David Roe

I talked to one of our school directors in rural Appalachia where I live, 14,000 students, 67 percent free and reduced lunch. He says the kids are not eating, many of them are throwing the food away, kids are leaving there hungry.

That may be stressful and I am very sorry for that family, but it is very stressful on the other end.

There are 24 people that need a job in El Paso, Texas and there is money there to fund it. So why aren't those positions filled?

We should be held accountable for the quality of the work that we do.

But that seems basic to doing your job to me. I mean, to hold someone accountable for their job, I mean, that is not rocket science.

I have been here six years and change on this committee and we have increased the budget 74 percent. It is not money. It is management.

And when you put BS in, you get BS out.

If we are to move this bill forward, I would commit to using the savings from these changes...

I do believe VR&E is constantly improving, and I appreciate the work the VR&E service director...

Shifting Voc Rehab to a paperless system will speed up the application process...

My bill would also encourage and authorize the Secretary to prioritize VR&E services based on need...

One, I'll need to explore more the specifics in this case.

What is the retention problem? When you hire people, there is this huge turnover.

No one is held accountable when these egregious events occur. And it's just business as usual.

If you do that in the private world under a government contract with Medicare, you're in deep trouble in the private world.

That seems a little high. And I wonder why that is, why the administrative costs gobble up more money than the care going to the veteran.

Prompt in the VA in payment is an oxymoron.

I would remind you that under Choice, the providers get paid by the TPAs, and the stipulated requirement in the contract is 30 days.

Why are we using the veterans Choice card? This was to reduce the backlog, not to just provide service for veterans.

I must agree with my fellow veterans I serve, the program is a joke indeed.

I mean, if I had an evaluation of my practice was that, I would have been making some changes ASAP.

Most of us out there, either veteran physicians or nonveterans, are more than happy to take care of veterans.

I can't imagine why the VA can't write a check. How hard is that to do?

Thank you for your service and I say that as a fellow veteran.

I think the VA has been very slow to respond to the demand.