I made a pledge to many of our Iraqi and Afghan veterans coming home that I would never leave a Chamber of Commerce or Rotary meeting without telling them they need to hire veterans.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

If we are not working with the spouses and the families, we often lose a lot of the resources.

But when our men and women transition from the battlefield to the civilian world, they often find that their skills are not understood by civilian employers.

Ultimately, the VA and the Labor Department are organizations of people, and those in leadership roles will shape their cultures as well as their policies.

We are now ramping up and we have a number of folks coming home. It will impact next year's budget. It certainly will impact budgets in the out years, so we need to have an honest figure on that.

Well, it is a big challenge, but I am really glad that you are going to take that on because I think there are a lot of opportunities left simply because the two groups--veterans and the people who employ veterans, our private…

I think we can all agree that our veterans are best served when the VA and Congress work as partners.

Thank you for your leadership in sponsoring S.635. We look forward to working with you and your staff to advance this important bill.

Thank you for your leadership in sponsoring S.635, which would designate a segment of Illabot Creek in Skagit County as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Salmon are a way of life in Washington state and their protection is critical to our heritage, our culture, and our economy.