judiciary committee chairman chuck grassley expect the last three to four days, watch live on c-span3, c-span.org or listen free on the c-span radio apps. tonight booktv is in prime time with a look at some recent books on the civil rights movement. >> booktv all this week in prime time on them -- on c-span2. next up from washington journal a discussion on veterans issues. we will show you most of this until the senate convenes at noon.

>> host: we want to welcome nikki wentling, a veteran reporter with "stars & stripes" this saturday morning. >> thanks for having me. >> host: what are the biggest challenges secretary robert wilkie will be facing? >> guest: robert wilkie was born monday is va secretary. he has a lot of challenges to take on. this is a time of major change at the va, not just its leadership. congressman the last year with major bipartisan reform bills. if i could hone in on one of those, the admission act will change the private-sector care program, closely watched process. the veterans choice program was created in 2014 to allow veterans to go into the private-sector for care if they lived far from a va facility or made an appointment and a lot of

veterans said that was really strict and inflexible so congress passed a bill to fix the program, streamline it, make it easier for veterans to go into the private-sector and look at a lot of factors making the decision and it allows the va secretary to have one year to implement that so wilkie is going to lead that implementation. it is a closely watched process because people are concerned about privatization at the va. that is one thing we have to take into consideration. he gave a first interview with fox news and honed in on that. he is aware of that. congress passed other changes to the g.i. bill, caregiver benefits, how veterans appeals for veterans benefits, the multibillion-dollar project to implement a new electronic health record system and the leadership changes that the va has been exacerbated after the previous secretary was fired and

more leaders left. he is aware there is a crisis going on among employees not just at va headquarters, he knows he has to address that too. he will show up to local vas and show employees he will work with them and not just be at headquarters. >> host: to that point not only civil service employees but political appointees, one of the big problems david shalllkin fa. why is there such a sharp division with those put on by the president? >> guest: the va has been in damage control mode since the scandal in 2014 and donald trump came in wanting to change things and put in political appointees who were really aggressive and wanted to do this and secreta s

secretaryshlin was in charge of the healthcare system so he knew the operation so there's a power struggleshulkin of taking time to get things done and then a political appointees who are not as patient, wanted more power so he saw this and fighting happening at this led to him leaving, he said it had to do with the privatization issue. then we saw the deputy secretary left, the chief information officer, the advisor on women's veterans issues, political appointees say they went to the status quo, but we are not sure what will happen now that wilkie is going in, will he create his own leadership team, reassign political appointees and bury them in the va, that will be the big question we are looking at right now. >> host: our guest is nikki

wentling who covers "stars & stripes". if you are a veteran the number to call is 202-748-8000. for all others 202-748-8001. bill is joining us from northbrook, illinois. >> caller: my question is this. the program to refer out into the private health system a large number of veterans. having known something about the va system over many years, i wondered, i never read any analysis of what they think this might do to retaining professional physicians within the va if so much of the work is referred out. how might this not improve the

va, but make it substantially worse? >> host: thank you for the call. >> caller: >> guest: your concerns are shared. the choice program allows one third of appointments going into the private-sector and that is cause for concern for especially traditional veterans organizations who don't want to see the increase. there is a recruitment and retention problem, around 33,000 vacancies across the healthcare system and that is a good point that could affect that. as they try to implement this new program there will be a lot of focus on my sending more appointments to the private-sector and trying to figure out when to allow veterans to go into the private-sector. as someone who lives far away from the facility or has a

specific medical issue this will be the biggest priority for wilkie because it is such a blurred line. >> host: the piece you have the stars and stripes on, what did you see. >> guest: we found out the office of inspector general, warns that conditions, staff and supply shortages leading to canceled appointments, that led secretary shulkin to fire the director of the hospital. it has been a year since that happened, and they are making progress, taking care of these things. this memo came out saying they are a critical level, worse than they were before and their

leaders have to meet with headquarters and there could be some leadership changes and there have been 3 or 4 temporary leaders in the past year. we are seeing things getting worse. it points to policy things that robert wilkie has to take on but there are individual problems at hospitals across the country and this hospital is one that is a couple miles from va headquarters. >> host: why is this so hard? >> guest: this is a bigger question that i might be willing to answer. a lot of people say it is a cultural problem, bureaucracy problem, steps need to be taken to root out corruption in the va. over the past year with the accountability bill.

