service is available to those who cannot afford it or simply do not know about it. and you've already covered the fact those without access to your going to take care of that but there is the other soft component of it also. >> i yield back. >> i think all of the witnesses for attending and answering the question and i thought you all give excellent testimony. without objection all members have five days to submit additional questions for the witnesses were additional materials for the record. the hearing is adjourned and now you can go over to the senate and answer their questions.

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chris mcdaniel, the state senator, the last man standing 11400 more votes than cochran in the primary election. the two facing of tonight. the upshot is calling it, close enough that it will depend upon the turnout in the big counties. and they say also, just a reminder, mississippi counties routinely take electronic pds of results and facts them to state headquarters. here are the results so far with

80 percent of the mississippi precincts reporting. thad cochran the 6-term incumbent with 51 percent of the vote and state senator chris mcdaniel with 49 percent of the vote. here is a new york, the 13th, with charlie rangel. 56 percent of the vote. charlie rangel with 37 percent of the vote. the polls close in new york city at 9:00 p.m. eastern. mississippi new york 7:00 central, 8:00 eastern. live from year to harlem in the headquarters of charlie rangel, we will have his concession of victory speech for you this evening here on c-span2 as well. just a reminder, results throughout the evening at c-span.org and all of the video that we cover tonight you will be able to see throughout the night at c-span.org as well. we are waiting for final results from mississippi. a bit later on also from new york city as well.

while we wait for that we will bring you a meeting today of the two veterans affairs committees, the house and senate have passed separate veterans affairs and health care, veterans' health care bills. today the committees met in a conference committee for the first time and we want to show you some of that beginning with the remarks of the house veteran chairman jeff miller, of florida. just to let you know, those speeches starred in hattiesburg rejectionists to become a we will take you there live. [inaudible conversations] >> good afternoon, everybody. thank you for being here. before we begin i ask unanimous consent that all conferees statements would be added into the record and that all conferees have five legislative days to with -- with which to revise. without objection so ordered.

today we need to begin debate and negotiation regarding the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 3230, the veterans access to care act a little facebook.com/booktv. i am going to recognize myself first and then recognize our co co-chair, center sanders. following that, conferees will be recognized in order of seniority alternating between the house and senate and the majority -- majority and minority bodies. each country will have five minutes at a maximum to make brief remarks. absent conferee will be recognized at the next available slot from his or her chamber. though i recognize that we have a lot to discuss the my would ask everyone to be cognizant of the 5-minute time limit so that each one of us as an opportunity to be heard on this matter. so first time in 15 years at the veterans affairs committee have, in fact, engaged in a formal member conference. i would like to acknowledge senator rockefeller and our

colleague doreen brown as the only to members who participated in the 1999 conference. there are here today. ms. brown is on her way as well. thank you both for your continuous service to the veterans of this great nation. it is also my heart to serve alongside my good friend and chairman of senate seats up -- sanders and ease of u.s. new work to address the longstanding deficiencies that the department of veterans affairs has that has negatively impacted the care provided to america's veterans. by the department's own admission the va health care system is suffering from widespread wrongdoing in a systematic lack of integrity. veterans by the thousands of that left to wait weeks, months, and even years for the care that they have learned and deserved. tragically and intolerable the some of those veterans died before they could receive the care that they're required. for them, the word we began today is too late. but for those veterans still waiting, our work begins on a

moment too soon. the bureaucratic failures that brought us to this point are legion and can only be solved by nothing less than meaningful reform. that reform enacted after close and careful consideration and face-to-face deliberation by both bodies. work done by the house and senate veterans' affairs committee. ensure our nation's veterans have access to high-quality health care and secondly to ensure that va leaders and employees. the work we do in this committee will impact the way in which this committee second-largest bureaucracy operates in the manner in which veterans throughout the country receive needed care for years to come, and they're is no doubt that hard work and tough decisions

await us in the days ahead. however, as those gathered around this bias bring years of experience in the government to of this is the law, medicine, and a variety of other disciplines, some of us are even health care providers. several are veterans, including our friend, senator john mccain, who sacrificed our country. senator -- [applause] center, the gavel that i use over in the house was taken from the deck when the ship was sunk off the coast of pensacola. this is part of the deck of u.s. as the oriskany, should you know very well. [inaudible] >> yes, sir. [laughter] >> all of us share a passion for making the va a better place and a better service. together we will more than meet the challenges ahead of us, be responsive to the needs of both

of our nation's veterans and taxpayers, and we will live up to the example set by those who wear uniform. i am committed to nothing less. i want to thank senator sanders, senator byrd, ranking member, and each one of our esteemed conferees were the work done thus far. the work that remains to come, i look forward to hearing your comments. with that, i yield to chairman sanders for any opening, it's an introduction see may make. >> well, as co-chair of this meeting and as the guy who -- we began by saying, in fairness to our down on the list, i would very much appreciate if all members kept the remarks of five minutes. let me begin by thanking chairman miller and ranking members durbin and all of the members of this committee for their hard work on veterans' issues. despite a very partisan environment here in congress i

am confidence that we as democrats to republicans, and independence will come together to pass the significant pieces of legislation which will address some of the very serious problems currently facing the va. both pieces of legislation, the house bill and the senate bellhop focus on two main issues first, the need to provide access to health care for veterans in a timely manner and then need also for holding dishonest or incompetence senior officials at that va accountable . nobody around this table, i believe, will accept va officials lied about wait times or falsifying data. nobody around this table will accept the fact that on this whistleblowers, people want to improve are having their legitimate concerns ignored. i am pleased that in reality

there are more similarities than differences between the two bills, and i am confident that we can reach agreement that will be satisfactory to everyone and, frankly, that is what our veterans deserve. i think everyone in this room understands that the cost of work does not end when the last shots are fired in the last missile launched. the cost of war continues until the last veteran receives the care and benefits that he/she needs or has turned on the battlefield. war is as everyone here knows, a terribly expensive proposition in terms of human life, in terms of human suffering, and in financial terms. in my strong view if we are not prepared to take care of those men and women who went to war we should not send them to war in the first place taking care of veterans is a cost of war.

in terms of the iraqi in afghanistan and the war of the human cost is almost 700,000 dead, 530,000 seeking care at that va in 2013 for ptsd alone, not to mention those who are struggling with cbi. the cost of war is too many service members coming home with missing arms and legs, lost eyesight, or lost hearing, veterans each and every day dying by suicide, struggling with high rates of divorce, was trying to rebuild lives from losing their husbands, kids growing up in 1-parent homes, and to high rates of unemployment for returning home service members. those are some of the costs of war that none of us should forget. three weeks ago senator mccain and i have together a proposal to deal with the current crises. i think it is fair to say that it is no secret that senator mccain and i am very different

views. is that correct? is that a fair statement? i thank him for working with me, to move this legislation forward and to move it forward expeditiously. the sanders-mccain bill passed the senate with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 93-3. in terms of funding by a vote of 75-19. the senate made it crystal clear that the current crisis in that va is truly an emergency and should be paid for three emergency funding. as everyone knows, and the last four years there has been a significant increase in the number of veterans you will -- the laws and health care and in addition many veterans from world war ii, career vietnam require a greater amount of care as they age. further, recent va audit revealed that more than 15,000 veterans are on too long of waiting lists in order to be scheduled with medical appointments and in addition to that other veterans seeking care

at va who are never even added to the waitlists. this is clearly unacceptable and must be dealt with immediately. i could not agree more. senator mccain when he said on the floor, if they're is a definition of emergency i would say that this legislation fits that. it is an emergency, but our veterans and the men and women who have served our country and it need to pass this legislation and get into conference with the house as soon as possible. i fully concur with what he said. veterans in this country must get quality care at timely manner, and we need to provide the funding that they need to accomplish that goal and to do it in an expeditious as manner apostle. the simple truth of the matter is the deportees more doctors, nurses, mental health providers demanded certain parts of the country more space for growing patient population. in a letter sent on june 17th which was signed by virtually

every major veterans' organization from the american legion, vfw, paralyzed veterans of america, vietnam vets, all groups, this is what they said, protect and preserve the va health care system. any it legislative regulatory or administrative changes designed to respond to the va health access crisis with a temporary or permanent must protect, preserve, and strengthen the va health care system so that it remains capable of providing a full continuum of high-quality, timely health care were all in all the veterans. the letter continues, unless the legislation simultaneously sets va on a path to intelligently health care delivery expanding access and capacity and resources to ensure overall funding matches the current problems to fund the va and veterans will inevitably occur from the veterans organizations, and i agree with that important statement.

