any more. And that we have a major political party that is rejecting that is extremely frightening.

Our job is to transform our energy system, work with countries around the world to reduce carbon and to help save the planet.