and lately that might not be the way congress is intended. and the level employees, and no one has gotten to the root of it. there have been four va secretaries in the past four years, the fact there hasn't been a lot of consistency. >> host: from pew research, in 2016, what we expect in 2045, the declining number of those from world war ii and korea and increase from vietnam, the gulf war, the persian gulf war, 91% of the veterans are men. that will go down 82%. let's go to harold in wilmington. >> i was in the army the day after john f. kennedy was

killed, he got killed and transferred it. i didn't try to get a deferment and dick cheney who is so interested in war and fighting, a lot of people who got bad problems, because of the laws we put in that are unnecessary. first is the vietnam war. we had no business in vietnam, no everything is going fine and we got so many men, in afghanistan and that wasn't enough, to go into iraqi instead a big battle over there and kill all these people off and we are still doing it. we have been doing it for years and years, longest war.

the united states is a war country, when there was nobody to fight we thought. >> guest: i hear no concern, some sadness the va is having to grow because of more veterans coming back especially the latest war and we have learned about robert wilkie, he might understand the cost of war a little more because his father was greatly injured in vietnam and his grandfather is a world war i veteran. maybe he will bring that perspective to the job too. >> host: you are reporting from "stars & stripes" after the president promised a white house veteran hotline, it is open, located in west virginia. >> guest: trump made this promise of the veterans of foreign wars convention that he wanted to create a hotline to hear veterans complaints and wanted to be at the white house and have someone answer the

phone and even suggested he might take a few calls for that and hear veterans problems and action would be taken at the highest level of government. this has been two years and he has been in office a while. we wanted to take a look at what was happening with this. the va is not think much about it. they won't tell us a budget or the problems veterans call with are getting resolved and we found out it was located in this building in west virginia, not the white house which brings up these questions of is this what the president intended with this hotline? are veterans really getting help? how does this help with other call lines, is it a good use of resources? i talked to some veterans who felt their calls were getting sent back to their local va offices instead of being acted on by the executive branch. i heard there are some veterans who had good experiences. it is just the fact this is operating in the shadows in west

virginia and everyone wants to know more about it. >> host: nikki wentling is our guest, graduate of the university of kansas, spent time in little rock, is a veterans reporter with "stars & stripes". her work available@stripes.com. derek is joining us in pablo, california. good morning. >> caller: good morning. i want to say i am a first-time collar but i have been listening for quite a while. i came in during the reagan era, contracted and served our military as our contractor in iraq for almost a decade. the private citation of the va going to outsource medical professionals, not in the best interests of veterans. it would be wiser to revamp the

va medical system itself. what i noticed with a lot of professionals, looking at the va as a money deal and a lot of them they are doing a lot of things that are not in the best interests of veterans but the va definitely has their problems. i initially went through a horrible system as a whole and transferred to a suburb of martinez, an excellent facility. i believe if the va would look at restructuring their infrastructure and taking care of compensation, making sure that veterans help veterans, that is really the key. a lot of people who never served are making decisions that affect people who have served. they just don't have the knowledge or the experience and

exposure to treat people who have gone through war and conflicts. that is just my particular perspective. >> host: thank you for calling in. >> caller: >> guest: i hear from a lot of veterans they like the va. it is uniquely equipped to meet their needs and don't want to see it sent to the private sector and a lot of people in washington know that and are fighting against that but it should be noted i don't think they can get it totally away from the private sector because one third of appointments are sent into the private sector and the va doesn't have the capability to take on all of that especially with vacancies across the healthcare system and mental health. one thing he said was the infrastructure of va hospitals.