in order to address the long waiting time the senate legislation says the veterans threat the country, if you cannot get into a va facility, you will be able to go to a private doctor, community-based, a federally qualified health center, department of defense base store indian health services, and that means that veterans will have access in their community to the health care that they need. this bill also says to veterans who live 40 miles or more from a va facility that if they choose they have the option of seeking care outside of the va. so let me just conclude by saying yes, we are all aware of the problems within the va, and i think we would share some valid criticisms today, but there's one. zero one to make in closing. if anyone in this room thinks that the va is the only health care system in the united states of america that has problems, they would be sorely, mistaken. i don't have to give you their

quotes. 200 to 400,000 people a dying every single year in hostels around the country because of poor errors made by those hospitals or the 45,000 people who die each year because they do not have health care. i think we all those. so my hope is that we can work together in a bipartisan way and develop legislation which strengthens the va so that every veteran in this country who is eligible for va health care get quality care in a timely manner. thank you all. all right. now we are ready to go, and i think we began -- all right, congressman. >> thank you very much, senator sanders. as you heard earlier, it has been well over a decade since lawmakers gathered in conference from our respective committee. this is an historic occasion, and we have an opportunity that, i believe, and responsibility to

deliver a profound changes in a way veterans services are delivered in a timely, safe, high-quality health care way. we are all well aware of the end grovel failures within the veterans administration. just yesterday the systemic problems were compounded when the office of special counsel released findings that to take va to task for not doing nearly enough to act on information provided by its whistle-blowers, we know that this inaction can directly on our veterans. i urge all of us to see beyond the immediate crisis and take this opportunity to have real conversation about how we can fix the va. i hope, as a group, we can put for meaningful reform that positions the department of veterans the administration to provide high-quality, timely, flexible care in the future. we have a responsibility to ensure that the va has the

resources that it needs and most importantly the ability to plan strategically for the future so that the needs of veterans, no matter what age they are or where they serve are met. i am proud how quickly both the house and senate chambers responded to take action in this crisis. however, i do believe that we could have made the amendment that passed in the house much stronger if we included a number of other bills aimed at strengthening performance of comes and accountability within the va and holding of va executives both senior executive service members and titles 38 employees accountable. you look at what happened in phoenix, arizona, florida, some of the other areas, those were title 38 employees that were responsible for that in this performance measure that passed the house and did not cover those employees. i also believe that it is

important for us to look at how we can deliver flexible care for our veterans and their local community. the odds are allowed -- the poor girl was buttressed you receive high-quality care with a built-in support network of family and friends nearby. i constantly hear from veterans in maine how much they love the art program, and i sincerely hope we can grow and expand the program for this conference. will some of the fact that when cbo scores the program they do not score the savings. in maine a long the program has saved well over $600,000 in travel costs, $600,000 in travel costs, which is not considered in the cbo's for. i urge all of us to remember first and foremost that we're doing this for our nation's veterans. these are men and women who put their lives a line day in and day out for our nation and our

freedom. when they made their incredible sacrifice turned a well-deserved benefits that they should be receiving, benefits they do not, do so by working the other in a cohesive -- cohesive a in the spirit of the national goal. we owe them the same as we move toward legislation to help address this health care crisis and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and both chambers to work together in a collaborative ways so that we can get the best legislation to the president's desk for his signature. with that, mr. chairman, i yield back. >> thank you, congressman burr. german sanders, miller, thank you. let me at this time ask unanimous consent to enter into the record the comments. he is sick today and cannot attend. >> without objection. let me say to my colleagues and all we hold everything. we owe everything that they need to be provided.

we are all aware there is widespread systematic failures that played department of veterans affairs health care system. the culture that has developed at va and a lack of management accountability is simply reprehensible. it is becoming increasingly obvious that the cultural problem has taken deep root in va and simply increasing funding will not solve it. in fact, it could prove to only reinforce that culture. reforms are desperately needed within va, and some of these changes cannot be fixed through legislation but must come from within va. undressing cultural problems within va will not provide relief for the roughly hundred thousand veterans experiencing long waits across our nation today. it is now time for us in partnership with the va to begin to repair the damage that has resulted from systematic failure is that undermined the trust that veterans have always placed in the veterans of ministration.

to begin to change the culture at va. there are several reforms we must pursue to ensure veterans have access to timely, quality health care. now, the start of an effective congress and conference comes with accurate numbers. and since ranking member mentioned cbo, let me talk numbers for just a minute. va is basically broken down into two sides, the veterans benefit administration and the veterans of the ministration. last year this congress for this year appropriated $55 billion for a vha, veterans of the ministration. of that $55 billion most members would be shocked to know that 48 percent goes to direct patient care. we are talking about $27 billion of appropriate money goes to the delivery of health care to our nation's veterans. 52 percent goes to administration and other programs that emanates out of

the vh a budget. of that $27 million, start -- 27 billion it is doctors, nurses, the delivery of care for our veterans to the cbo has scored enrolled and active. now, that brings us to the house bill and the senate bill. the house bill was scored as $35 billion per year. and it fully implemented after the two-year term trend 50 billion. $44 billion. basic difference of timing on the wait times, 14 days and 30 days if. i ask my colleagues around this table. is this cbo product that they produce reflective of anything st.? the scoring of a bill that offers limited choice if one of

two things is triggered in the house side, and that is we have either gone past the 30 day established by the va or they live outside of 40 miles from any va facility, be it clinic, outpatient, medical major facility. it would exceed by $7 billion on an annual basis what we spend for the entire delivery system for our nation's veterans. to my colleagues, this is ludicrous. this is impossible for us to even start an intelligent discussion on what we put in legislation and what we have, numbers that aired this grotesquely out of line, let me give you a few more references to this. va estimated of the 8 billion veterans eligible for va but not enrolled, if we pass this legislation that would automatically drop whenever

coverage they have today, be it medicare, try care, private insurance, many who are federal employees, and when they drop that they would immediately go into the va system for two years i want to ask you to stop and think about that for just a second. to a veteran on medicare it will drop their medicare, go into the va for two years and then pay the penalty to get back into parts the medicare? for an employee who has that answer as to whether will drop their insurance and leave their spouse and cover because they see some advantage to being on va? it is estimated that 90 percent of those veterans who are eligible but not enrolled in va have less than 50 percent disability rating. the threshold to wary is va care comes without a copay.

