Patty Murray

There is no question that a perfect storm of Wall Street greed, irresponsible mortgage lending, and uninformed decisions by borrowers are at the heart of our economic crisis.

Senator Murray, I'd like to thank you in particular for raising the temporary loan limits up to help us move this market forward during this housing crisis.

I supported that. I thought it was the right move.

The Marine Corps deems the end strength of the Reserve Component is adequate.

If an additional TRICARE Retiree Medical Benefit can be offered that covers this 'gray area'...

Gentlemen, each of you has a full time support entity within your organization.

What efforts will the Army National Guard undertake to quickly implement this new provision?

It is a great program, and I want to commend you for doing that.

So we have made some progress, but there is lots of work left to do, so don't take our eye off the ball, right?

I also have a continuing concern about the backlog of claims for VA disability benefits.

If you can get it to me, that would be great.

Unfortunately, members of our National Guard and Reserve have little or no access to the BDD program.

I really want to commend you on this effort. I appreciate what you are doing with this...

I really commend you. I think you have made a lot of progress with that, and it is so important because many soldiers I have talked to do not even remember that they were close to a blast.

Despite the real progress that we have made in staffing up the VA, a lot more needs to be done.

I recognize that the implementation of benefits delivery is challenging, but because of the compressed timeline and changes to the payment structure, I look forward to hearing from the VA.

Veterans who have served on our behalf since September 11, 2001, have earned these benefits and they have a right to expect them on time.

I am eager to learn more about the VA's plans to leverage the power of IT to improve the quality and timeliness of our benefits delivery because our veterans deserve no less.

I really appreciate your holding this hearing on IT solutions for benefits delivery at the VA; and I want to thank our witnesses who are here today.

So you have had a lot of conversations and you are hearing that they are interested?

And is that going to apply for security measures related to the Post-9/11 GI Bill?

So it could go either way?

These men and women are coming home and their ability to get a job in the current climate is very tough.

The Army's deployment schedule and adequate care of both soldiers and their families is very important to me.

The time passage of pending Congressional legislation is crucial to implementing the full vision of this project.