there is one thing. another thing congress passed was they want to really review all va infrastructure across the country, look at where va facilities can improve and old buildings are that should be taken off the roster. not like hospitals but buildings that are unused in taking maintenance money so i think they are trying to do these things to improve the va system and figure out how to balance private-sector care but there are a lot of concerns within the trump administration the private-sector care will be too big. a lot of reporters especially watching that issue, trying to be a watchdog for the problem. >> host: we hear a lot about was the blowers. >> guest: it is a national whistleblowers summit and a specific panel, and i hear from whistleblowers a lot, from specific va hospitals talking

about wider problems, we hear from them all the time. there are a lot of whistleblowers who feel concerns, congress created this office of accountability in whistleblower protection this year and there's concern it is being used to retaliate against whistleblowers instead of protecting them or having the best outcomes for them. we hear from them all the time and other reporters do too. we appreciate them bringing issues to us. whistleblowers alerted us to the hospital this week. >> host: we welcome c-span radio listeners and focusing on veteran issues. our guest is nikki wentling who covers topics for "stars & stripes". our next collar is from texas, also a veteran. good morning. >> caller: good morning. i'm a vietnam era that, and like most if not all the veterans i

have had contact with, i am against privatization of the va and i concerned and would like you to discuss the committee or the group that trump has appointed, that the koch brothers are behind who are for privatization, who are going around deciding what facilities are to be closed and they have a final say in the matter, could you discuss something about them? >> host: thank you for the call. >> guest: she is referring to concerned veterans of america, a group that is part of the koch brothers political network and they have grown in power and influence under the trump administration is a lot of people argue they are for privatizing the va. i think they would say they want to prong private-sector piece of the va. they are in charge of saying

which facilities are closed. i would not say that is true. there is a committee that will look at va infrastructure but that committee will be made up of lawmakers and representatives with a more traditional veterans organization like the vfw and american legion and concerned veterans for america but they definitely have grown in influence under trump and were given a seat at the table during monthly meetings or at least they did in the past. it is interesting to see who makes up the table under wilkie. i am glad you pointed that out. they are a group we watch and talk to to see what they want to do. >> host: rick says the va is equipped to deal with veterans but haven't you heard the gop trump always prefers the private-sector. of profit can be made you will see them.

they want to privatize totally. that comments from rick and from james, the private-sector would jump to the special needs of veterans if given a chance. >> guest: these concerns were brought up during wilkie's confirmation hearing and he pushed back and said he is not for privatization. secretary shulkin said the same thing. privatization is a gray area. it is different for different people. for some people bumping up private-sector appointments to more than one third of appointments across the va like they are now is considered privatization. this is a concern under the trump administration and the concern for a long time and we have to pay attention to it. lawmakers, republicans always say they are not for privatization privatizing the va will take an act of congress that would never happen because it will never get support from veterans but like i said, we are going to be paying close attention to this now that there is a permanent secretary who can make major changes.

of the 19 next from manassas, virginia. thanks for listening on the radio. we appreciate that. >> caller: i'm getting -- i need you guys my apologies. i called because i was in the military for 13 years. i never had a chance, the choice program twice. once worked out very well for me. i went to a private doctor and got the healthcare i needed but the second time not so much. i am dealing with the same issue trying to get an appointment. finally, it is a pretty good distance, i called weekly. the issue is not with folks on the outside but folks on the inside, on the va side. i attempt to figure out, help the process along. if there's something i need to do, let me know.

after talking with person after person it is within the va that we are having a disconnect. it is with the old system, the old way of doing things and the reluctance to change into something quicker or better for the veterans. i just heard derek say veterans helping veterans, maybe that will be a better way of getting the things we need to accomplish. sometimes that works. i'm a realtor now and i get veterans all the time who come to me because they know i know what they have gone through, to go from home to home, state to state, country to country. they come to me because they have for lack of a better inside knowledge. it might be a good idea to have veterans helping veterans. >> host: thanks for listening on 90.1 fm in the baltimore area,

the c-span radio apps. >> guest: glad you called, i hear these extremes about the choice program, that it is amazing and works immediately or veterans have always problems with it. sounds like you dealt with both of those extremes. that is interesting. that is why congress wanted to fix the choice program because there are managerial issues with getting providers paid, getting appointments set up. that is what they are trying to fix and they are trying to fix it in a year or so we will see if that can be done. i don't know what you can do. try third-party administrators who run the program. i recently wrote a story about a veteran in indiana or illinois who is having problems because his provider wasn't getting paid for his care but he was stuck with a $30,000 medical bill and