these are individuals who have already made the determination that the covers of thereunder is the best ever said they could have. if not, they would be enrolled in -- they would not be enrolled in the va today. the fact that cbo now says the just the execution of this minor reform legislation it would trigger a million people into a system that does not exist today is just as ludicrous as the 35 or $44 billion price tag that's cbo has put on the bill. cbo determined, as you would imagine, that only 3 percent of their causes attributed to the 40-mile trigger that we put in the senate legislation. in other words, the american veterans around the country that live more than 40 miles from a va facility but, like never some of my colleagues say, when you have got something that makes as much common sense as this that it is less expensive to let them

give local care than it is to a pair reimbursement to a va facility, can we not accommodate veterans was his needs and the taxpayers fiduciary responsibility come out cheaper by doing it? and this is the only place within the cbo's core that they actually agreed that the impact is minimal from a standpoint of the number of people that are affected. it leaves one thing. how could the cbo come to the conclusion that the va was at a point where it could not add any more enrollee's without a massive increase in providers? in other words, the va is full. do not balk. do not come. let me suggest to you that the va just on one may church, primary care panels, sees 1200 patients when non va providers

see 2400 patients. the primary care panel with a non va provider c2500 patients. when we talk about systemic problems, when we talk about cultural changes, this is not targeted at folks that veterans did not see every day. it is targeted at providers that, for whatever reasons within the va, don't conduct themselves at the same rate that non va providers, in fact, experience. i say to my colleagues, i hope that the chairman and the ranking members will challenge cbo on this score. to start this process we need to know exactly what it is that happens when we began to move the dials while the other and to start at the point we have

started because of the score is, in fact a more challenging than anything that i could ever think of. i think the patients of the chairman. >> congressman. >> thank you, and i would like to thank the chairman and ranking members of both the house and senate va committee is for your on this issue. it is an honor to be a member of this committee to manila for to working with you all. a lack of transparency at the va in the very nature of data manipulation and sicker waitlists have made it very difficult to expose the true nature of the problems facing our veterans. there are almost 100,000 veterans living in my district. an effort to find out what they are seeing, have held conference calls with local leaders, spoken directly with the facility directors in denver and colorado springs to evaluate the quality of care, and i have put out a call to veterans to call my office subpoenaed a documents coming hearing from numerous witnesses, sending multiple letters demanding answers as to

my short of all of us have, and i have supported legislation to support fee-based parent to give that va leaders more flexibility to fire negligent employees. first the va attempted to downplay the significance and extent of the problem. only through the efforts of whistle-blowers, brave individuals from across the country that taking great risk to expose the truth, has the depth of the issues that the va come to light. subsequently, the answer and va office of inspector general report validated these was lower claims and has labeled them as systemic. yesterday that va bimonthly access data show the electronic waitlist for the va medical center in denver that provides care for many of my constituents had more than doubled since the last report just two weeks ago. this problem is not getting better rewards. we cannot kicks this can down the road. we cannot simply seek to create an assembly line at its veterans in and out faster without regard to the quality of care. ultimately, we must focus on

changes that you're better health care are cause for our veterans through timely access to quality care. order to achieve this there are multiple items that have to be addressed. obviously we have paved the way for the va to use non va care to expand veteran excess ink to the current backlog, but we cannot just fix the problem by simply throwing more money and a. the va as have more medical care funding mendicants been during each of the last four fiscal years. to include over $1 billion as recently as 2010. and they carry over of this year before dipping into those funds for the current accelerating access to care initiative. this has lead to multiple testimony of many that witnesses who have noted the biggest issue is not a lack of funding but a lack of accountability. for this reason the legislation must hold individuals accountable will fail to meet performance standards and

oversee mismanagement and neglect. the perverse incentives that have led to the manipulation of scheduling data and secret lists must be eliminated. and the incentive going forward must have an impact on improving patient satisfaction out comes a performance and productivity. finally, our ultimate project to protect was the largest afford to protect -- to see the cut the truth. the last thing they should fear is retaliation. we cannot simply seek to create an assembly line that gives veterans in and out faster without regard to the quality of care. ultimately our efforts must lead to changes that yield better health care outcomes for our veterans. that is more important than metrics. this is what our veterans have earned, and they deserve nothing less. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you. senator rockefeller. >> i think both the chairman very much as well as the ranking members.

it's been 15 years since we did this, which is not a very happy statement in and of itself. it is a long time. anybody here remember the names -- the name jennings randolph? anybody? [laughter] >> yes. >> you do? could. i took his position on this committee in 1985 and have been here ever since. i became chairman in 1993, and i want to give a little bit of context to some of this, how we have poured tea for torture the hour-long. we were faced immediately with unresolved ellis questions coming out of the persian gulf. and so we started having hearings on gulf war illness. and the soldiers were told, men

and women, to take something which had not been approved by the fda for use on animals, much less united states military personnel. we had a lot of meetings and a lot of fights that are still going on. nothing has been totally resolved. at that time veterans were told and probably to some extent still are that the elements are in their head and, so this become a taken aspirin and go on my sleeping off. it is amazing to me that the government can allow something like this to happen. it was a very special, painful experience for a lot of los. then we moved on -- actually began with -- the first thing we do when i got here was atomic veterans died from radiation in

terms of exploding bombs in various places from the second world war, during the second or, later we worked on veterans suffering from the effects of agent orange. i think we will all remember the powerful testimony and how that testimony virtually turned the entire argument around, as his son had contracted cancer from agent orange. and then the sense it when we have heard from soldiers. so everything has a history. everything is hard. i do not think anything underscores the vital need for services today in the veterans a ministration more than ptsd. simple word, so vastly complex, so lastly attacked. we did not seem to be able to make enough progress on ptsd.

people suffer horribly. you go back, and listen. no press, no staff, listen to veterans. then veterans themselves and their sheer terror of them explaining their experiences. nobody except you and eight ptsd sufferers and discussing what they found that they had found themselves doing in horror, pushing children sitting on their lash softly away from them so they would not hurt them, not being sure what their reaction would be. i mean, the herd is so astounding and so heartbreaking and yet we are still working on it. there is more work to be done. in vermont. i and a cousin who was killed recently who was very much a

part of that. i see all of this as unacceptable, but i want to be absolutely clear in what i am saying. we need to improve the va, not tear it down. and the gentleman indicated we need accountability and money, when the bells. you cannot kate pediatricians, clinical psychologists or anyone else to come and serve their nation the way that the veterans the mental health issue is overwhelming and not well understood. it is so deep. you know, going through what john mccain did, how do you possibly a understand all this? if i have learned anything it is that we need to listen to veterans and respond simply to what their needs are. in some ways it is not that complicated, and i just don't want us to do what we have done

to so many of his generation's of veterans, complaints, the guy in a wheelchair sitting before us in my very first veterans during talking about what it was like to die from cancer that he got because he went into radiation area. >> thank you very much. congressman. >> i think the chairman very much and also would like to thank everyone in this room for their dedication to serving veterans on our respective committees. as i said last night in the hearing, for the veterans that get in there, they can get good care. this committee has the opportunity to elevate that to great care. i think that is one of our goals i see this as two basic problems, one is a backlog which is easily fixable i find it

almost incomprehensible that people would place people, veterans, any patient in a delayed status and then gain. it is unbelievable. i am a veteran. i served in the second united states infantry division in 1973 and '74 in korea. senator mccain, thank you and the other veterans around this table for your service. i spent about two weeks ago 30 minutes, and that was enough for me. i also was a physician and the medical corps and practiced in the private sector for over 30 years. believe i gained a unique knowledge at the capacity of any hospital topper efficiently. many to take a look at those practices and, with a way to streamline efficiencies to allow doctors to see more patients. as was stated, each va doctor

should be seen at least as many as we see in the private side. there are private systems that have stepped up already. in 72 hours i will see any veteran on a primary care or specialty council, 72 hours. it took them less than a week to do that. practices are now ready to do the same thing. another example of the time it takes a veteran guinea's damage to miso right here in washington d.c. a veteran in january in needed to be seen, did not get scene, five months later its income has a retinal tear will produce some of the vision in his eye. now, we all heard stories like this. no matter how much the private-sector wants to help, they can't do it unless they get prompt payment from that va, and sometimes i talk to providers of the taken a year to be paid for services that they provided.

you can't except -- expects the private sector to shore up the va if you don't pay them for it. there's a simple way to do this. you allow this and senator mccain have this idea several years ago to allow veterans to go out and see me as a patient, as a medicare patient. it is simple. it is not a complicated deal. if the veteran is low-income and cannot pay the copay, the va can cover that copay and medicare could cover the rest. we can do this for veterans easily. also for this bill to be fiscally responsible we have to be sure and careful that we open va up. i don't need to be on va care. i can provide for myself, have adequate health insurance as a veteran and do not need to be in line. there are many of us, millions of us out there feel exactly the same way. i do not think we can afford to expand coverage to every veteran right now, and i really truly believe this. the bottom of my heart. join more money in a system

behaving like this would be the wrong thing to do. we have to change this system the way it is currently working kamal we will make the problem worse. the backlog we can fix. we have to face the culture. i've said this a couple of weeks ago there will alleviate. the right answer to that question, and will work for veterans. that is not what she would get on most campuses. i really appreciate the separate entity that everyone around this table has. we have been given a unique in our virginity to change a system for decades to come. any to do this right. i look forward to working with each and everyone of you said to that. >> thank you, chairman sanders, miller, i appreciate everyone's got to want to particularly agnon's senator mccain, a

decorated hero for military, veterans to really rolled up their sleeves in the synod and saw to it that we got a product out of there. -- center cobourg who is a practicing physician and an absolutely committed oversight member of the senate who brought about a lot of great solutions and hopefully there will be in the final product. very much support the accountability. rivera support the choice but i also think we all need to recognize that while it is an emergency, overtime the solutions will cause permanence and we have to be sure we're paying for them. i made a comment the other night that i have always been that city of for not doing dynamic scoring. this is a dynamic expenses. ranking member has made some excellent observations that we need to work on.

we need to make sure we are committed to doing the oversight necessary so that the coach or corruption becomes a culture of accountability to our veterans who have served and because of their service where earlier today in this committee. my personal experience with the accountability and oversight at the va took place in august of last year when i called the hearing in atlanta because of the three suicides that it's taken place. we had to end a half-hour hearing. everyone was there but secretary kitchen psyche. fox carry it on tv, and all the sudden things are changing. a recent report that called about six months ago showing a marked improvement atlanta's made in terms of accountability, transferring people weren't doing the job, tracking down veterans, particularly those of middle of the pudding in the security necessary to see to it. drug overdoses that happened in the past seven the past.

most hospitals use the change can take place. you could take a culture of corruption important as we finish this and make a report and as we pass a bill that hopefully deals directly with these problems let's make sure we don't go home and turn out the light and say, we have another job next week. hormel on the job -- we have the job of honor ship of oversight that veterans' health care is the best it can be not just today but every day. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator. harassment. >> midafternoon. thank you for the work if you have been doing and think the ranking members. it is an honor to serve on this conference committee in the wake of reports of misconduct within the va learning that so many of our veterans are now receiving

the care that they needed time and manner, allegations that some veterans may have died as a result of long wait times and that those steps may have been covered up. look forward to us working together to pass a bill that will give to our veterans access to the health care that they need and deserve. it is to that any solution must include accountability measures 44 employees and improve the age a scheduling practices text that appointments to prevent future abuse and provide our veterans with timely access to quality care. it is also clear especially in light of yesterday's allegations about cover-ups that we need to reevaluate the culture at the va and take steps to instruct the department surely is that trend-centric. our goal should be to strengthen the va of health care system, not dismantlement to about dismantle it by and large in health care systems. veteran said they're happy with the care. final legislation should break down the barriers that we

learned about in our hearings. we must also remember that what works for one reason of the country will not necessarily work for all. giving veterans the opportunity to seek non va health care may be a solution in areas where private care is plentiful. industry such as mine, however, our we have a shortage of health providers i am not sure how much of a difference will make. in fact, every member of this conference committee represents countess of service areas and populations to our health facilities other those admitted as primary care, mental health by the department of health and human services. for primary care, that means the physician-people ratio is one to more than 3500. for mental health, especially we all know is critical for veteran populations, that ratio is one psychiatrist to more than 30,000. furthermore, the va internal audit found that front-line staff members said that the

single biggest barrier to care was a lack of providers lots which is why i believe increasing the va capacity should be a key component to a final legislation. yesterday as a representative's titus and torque, fellow members of the house veterans' affairs committee in introducing legislation that would increase the number of residencies drawing the ability to care for veterans. i hope that this committee's final resolution will include modifying with from the senate amendment section on health care provider recruitment and apartment based upon the bill to establish new residency positions at va hospitals. finally, as we expand choice for veterans to non va providers, we must insure that there is continuity of care. non va provider should maintain electrical systems through a system that is in trouble with the va system, we should a courage that. we know too well issues caused

by the disconnect between the department of defense and the va electronic all systems. i do not want to see that mistake repeated as we encourage more non va care. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. >> thank you. senator murray. >> thank you very much, mr. mr. chairman. believe when it comes to caring for our nation's euros we cannot accept anything less than excellence. so will the department generally offers very high quality health care and as many things well, i am frustrated to be here once again talking about these deeply disturbing issues and allegations. it is extremely disappointing the department as repeatedly fail to address wait times for health care. the gao and the inspector general's report on the staff -- problems many times over the year and last congress will give a great deal of work around wait times, particularly for mental health care learning and that the va has no reliable marker

way of knowing if there providing timely access to mental of care, and i think that va is starting to see the business as usual is unacceptable. i am glad to be serving in this conference committee. calling for formal conference committee is a rare step on veterans' issues, and i think that shows us of your the problems facing the va our endows serious numbers are about fixing them. there have been major bipartisan efforts about the house and senate to move legislation addressing these problems. many of the members here been part of those efforts, and i commend the mall for their commitment to buy partisanship and putting the needs of our veterans first. i personally want to thank chairman sanders and senator mccain for all the work the debt of the last few weeks to get this year. i appreciate your working with you over those weeks and looking forward to seeing where we can make compromises in order to pass abela begin insuring veterans get the care they need and deserve

. this shows how serious we are not getting the heart of this matter and addressing this critical issue. working with you over the last years to my knowledge how dedicated you are when it comes taking care of our veterans, and i really appreciated. it is vital we continue to build on that bipartisan momentum to address some of the media accountability and transparency concerns playing the va and fix these deep-seated structural and cultural changes. the bill before us as important provisions of a help us address the complex problems. first and foremost, caring for veterans is a commitment we make as a nation when we go to work. our service members have sacrificed so much, and we need to make sure that their country is there for them when they come on, no matter what it takes. i know that members have a wide range of concerns and how to work with everyone to address these concerns responsibly and in a way that puts our veterans

first and gives the va the tools that they need to address the challenges that we face. that means building and strengthening the va system so that it delivers the best care with a long-term so that is is very important to act quickly to start making these changes and as more problems are uncovered and as the investigations proceed we will need more action from the va, from the administration, and from this congress because the government made a promise to the men and women to enter the call of duty and one of the most important ways we have to a poll that is by making sure veterans can access the health care that they need and that the object of -- deserve. thank you very much, mr. chairman. >> thank you, congresswoman. >> i think he to the members of this compass for joining us. i am humbled the server of this congress committee working to finalize legislation to help our nation's veterans. but military men and women returned to civilian life real it to them to keep a promise and

