As the lead sponsor of the Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act, I was especially glad to see the budget enable the VA to provide additional specialty care for female veterans.

Modernizing our VA into a 21st Century organization is not an easy task.

I think our veterans already paid, and proposals that just simply balance the VA budget on their backs are, you know, as far as I am concerned, dead on arrival.

I believe that all veterans should be able to get the care they have earned.

There would be a real risk to just everyday average families.

Making sure those veterans can access care is one of the many problems we're still struggling to address.

The VA's studies have found that rural veterans are in poorer health than those living in urban areas where care is more accessible.

If you could, because I am concerned about whether or not that is accurate; and if it is, what we are doing to provide outreach and better access for our servicemembers in more rural areas.

Many tell me they have to drive several hours--through snowy and icy conditions in the winter time--just to see their doctor.

We created an Office of Rural Health within the VA to improve the delivery of care to rural veterans.

So this is a real challenge.