it took us writing a story for the ceo to call him and take care of this. veterans don't know of an outlet to fix these problems and that is an issue. >> host: in illinois, welcome to the conversation. >> caller: appreciate the time. i was in the service 58-62. i have medical problems after i left the service. you can't pay your bill, they told a veteran right out, social security, we will garnish your salary, you will be charged for being garnished and everything else. a really nice way of treating a veteran. when i joined up they promised me the world and gave me dirt. as far as i'm concerned i'm proud of serving country but not proud of the va or anybody affiliated with government or how they treat their veterans. they treat foreigners better

than veterans. we got to stop this now. they already did it to me and i'm not proud of what they did to me. don't let them get away with it. >> guest: i haven't heard of that issue and i will look into that for a possible follow-up. it is possible, it is common among that and $200 billion this year. veterans are happy with service they are getting. >> host: the va, veterans deserve better. >> it is an issue the leader of the va committee, he wants to do something to address this. along the same lines there's a

problem with veterans other than honorably discharged especially mental health care, they were not allowed for a long time to get mental health care when there's an emergency situation. that will play hand in hand with what to do with honorable discharges, might not be eligible for benefits like they should not get more care. they have mental health problems. that is one small part of this bigger issue. >> -- >> thank you for this program. and helping the coalition. why we are not using their

resources for the medical. when they are coming from that war zone i given to germany and wonder what medicine they are putting them on and a move we haven't, thank you very much for what you are doing and that magazine is wonderful. >> host: thank you. >> guest: i don't know exactly what she is referring to but maybe the defense department budget is not used first in healthcare, and the defense department's budget has grown $700 billion but the va budget has almost doubled in the past decade to almost $200 billion. not sure if it is the lack of resources that is the issue or how they are perceived. >> host: bradley is next from west virginia.

>> caller: good morning. how is everyone doing this morning? >> host: great. thank you for joining us. >> caller: i was a vietnam veteran and not nothing but trouble since i got back from vietnam on medical issues come a chief of staff of the va hospital tried to eliminate me off of outpatient care. i had to go to richmond, get cleared, come back and in the last month i had to go through the same thing, had to go to richmond and had a neurosurgeon in richmond and my primary doctor said it was okay to go outpatient but yet i have a therapist that overrode that and said i wasn't able to go to that. also, i was on the health med system, the new system which is not worth baloney. and they owe the outpatient clinic i go to 13 visits for over a year. congressman jenkins has been working on it and they have still not paid it. i paid out-of-pocket for my services.

it is a shame that a veteran has to put up with this aggravation and the va have done things like this, trying to get patients from outpatient care when this is a good thing. the outpatient care is great. as trump put it veterans choice, i went back to my regular physician outside, rather than going to a physician inside. we need to keep the veterans medical the same way it is and give us outpatient care because i think if it is privatized it is going to go to pot. >> host: thank you for the call, your shaking her head. >> guest: individual problems at the va, we hear them so much. he mentioned he went to his elected representative to get this resolved.

i hear a lot especially from elected representatives on the va committees that they hear from constituents, that is the biggest thing they deal with is getting calls from veterans on issues, it is too bad this is still happening and i hope it gets better soon. >> host: mike from norwood, massachusetts, also a line for veterans, go ahead. >> caller: good morning, how are you? i am a vietnam veteran and i am not sure what is going on within the va, the infrastructure but all i can tell you is in the boston area, the va healthcare system is the best, especially the psychiatric part of it. they take such good care of us. i would hate to see it go to a civilian doctor, i would hate to see that. i love the the a system. they are so caring.

they are so compassionate with us. i am a strong strong advocate of the va system, especially the psychiatric part of it for ptsd. they are unbelievably great, the vet centers are unbelievable, so helpful. >> guest: that is great to hear. we hear from a lot of veterans who enjoy their va experience. there is a saying among the veterans community that when you have been to one va hospital you have been to one the a hospital because there is no consistency across the system. it is great that you had a good experience and a lot of veterans have. now the challenge is making sure that is consistent nationwide. >> host: secretary wilkie beginning a job this weekend, sworn in on monday and he sent a video message to va employees. >> during my confirmation