provide them with the care and benefits services. as we all know, the va health care system has been plagued with poor performance and an unresponsive bureaucracy. because of the this functional culture over 57,000 veterans of have to weigh over three months to receive the first medical appointment, initially nearly 64,000 veterans never receiving the request department. having just one veteran denied an apartment or having to wait longer than necessary for basic lifesaving care is an acceptable we must focus on creating a more accountable va with a small bureaucracy committed to putting the care of our nation's veterans first. as original cosponsor of the veterans access to care act i am pleased to see this legislation been closer to reality. this provides those veterans waiting for care the abilities to see a doctor or health care provider outside the va health care system immediately and make sure that your veterans suffer as a result of the va inability to provide timely care. has been disheartening to learn

that va has been failing to do its primary job in the veterans are suffering because of the misconduct and mismanagement. i like fourth to a positive solution on the bicameral legislation regarding the ability of va management. believe the new secretary only the tools to cut through the red tape. the culture at the va has clearly lost its way an as needed leaders that can restore core values of integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect demand excellence. it is time to put the interest of america's veterans ahead of the interest of federal bureaucrats so that we can keep our promises to the brave men and women to protect our freedom and liberty. the department is failing to do is primary job to provide the best of chairman of the services to veterans. it is time that the underperforming senior leaders are fired or punished as opposed to the status quo and ignoring mismanagement rewarding

misconduct. our nation's heroes deserve better. alec forward to coming together with fellow conferees to of iron out the differences to ensure veterans receive proper, we care longer term we in congress need to chart a path to build a va for the 21st century, 84 that is focused upon putting veterans first and following core values. this new va should be smaller, more agile, less bureaucratic, more responsive to america's veterans, and a better value to our working american taxpayers. many to adopt a moon shot approach to do this in the near future. thank you and i yield back. >> think you. senator. >> thank you, mr. chairman. chairman miller, is an honor to serve on this committee. thank you, senator kent and senator sanders for your work in shepherding a good bill from the united states senate. i serve this committee for the veterans committee for eight years in the senate have never seen anything but people in both

parties, ranking members, chairs, never colorless but veterans first of both parties, and you should all be commended for that. the congressmen said something that was particularly apt. the care once in that va has been very good for six and a half million american veterans who have been in that system, access to the system is the problem. we have veterans waiting too long for care. many said fix problems. that is why we're here today. for the so-called choice card, we have seen this before. september of 1993, president clinton addressed a joint session of congress. several of you for -- several of you were there that date. president talked reshaping the nation's health care while holding a picard that perhaps looks a lot like the card that we will see, a tourist card you said everyone would receive a

health care security card that would ensure a comprehensive package of benefits of the course of an entire lifetime. instead of privatisation schemes wish to make the va simply better. providing care so that the care and services on mast and the private sector. questions of diverting money from care, questions of medical privacy has veterans would be shuffled between the va, the private sector, and we know what happens over the last ten years, a dozen years ago, how we went to war without paying for it. a dozen years ago we say it failed to scale of veterans services, and in the ensuing decade we have seen because of agent orange, two of agent orange, presumptive eligibility, hundreds of thousands of people demanding and earning services from the veterans of ministration. some have launched what i think is an unfair attack on the vast majority of va employees who are dedicated public service tarnation and veterans. these employees chose a career

serving veterans, many, many of these employees, as you know in each of your districts and each of our states of our veterans themselves, these employees to what the police officers, the claims processor at the cleveland viejo ro, a nurse at an outpatient clinic, these employees are on the frontline of care reducing the backlog and helping to eliminate veterans' homelessness, the ones that center isaacson talks about that try to prevent suicide, the ones to create new ways to serve our veterans more effectively and efficiently. ..

the american people want us to take care of our veterans and their veterans and their families have earned and deserve to be taking care of. they have sacrificed for our country and now our country must sacrifice for them. we are here today at a pivotal moment for the va and for our veterans. we must act decisively and fix

what must be fixed. as i sit here with my colleagues both republican and democrat, i know all of you feel deeply about our veterans and i know that all the future we want to fix the problems currently plaguing the va. i also know that what happened in phoenix was intolerable, that the va must undergo a complete cultural and systemic transformation and that individuals at the va should and must be held accountable for their actions but i also see this terrible tragedy as an opportunity to make real chang changes, an opportunity we must seize, an opportunity for this congress to show the american people that it not only has the will but the way forward to make the va better, to provide the resources are veterans not only need but have earned and to live

up to our purpose. our purpose to serve our constituents, to serve our country and to serve those who have served us. our veterans deserve no less. the american people expect no less and we can do no less. i look forward to working with all of you in good faith and to put aside ideology and partisanship so that we may find the courage to do whatever it takes to seize this moment, this opportunity, this purpose for which we are all here and that is to put it very simply, to help our veterans receive quality care in a timely manner. it is not too much to ask. i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you. >> senator mccain. >> thank you for your kind word and other members i am very perceived above that and i would

like to thank you for that very vigorous discussions and the compromise that we have reached. i would like to thank senator burr for his work and senator coburn and in fact virtually every member of this committee had a role to play and coming about this little solution -- legislation. i think other members have described in moving terms the dimensions of this scandal and this challenge that we face and our obligation to those who have served this nation so i won't go into the details that we all know, including just today i believe are yesterday we found out that allegations again at the phoenix va hospital the records of dead veterans were altered to make the wait times look better. frankly mr. chairman and senator

sanders i don't think that's the last shoe to drop. i'm afraid that there is more and i think it gives us a greater urgency and a greater sense of urgency to act. i would like to just for a second, for a minute say something about the cbo scoring. i think if anybody looks at that scoring with a rational viewpoint that it is wildly inaccurate and i think it's important for all members on both sides of the aisle to really understand how that is a totally unrealistic explanation of the costs involved here. i think we ought to find ways that we campaign for these expenses but i would also argue argue that if there's there is ever such a thing as an emergency it's this issue and i don't know any other obligation

that we have too many of our citizens that is greater. so i appreciate especially the work that dr. coburn did and available today a report today that he is releasing called friendly fire, death and dismay at the va and a study of some of the additional problems that he has overcome. i guess finally i would ask my colleagues who are all going to be going out of session at the end of this week and i hope that we can add a minimum lay out the parameters of what needs to be resolved. i don't think this issue can wait and i appreciate the participation of all members who are here today and i thank my colleagues. >> thank you senator mccain. congressman benishek.

>> thank you chairman miller and chairman sanders. at this conference committee we have been opportunity to enact real solutions at the va, thinks we can accomplish here for our veterans who have given so much for freedom. together we have to fight for them and help ensure that they have the access to the care they have earned and deserve. the va were farm bill passed by the house and the senate represent a historic assault on the culture of complacency and mismanagement at the va. as a doctor who served at the va for 20 years and is the father of a veteran i take this issue personally. our veterans deserve much better than what they have been receiving from this b.a.. whatever our differences may be i believe i'm safe in saying that we all believe that the va must emerge from this process much more responsive to the needs of our veterans. i believe we have two chief responsibilities on this committee. first we have to give the va the tools it needs to succeed to

institute real lasting accountability. second that provide immediate care for for all her veterans have been forced to wait too long as well as those who live long distances from va facilities. we need to put the va on a path to permanent success. this cannot happen without a detailed look at what exactly went wrong and a strong plan for accountability moving forward. we know that many of the front-line care providers are some of the best out there and we know that layers upon layers of bureaucracy are keeping these care providers from doing their job. but much more is yet to be uncovered. a key component of the house bill lays out a detailed independent assessment to be carried out by a private-sector contractor. this contractor must have the knowledge of the va system and most importantly the best health

care delivery practices of the private sector. we should be tapping the best health care minds that they have in this country to go step-by-step through the va system and write a blueprint for the lien smart 21st century va that serves our veterans. though isolated reports have been done in the past focusing on specific problems this reform should be a historic opportunity to look at the veterans health administration as a whole and compare it directly to the highest performers in the private sector. there is much we need to know. we need to know exactly why past attempts at implementing physician staffing standards have failed. we need to understand the business reasons for making improvements that are veterans deserve and there's no opportunities for veterans to receive care outside the traditional pa system we need to ensure that va will properly collect the resources owed to them not continue to put money

on the table that could reinvest in veterans care. the house language helps address these issues but no more needs to be done. i'm just not comfortably will get the information we need and the goals accomplished if we don't look outside the va to proven leaders in the health care industry. before we get to planning for the future however immediate steps need to be taken to get our veterans off waiting list and into exam rooms. on this basic point of both the house and the senate agree. i believe we can do this in a responsible effective way and i don't want veterans to have to jump through hoops to qualify to see their local doctor. our veterans have been through enough. no longer should they returned from fighting the enemy justifying themselves in a brawl with the va bureaucracy printer languages written me to wait for the va to put them on and actually listen and wait for 14 or 30 days on that list before they are eligible to begin looking for private-sector care

and we haven't done our job here. if the authority we grant the va looks eerily similar to the authority that they are to have but choose not to use we could be risking being in a situation all over again. the authority has to be specific and clear. veterans can't be allowed to wait endlessly on lists anymore. the va has to be forced to streamline this process. of course both the items this afternoon will only be effective if the va is held accountable in the future. i fully support the accountability provisions for ses employees and the house bill and appreciate the senate bill leads in that direction as well. however they're more questions to answer. when the va concurs with an inspector general recommendation who is responsible for following through? when action is taken when manager fails to address the issues raised by the ig wire they still getting bonuses if they don't comply?

thank you mr. chairman. both of your chairman nye thank you for your continued leadership and i look forward to working with you. >> thank you. senator tester. >> as everybody has said it's truly an honor to be here with you today with you all. as i know you all go back to your home state and i go back to montana the per-capita second highest in the country only second to alaska in the number of veterans that live there and they give me an earful when i go back every weekend and listen to them. they are upset for all the reasons that were stated here today. but i also like what was said. one member said improved the va, don't tear down down another members to do with the backlog of view of the culture. thank you for that. deal with best practices. these should be giving us an prompt payment for private-sector providers is critically important but i think we also need to be careful. i think we are not going to be

able to increase recruitment of us who put something on put something on the line and i think we have to be taking caps-off the student loan program for nurses and doctors and i think that could help with recruitment and make no mistake about it or krugman is a problem. i live in rural/frontier american i can tell you that private providers don't have dogs either so we have to figure out how to solve this problem and i think moving the caps is one that can help with that commitment. the project is mentioned by the ranking member on the house side is a program that senator mccain supports an i.d. to match. i hope we can fund a program. it's been a successful program has been a program that has worked very well as a pilot project and we need to make it real. now i want to talk about the 40-mile access rule in the bills. i think we talk about the number of patients that are seen in the va versus the private sector and i would say this. we have to be careful not to make this an assembly line.

many of these folks have issues that the private private-sector patients do not have and they need time and i think if we are running them in and out like cattle we are going to create the problem and not going to help the health care veterans. the other thing i would like to say is that when it comes to mental health providers i think we have one east of billings to the border. that's about 250 miles and there's a lot of veterans in there so the private sector doesn't have any private providers either. we have to figure out ways to meet veterans needs because we all know mental health issues are the number one entry coming out of iraq and afghanistan and the last thing and it's very important is we need to continually analyze if we do this program its effectiveness, not only to the veterans but the effectiveness for the taxpayer. there is no ifs, ands or buts about that. if that treatment is an significantly better we have a problem. i want to thank the chairman and ranking member once again and i

yield back my time. the thing you meant. congresswoman kirkpatrick. >> taint thank you chairman sanders and chairman miller and i want to personally thank our senior senator from arizona john mccain for his hard work on this issue. my colleagues on the house veterans affairs committee have heard about so many issues that plagued the va in hearing after hearing. the latest report from the office of special counsel reports of additional coverups in the phoenix va and reports of retaliation against whistleblowers are damning and only increase the urgency for this committee to act quickly and adopt a version of the senate's expansive reform legislation. we can address these issues now by agreeing to an expansive reform rather than piecemeal legislation that only addresses some of the problems. we can enact comprehensive legislation that does more. sleeping where format the va can

start today. last night i asked our va witness at the va was capable of innovation. they said yes. we must demand innovation in the va bypassing comprehensive reforms. we can solve the patient access problem stop the deceptive appointment scheduling practices mandate transparency and hold va employee's economy by adopting comprehensive reform. we can empower the va to transform itself into a world-class health care system. my top priority is solving the va access to care crisis. our veterans must receive timely world-class care now and in the future so that we never again face another patient access crisis in the va. we can do this in two ways by solving the va's own access and capacity problems and by

expanding access to nonva care. >> where reading is because results are coming in from seven states when voters went when voters went to the polls today including new york where congressman charlie rangel has the democratic primary in the 13th district. >> gregory meeks in the house. apopka and senator bill perkins in the house. [applause] i am not going to keep you from all of what you all came from -- came for and that is congressman john d. rangel. [applause] ♪

[chanting] >> right behind me and not back i really came down a little earlier like i promised. there are people and friends here. [inaudible] [applause] my wife and i had the same

anticipation about this race as all of you do so we don't need a whole lot of numbers. people and cultures from all over. one of the things -- one of the things said over 40 years our congressional district --

[inaudible] [inaudible] i believe even although votes are not in the sea people are really looking for somebody from one particular place. [applause] [chanting] >> so basically when people say how fortunate i have been back

home the amount of resources that we need an economic development back home was already organized. more often than not we have the support of the congressional delegation. we have had the support of the mayor and the governor and to all of those people in politics it's much easier to negotiate agreements on behalf of your constituents when you have national support. and that is what this election is all about. who can walk into the national arena with the most friends and the most support with enough problems to understand mind that i think we are getting closer and closer to getting that decision but we don't have it now. quite frankly i have so many political advisers.

[applause] and then i thought i remember when i used to be a political adviser. while we were upstairs separate from you i said what the heck let's -- [applause] i am convinced that there is nobody here there regrets anything we have done. we have brought the community together and there's one thing i can be clear on our community and the congressional district of the 13th district they have one.

[applause] and if you can just have the cameras sweep over. republicans never die. [laughter] they just breakaway. so i would advise some of the heavier people on this stage, some of the heavier people that don't need the television cameras safety over ego and i think we will be wrapping up and i don't know what this suggests to you because we know, my wife and i are going to stay over

until the last vote is counted. you can depend on that. maybe i can get some information for those people from the press on what percentage of the vote you have reported. do you have any information like back? what percentage? 70%. do you know what precinct location they are? pass on what she is saying please or get the beautiful lady and mike. what i'm trying to determine i is -. >> is 28%.

>> 48-43 now? >> 80 precincts reporting. >> i think most of us are concerned since all of us believe we are in some kind of politicians as to which areas have the votes been recorded. now if there is anyone that has any special knowledge that can only come from the board of election, we can make this a little shorter than we intended. and so while they are on the phone trying to find out the basic thing is that from what information we have -- 43 and what percentage is then? and 80% so means 20% are out. 20% are out and we are out.

i don't like all this declaring but mostly we don't remember what happened to do we when he declared victory. there is nothing i would say any differently except the election is historic in the changes have taken place in america and i think it shows that we are going to have to work together if we are going to move forward together. there is no better congressional district in the country that can show what we can do when we are working together. if you take a look at this mosaic in this room every religion, every color no matter where you were born we were here to win for families or community and for our country.

49, 42. >> you have 12 more at. >> it okay could one of the political advisers say at what point do you accept a victory or remain humble until -- charlie king, put up your hand. he is scared to death i'm saying the wrong thing. where is the? do you see him? charlie i can't see you but virginia can. is it time to make some announcement or to continue? what should i do? let everyone go home with a victory party or wait until the results come in? a couple more minutes?

okay. is that andrews from a charter school's? is at andrews over there with a yellow hat? is that bob loves? he said stop doing all that stuff. 49-42. it's on hold, 49-42. >> we will leave charlie rangel and his supporters in new york and get back to them. we want to to take elijah jackson mississippi. the winner in that runoff six term senator thad cochran. [applause] >> thanks. thank you very much. thank you congressman gregory harper and thank you all for being here to help celebrate a great victory. if this is your day. [applause]

it's been a real pleasure working closely with so many of you make in appearances and towns all across mississippi, being in church services with gregory harper, attending meetings that were important to talk about the future of our state and what we have tonight as a consent's for more and better jobs for mississippi workers. [applause] military force and defending the military of the united states of america. [applause] those were our principle planks in the platform for the campaign

but you are the ones who helped reach all the voters. make sure that we knew that they were important to this election because it's a group effort. it's not a solo and so we all have a right to be proud of our state tonight. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you for this wonderful honor and wonder for a challenge that lies ahead. thank you very much. [applause] [applause] [chanting]

[applause] >> the lieutenant governor, he's a trooper and a wonderful friend. ♪ ♪ >> mr. tzipi senator thad cochran coming from behind to win the runoff race against mississippi state senator chris mcdaniels three weeks after their primary contest where the incumbent senator had lost by 1400 votes. he wins by six or 7000 votes in a strong turnout in mississippi. we are going to open up our phone lines on c-span2 up on her campaign coverage to hear from you about the recent mississippi and we are also waiting to hear from chris mcdaniel and his comments in hattiesburg mississippi. here the numbers to call for for

republicans to 025-85-3881 and democrats democrats (202)585-3880 and for mississippi residents we have set up a line for you and that is 20 that is 2-025-855-3882 and you can also get to us on twitter and the hashtag is c-span. we will look at some of that as well. we are waiting to take you live to hattiesburg mississippi to campaign headquarters for state senator chris mcdaniel. we have also been showing if they charlie rangel rally. he came out even though that race had not been declared quite yet. it is almost ready to be called charlie rangel up by five or six points in the 13th district. in new york city winning his primary payer on his way to winning the primary in new york city. back in mississippi we are joined on the phone by politico reporter james hohmann who has been watching the results from

mississippi. james hohmann what was the difference this time around? he lost to chris mcdaniel by 1400. >> this is a really remarkable come-from-behind victory and there's a lot of credit to go around to the republican establishment which really mobilized in a big way. there was talk after the june 3 primary that it's been 30 years since there has been higher turnout in the runoff of the senate race than the original primary. it would have been very easy for the party in the u.s. chamber and republican senate committee to save this was a wonderful race and to save their resources but they pushed in a couple million bucks and had a lot of stuff to help out and cochran was able to successfully mobilize voters who did not show up three weeks ago including

african-americans more moderate type voters who they were able to get to see this runoff as essentially for all intensive purposes the general election. and. >> james hohmann we will put you on hold for one moment and take our viewers live to hattiesburg mississippi to hear from chris mcdaniel. [applause] [applause] [applause] [chanting]

[chanting] >> ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen thank you so much for staying and i pretty want to share if you are trickier and introduce a friend of mine that most of you know. i will tell you this, one time we are sitting down early in her career and chris said you know i am a fighter. i am a fighter. [applause] and if you are going to fight you walk in do you pick the biggest man in there and you punch him right in the nose. [applause] and i will be doggone if that

wasn't what he did. ladies and gentlemen don't be deceived tonight. amongst conservative mississipians this is -- mr. mcdaniel won tonight. [applause] i firmly believe that and it's not over. [applause] because the end of that story where chris said you'd go in a the room and the biggest guy there and he finished the story and he said the new see what happens so we will hang around and see what happens. [applause] he is a fighter. he is a conservative. he is my friend. he is the republican nominee for the united states senate. chris mcdaniel. [applause]

[applause] [applause] >> all right, okay. let me say this. let me just say this. we had a dream and that dream is still with us. [applause] for too long we have stood by and we have watched strange things happen. for too long conservatives have needed a voice someone to stand

for them and someone to fight for them. you are that voice. you are that voice. the party i was born with the party i joined when i was 13 years old was the party of a m man, a former actor from california named ronald reagan. [applause] one afternoon my father called me into the room and he said listen you have got to watch this. you have got to see what this man is saying and they are on the tv was this former actor from california and he looked right at me pretty looked right at my father but he was really speaking to an entire nation and he said things things to us that intuitively makes sense. he talked about liberty and freedom. he talked about balanced budge budgets. he talked about traditional values and personal

responsibility and my father looked at me and he said sun son, we must be republicans. and indeed we were and are. that is the party i joined. that is the party i have always been a part of. it was a party of principle at one point, a party of courage at one point. it was reagan that said we will be a party of bold colors, not pastels. and yet there are millions of people that feel like strangers in their own party. [applause] it appears the different wings have not yet come to a conclusion. i want to be very very clear, there was nothing dangerous or extreme about wanting to balance the budget. [applause]

there was nothing dangerous or extreme about defending the constitution and the civil liberties therein. [applause] and there is nothing strange all of the outstanding as people of faith for a country that we have built, that we believe in. [applause] but there is something a bit strange. there is something a bit unusual about a republican primary that is decided by liberal democrats. [applause] so much for bold colors.

so much for principle. i guess they can take some consolation in the fact that they did something tonight but once again compromising, by once again reaching across the aisle, by once again bending the conservative movement. [applause] i would like to know which part of that strategy today our republican friends endorse. i would like to know which part of that strategy today our statewide officials endorse. this is not the party of reagan. but we are not done fighting. [applause]

we have fought too long. we have fought too hard to have a voice in this party and today the conservative movement took a backseat to liberal democrats instead of mississippi. and the most conservative state in the republic this happened and if it can't happen here it can happen anywhere. and that is why we will never stop fighting. [applause] the people of this state are the most incredible loving hospitable people i have ever been around. traveling the quarters of this state for the last several months has been the honor of my life. this was a fight we needed to have. this was a fight that had to

happen for the very reasons you saw tonight. for the very reasons you saw tonight. we will find our backbone again. we will find the conscience of we conservatives again and we are going to force our party to find that conscience as well. i want to thank you for being there for me. i want to thank you for standing with me. they have called me everything in the book. millions of dollars to character assassinate one of their own. or so it seemed, or so it seemed and that's okay. that's okay. that's okay, i'm still standing. i'm i am still standing. [applause]

we live in the greatest country in the history of the world. there's no question about that. it is and always is a mid-of barbarism and cynicism and we conservatives have a responsibility to keep it that way. we are going to stand for those early principles. we are going to stand for our founders. we are going to stand for the lessons of reagan even sometimes when it's difficult. even sometimes when those within our own party shunned us or ostracize us or ridicule us. we were right tonight. we were right tonight. [applause] so thank you. as you know today folks there were literally dozens of irregularities reported all across the state and you know why. you read the stories. you are familiar.

you are familiar with the problems that we have. now it's our job, now it's our job to make sure that the sanctity of the vote is upheld. therefore this race and we have to be absolutely certain that the republican primary was won by republican voters. [applause] [applause] and so we will stand with courage. we will stand with judgment. we will stand with integrity and we will stand with dedication. this is our fight conservatives. it's necessary.

it's necessary alone but we are not prone to surrender we mississippians. [applause] a strong and sturdy people we are. a brave people we are. if people that still can lead this conservative revival in this country and will lead the resurgence. that begins right here in mississippi. god bless you all. this has been a great night. thank you for being here. we will see you soon. [applause] [applause] [applause]

♪ [applause] >> thank you all. >> thank you. >> three weeks ago in the mississippi primary state senator chris mcdaniel beat incumbent senator pat mcdaniel by 1400 votes but it went to a runoff tonight. the polls closed three hours and 45 minutes ago. the result tonight was different but very very close, 51% basically about going to that cochran and 49% to chris met danielle and senator cochran wanting -- winning by a little over 7000 votes.

back to your phonecalls on c-span2 has her campaign 2014 coverage continues. we have been talking with james hohmann of politico on the phone with us in his comments chris mcdaniel said there something a bit unusual about a republican primary decided by liberal democrats. what did he mean by that? >> it was kind of a remarkable speech because he didn't acknowledge cochran and didn't concede. think their bitter feelings that cochran didn't play by the rules in his view and because you was able to mobilize african-american voters and adults in mississippi and a lot of potential democrats who had not not voted into june 3 primary. this is the first time in 30 years where you have higher turnout than a runoff than the original primary. a lot of those people that were not traditionally republican and i think cochran is upset because

the -- that he was going to end. >> the turnout was high for mcdaniel maybe 50 or 60,000 additional voters out there and also a lot of money was spent not just by the campaign campaigns but by outside political groups on this race and people like sarah tail end came to the state and talkshow host laura ingram came to this day. why didn't their message take hold in mississippi? >> i think it did take hold to some degree but it shows the republican party is closely divided. he didn't shy away from his support for earmarks or protect military installations. he talked all that up and talked up his seniority. that did appeal to eight old-school republican voter. on the other hand his ted cruz

style republicanism appeal to another part of the party. it a show that republicans really are divided and the republican war as is war as a cell phone war as is often called is not ending. he ending. you will see primaries in mississippi going forward and you will see this divide again and again. >> going forward how would we compare this tea party lost tonight here in mississippi and oklahoma james langford winning their his candidate supported by tea party group sent david pratt the surprise winner in virginia. has the tea party ascended or losing some of their influence? >> in some ways eric cantor was an outlier. can't that cochran can win and cantor can't but at the same time there is a lot of anti-washington anger out there undoubtedly that still they are but tonight was great for incumbents of both parties. the new york race has not been called at the charlie rangel is in the lead.

cochran obviously one. he had a very contentious primary challenge because as a republican congressman he came out and endorsed marriage and it looks like he could lose and he was able to stave off the challenge. it really is a testament to the old axiom that being an incumbent has a lot of advantages. it helps you raise money and gives you platform platform and gives you the bully pulpit and incumbent on the ballot aside capitalizes on that. >> james hohmann thanks for hanging with us and you can read his reporting of politico.com and lots of good reporting on twitter too mad. thanks for joining us this evening. just a few minutes to push away the comments by thad cochran the winner in the mississippi run off. we want to hear your thoughts on the mississippi race that cochran winning by just under 7000 votes. (202)585-3880 for democrats and also for mississippi residents

(202)585-3882. we will go first to ride in new york and this is sam. sam and ride new york. thanks for waiting until i had with your comments. >> thanks for having me first of all. i think tonight is a great victory compromised in the united states and one of the things we have seen here obviously democrats pushing cochran over the limit. excuse me in the general elections three weeks ago. california and louisiana were to have an open primary in moderating the electric and making sure more moderates have a chance and i think we are seeing that here in mississippi as well as well as charlie rangel. in new york it's a good night for incumbents but most of all i think it's a victory for compromise in america. >> let's go to the mississippi wind greenville mississippi. this is alonzo.

what do you think about the results and do you want to share with to share with us to share with this e-book for this evening? >> i voted for that cochran because i am an african-american republican. i think if you look at this age of -- he didn't see any african-americans onstage with him. they did not endorse diversity. that cochran represents all the people of the state of mississippi and this is shown by republicans and democrats coming out to support him. >> what did the cochran campaign to get your vote out today? >> well but they did to get my vote out was i understood he is able to bring -- to the state of mississippi and he didn't learn to diverse -- embrace diversity. he used the word conservative in a derogatory term that looked

like a code word for racism. i am a conservatives as an african-american myself but the way he used the word and painted a picture of conservative and raised a history of the state of mississippi as racist so if he's going to be a politician he is going to learn -- is going to have to learn to embrace diversity in order to become a winning politician. >> greenville mississippi alonzo some political -- mississippi u.s. senator thad thad cochran to thad cochran defies the pulse beats the tea party challenger and gop runoff by one point margin with help from democratic and black voters and dante who writes politics for "the wall street journal" says we will run the numbers tomorrow but a quick glance suggest the counties of big african-american populations turned out tonight across mississippi and jonathan weisman from an air times, no two ways about its history was made when an elderly white republican from mississippi was bailed out by

black democratic crossover votes. here is enrique in aberdeen mississippi. go ahead. i think we lost that call. let's take a look at what's going on at the charlie rangel headquarters. his race is just about over. he was whining about by some eight-point or six points or so. let's listen in. cve moms that were there for me, the rabbis who came out for me. listen there are too many a few for me to thank individual but i want each one of you to go home and no that this was your victory. this is your congressman. and you can rest assured all i will be doing is thinking about you and bringing these resources

home. thank you. sob thank you so very much. thank you mali. thank you so much. our ambassador internationally, thank you so much. socrates and the whole congressional staff, just eaten, tina mccourt, leo. let me thank the campaign manager rashida james to put it all together.

charlie king who was the consultant on this. matt did a great job over here. i want to thank all of those people that put this together. george henry who came out and put the pieces together. franqui cutlass we talked about the great star that came up. bob bob from the westside, thank you and cynthia doty and helen the stage is shaking. i think all of you. god bless you. i'm going, okay. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ >> i think we said everything that has to be said, right? are there any cabdrivers here? teamsters? keith lui did a fantastic job. corey ortega, what a job he did. peggy maryls, harry rodriguez, maurice cummings. we had a team. we put them all together.

bill cigna from washington. harvey redgrave gives. >> charlie rangel thanking supporters in new york. it looks like he's on his way to winning that race 47-44% and 99% of their precincts reporting in the 13th district in new york city and charlie rangel saying this will be his last race when it or not. predictions say charlie rangel has won that race against adriano espaillat who would have been the first dominican born representative if he had won that general election but looks like charlie rangel is going to win a 47-44. thad cochran winning by a slim margin by 6500 votes or so.

>> caller: hello. i think there is a pattern in this election cycle with all of these tea partiers running against the incumbent republicans and i think they appear to have not such a good margin like lindsey graham and mitch mcconnell and such as that cochran. i think they don't really do that well on the national platform if they campaign that well. >> valparaiso indiana next up on our democrat line. >> caller: my question is what do you think that cochran -- would you think that cochran will pass away. you think you will live that long? >> he has served six terms in the senate and is on his way to winning the seventh in the runoff against chris