But I do need to signal to you some major challenges with the transformation initiative proposal that you put forth.

So we need to know what the specific amounts for this year, as we are allocating for a yearlong appropriation bill, what the benefits are, and what kind of flexibility you are asking for.

I thank you for backing the permanent supportive housing approach that was included in the recently enacted HEARTH Act.

I'm very concerned about this, and I know it's impacting my State and a number of other States, and as a result we're working on this legislation.

Congress has struggled for a long time to balance the need to serve as many families as possible with the need to ensure that we are managing the growth in this program's cost.

What we need to see for our oversight and for our appropriations mark this year is what those initiatives are going to cost this year.

That, we know, is going to enable more families to afford housing and provide an important jolt to the housing market.

I'm very concerned about these men and women who are coming home and don't have a job, and where we've left them.

So some tools to make sure you have got some control on it?

You should know that every one from the veterans to the community members, all the Spokane VA employees, to their medical center director, Sharon Hellman: they've all been working very, very hard to make those games a success.

Section 8 tenant-based rental, a critical tool for a lot of our families today.

President Obama signed the HEARTH Act, homeless reauthorization bill, into law.

the President's budget included $17.8 billion in total resources for the tenant-based rental assistance.

Well as you know, our role is oversight, and we are always asked for flexibility, and then we get yelled at for funds that were misused.

What we do not want people to have is the promise of vouchers for a budget that in the future we cannot sustain.

We want to see the idea of supportive housing really which this subcommittee has pushed for a long time.

Today, as our Nation deals with the housing crisis and an economic recession, this discussion takes on an added importance.

I could not agree more with the chair that with flexibility must come accountability.

Foreclosures remain at record levels, fully 32 percent higher than this time last year.

The shortage of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers is one of the most serious workforce challenges our country faces.

We have to think about the future while we are thinking about today.

We want it to be good for the warfighter and good for the taxpayer, which leads me to the question of whether a dual buy is a viable option?

Which means other things would be left off the table?

I stand ready to help you do whatever we need to do there to make sure we are ready for that as well.

It is really important to me that our airmen have everything they need to fight our wars overseas, both today and in the future.