hearing, while serving as acting secretary, i shared with you my basic point, customer service. customer service must start with each other, not talking at each other but with each other across all office barriers and all compartments. if we don't to each other we won't listen to our veterans and their families and we won't find the world-class customer service they deserve. next we must have a bottom-up position. the energy must flow from you closest to those we are sworn to serve. it is from you the ideas we carry to congress, the the is ons add to american veterans to come. anyone who sit in this chair told you he or she has the answers is in the wrong business. >> how will he be judged? a lot of factors he will be judged on. it is obvious from the calls we got today how he handles

private-sector problems are going to be huge but it is also going to be how does he bring leadership back to va headquarters. that this leadership exodus, this brain drain at the va and everyone knows about it and the headlines, he brings a team in and get everyone on the same page, it gets to the fact that we are all crisis at the va and get everyone working together and not fighting with each other, that is huge. >> host: another 10 minutes with our guest, focusing on robert wilkie, the new secretary of veterans affairs, sworn in the past monday with the president on hand for the ceremony at the barnes of veterans affairs replacing david shulkin who was fired earlier this year. next collar is from mcdaniels, kentucky. >> caller: good morning, how are you? >> host: fine, go ahead please.

>> caller: my father died in 1972, he is a va veteran, they never gave him the right burial or play taps or anything on top of him. i put the stone up. that is all they paid for, the stone. my mother had to pay for the funeral and everything and i don't think that was right that they did that to him. >> guest: i don't know why they wouldn't have allowed burial benefits. congress did just pass a bill trying to expand how much money they give for funerals and burials. i hope in the future that won't be a problem. maybe that bill will take care of it. maybe i need to pay more attention going forward if veterans are denied that. >> host: also on our veterans line, jonathan from west virginia. good morning.

>> caller: good morning. i got out at walter reed, i was integrated with the dc va hospital. it was really cramped, really busy and a hassle to get to. when i moved to leesburg i got integrated with martinsburg va which was a polar opposite, very nice, clean are, not as crowded and really good staff. i sit in the middle of both of those hospitals and , not as crd and really good staff. i sit in the middle of both of those hospitals and it is an hour away but they haven't helped me much. they are closer to the hospitals but the same distance away from i drive. it has not helped me.

i feel you can't just throw money at the problem. it takes a wide range of changes in the cultural shift. >> host: thank you. we have seen this. >> guest: he hit on a lot of points we have been hearing and he described the problem with the choice program. an hour away from each facility but having trouble using it because of these strict rules that govern it. the thing they will try to get at is to look at the veteran situation. they look at distance and other factors like traffic to figure out, he mentioned dc va hospital and problems there. i would like to mention employees at the dc hospital are also aware of issues and they sent an anonymous letter to robert wilkie asking him to step

in and fix things. there are employees there who want things to be better because that hospital serves tens of thousands of veterans in dc. >> host: my next question doesn't focus on veterans health issues but the 3-d gunbattle. have veteran groups waiting on this issue? >> guest: i have not heard the traditional veterans groups weigh in on this but every town for gun safety, gun control organization that came out, they created a veterans advisory council just recently after the parkland shooting to get input from veterans, a policy on what they think, veterans use their experience in combat, firearm expertise to weigh in on issues. last week they came out and they

were against the 3-d gun issue and wanted to see the secretary of state jump in and not allow that to happen because they know about that sort of thing. of the 19 bernard from chicago. >> caller: good morning. i want to point out, i have been in the va system since 1995 and what i don't understand is why can't somebody walk into a hospital and find out why the care is so excellent? i have been in five different clinics, different ones at different times and it is amazing how they seem to have the answer before you even ask. excellent care. >> host: thank you. >> guest: this has been brought up on capitol hill. why can't the va -- >> washington journal is live everyday at 7:00 on c-span. previous "washington journal" programs available on c-span.org. we are leaving the last few

minute of the segment as the senate is coming back into session after a 12 day work period. they will recess at some point this afternoon, returning it to:15 for debate on the nomination of martin bottle bound to be a judge on the court of appeals to limit debate it 5:30 eastern. then we begin work on an $857 billion spending package that would combine the largest annual appropriations bills including defense and labor, hhs and education. now live to the senate floor on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray.