veterans affairs committee, vermont independent bernie sanders who will have the latest on legislation he and arizona republican senator john mccain are working on to address problem's in the v.a. health care system. "washington journal" is next and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. host: a breakdown of what was found in that veterans affairs inspector general report when it comes to wait times. over 57,000 veterans were thatng for appointments could not be scheduled within 90 days. in the past 10 years, over 63,000 new enrollees had requested appointments that were never scheduled. bas --the result of the v.a.'s report.

our first 45 minutes, with this new information out, not only react to this, but also what should be done about the v.a. here's how you can weigh in this morning. 1 for republicans. (202) 585-3880 for democrats. .202) 585-3882 for independents you can also reach out to us on social media. and you canfacebook send this e-mail, too. usa today and others showing highlights of the report that was released yesterday. this highlight -- this headline.

analysis of the data that was made public monday shows that at 19 v.a. facilities across the country, new patients were waiting longer than 60 days to see a primary care doctor in may. the longest delays were in hawaii where veterans were waiting 145 days on average to see a primary doctor for the first time. -- andependent audit -- a couple ofit lists were put out there. the longest average wait time, honolulu, hawaii. that is followed by texas valley coastal bend, 85 days. carolina, 83 north days. baltimore, maryland, 81 days. the list goes down from there.

new patient specialist care, the average wait time for that -- the texas facility, 145 days. city, clarksburg and st. louis. the result of the ig report that came out, the result of the hearing use all leading up to saw leading -- you up to this program. 57,000 waiting 90 days or more for an appointment. for republicans. (202) 585-3880 for democrats. (202) 585-3882 for independents. 3.r veterans, (202) 585-388 we start with tyrone from philadelphia, pennsylvania on our democrats line. good morning.

morning.ood good report because the facts are the facts. i am a veteran also. benefits whatsoever. i can understand that. they states because of income and i am a senior. i don't fit in anywhere. other soldiers do need this and veterans need it. here is the point. for the v.a. to do this kind of work and you're cutting the budget on them all the time and they have no money to work with? peoplenot go on asking without the tools

to work with. it's a disgrace. we cut education -- host: is this just a money issue? caller: it's a money issue. you were asking for the administration to do something and there is no money. you don't have enough doctors or nurses, but you don't want to put any money in the budget. it is becoming evermore clear that the bas abuses were not -- v.a.'s abuses were not a one-off. it was perpetrated across the system recorded with hundreds of workers. criminal investigations seem richly deserved. zelda from georgia. father served in the vietnam war. he refused to give my mother the

-- he was only getting $147 a month and they refused to give him his back pay from the time he had served. he gets nothing. he is unemployed. he is 87 years old and he has been fighting this thing for almost 50 years. host: what should be done about the current situation? to wheret goes down the office is. where people are talking -- the administrators in the office that are refusing these veterans the right. why are they holding back what needs to be done? they know that you are eligible for it. host: do congress and the white house have a responsibility in

this? caller: yes, they do, too. to find out try what's the problem instead of listening to one person. go down to the administered of office and see what is the problem. host: what do you think about this last line saying that criminal investigations are richly deserved in this matter? caller: yes. pocketing some money that needs to be issued up to these veterans. time.en give them a hard they have already sacrificed their life. host: jim responds on twitter saying, "the v.a.'s budget has been ballooning the past few years.

this is proof." you can respond to what has been said or the report itself and what should be done going forward. the phone lines on your screen. (202) 585-3881 for republicans. (202) 585-3880 for democrats. independents. for veterans.3883 for you can post on social media channels as well. here is william from cyprus, texas. hello. caller: it is a pleasure to talk to you this morning about a subject i know very well about. i have been dealing with the v.a. for 44 years. i can tell you what's wrong. it is not just a hospital. is the admin across the from the the admin- it is

building that people are not doing the work they're supposed to do. the hospitals across the street have doctors that are experienced. i have had doctors to tell me from across the street that something is wrong with me and right across the street, the admin building, they are denying it. if the hospital is saying something is wrong but no admin is saying -- it is that bad. i've been dealing with the v.a. for 44 years. host: ed who is also a veteran from florida. caller: good morning. concerning --t is they changed the law allowing beerans from iraq to under a health-care program for

five years. i think there will definitely be an increase in weight in the sense that there would be more veterans applying for health care under v.a. host: what you think about the story overall as we have seen more information come out of it and what do you think is the best response? what theyconcur with , today'seing a vet health care is a lot better. the doctors are professional. host: when you say it's an administrative problem, spell that out from your experience. caller: i've gotten letters from ae v.a. saying that they have evaluation of you and i get the letter and respond

back to the letter and not hear anything back. it's an administrative problem. "st: from our facebook page, all bets to after waiting over a month for medical care should be allowed to see a doctor at any other facility in the country." robert from california. democrats line. ♪ goocaller: good morning. a congressional hearing of the they putators -- billions of dollars into the system. antiquated system. it is not the doctors. it is an administrative deal. ourneed to make sure boys have everything they deserve. this is unacceptable. when you have people getting

bonuses for production, there is another problem there. they're making money off of .eople third they need t this is the 21st century. integrate the system. host: the hearing that was yesterday on capitol hill. you probably watched a bit of it leading up to this program. v.a. igthe acting th commenting on the issues. here is what he had to say. [video clip] we will play that in just a bit. let's go to rebecca from virginia. republican line. caller: hello.

the first caller said it was finance area i don't believe that because i heard they have enough to give bonuses. administrative. my husband has been going to the v.a. for a number of years now. care.very happy with his i see no difference in waiting 90 days for them -- i know it sounds horrible. d to see a dermatologist and when my doctor wanted me to see him, i had to wait over three months. i'm in the private sector. no difference in me waiting three months to see a dermatologist or my husband having to wait 2-3 months when he has to go for an appointment. host: the length of time is not that much of a concern to you?

caller: i don't think so. in the private sector, they will wait just as long. live, theere where i dentist -- all of the dentists are so booked up, if you want an appointment and you have not seen a dentist, you have not been to his office, he is not taking no new patients. it is really bad out here. i don't know what it's like in the city. out here, our doctors and dentists have it worse. they are full up. host: highlighting some of the hospitals in that report saying that the roster of underperforming hospitals has recently expanded to at least seven. the low ratings resulted principally from poor scores on

measures involving deaths and competitions. other factors such as length of stay in remission rates played a role. troubling study -- policy allows for overflow to private providers. john from brooklyn, new york. democrat. also a vet. caller: hello. the lady who just got off the areassaid it was in rural -- i'm from brooklyn, new york and it's the same. host: how so? brooklyn go to the v.a. i wait three months for an appointment because they tell me they don't have the money to hire a new doctor. it's a combination of money and supervision.

the republicans cut the money and theain things supervision is poor. i have to wait three months for a doctor. i had friends who went to vietnam and they got infected with agent orange. nobody would help them and nobody would believe in them. you have to prove this and prove that. host: she said wait times for her was not an overly big concern for her. caller: i am a disabled veteran. i know the problem. host: that is john from brooklyn, new york. another list from the report

this morning. new patient mental health care average wait times. it durham, north carolina, 104 days. parks byrd west virginia, 96 days. clarksburg, west virginia, 96 days. that is from the report. we will look at our next caller, asking folks about what they heard from the hearing yesterday. randy from west virginia. good morning. when i think about these wait times, it seems to me that the people who are attacking congress -- their health care should come from and they will fix

this problem. it's always administrative. these guys were making these laws -- i don't know where they get their health care from but is probably from the private sector and we know they are well taken care of. host: david from california. independent line. hello. caller: i have been dealing with the v.a. here in california for 21 years. they started off telling me that i was never in the ring core --

corps.ne i told them about all of my problems in 1993. three years ago, i went to a private doctor and they had to start putting students into my heart and they told me the reason i don't get the oxygen is because my heart does not pump enough. 421 years, the v.a. told me it was always my lungs. you have to be kidding me. it is off the richter scale. i am 100% disabled from ptsd. they come to work and they transfer from the east coast out here to the west preparing for

retirement. i get one and they last anywhere maybe 2-3onths to years. and then they are gone. host: your average wait time for an appointment would be what? caller: 90 days. the one i just had, she told me and made that i might have to wait 120 days for another appointment because they don't have doctors. host: more from the internal audit. 90 v.a. clinics report altering appointment dates. saidyees at 24 clinics they felt threatened or coerced to enter specific desired dates. workers at 14 sites reported facing sanctions over scheduling practices. those at two sites said they were written up for not following supervised orders to cook the books. sites required follow-up .eviews

that is from the veterans affairs department. zach from pennsylvania. good morning. democrats line. caller: good morning. all, i get private insurance. i'm also a vet. to gets me three months a colonoscopy and six months to get my teeth cleaned. it's not so much the way times -- we put these girls and guys into two wars and we didn't account for this. if you are going to take your country to war, you should look at your medical facilities first and say, ok, i will send this many people into war. why have what i need in my hospitals to deal with them when they come home? they talk about administrative -- this is fundamental management.

and iake 40,000 troops know that i did not already -- i was already light on doctors, what am i doing? latere come back 10 years and they want to beat up on the people who were in charge now. host: the idea of something has to be done -- what do you think should be done? caller: i agree. it has to be done expeditiously. criminalor investigations also. there were some wrongdoings done. situationnk -- the has always been government i.t.. we had pulled both systems at one time. the provingys ground for the private sector and the systems. we have to find out who these

contracts are being given to. host: is the white house doing enough on this? caller: i think the white house is in a catch-22. thatis the white house now is bringing these people back from all of these wars and still putting out fires around the world. house that haste been beaten down on every issue. it they are in the fetal major things like this happen because they have already been beaten down for erroneous, small things. host: let's hear from sarah in alabama. i have an enormous complaint because i have been waiting for a long time on my

claim. , whengest problem is that i put in paperwork, it gets lost. i tell my doctors all the time -- i sometimes have no feeling in my back or my .rms window.w them out the it's very unfair. you go to the v.a. and they .assed the buck there is a certain paperwork that needs to be done. he does not have to fill it out. he tells you to your face that he does not have to do it and you have been seeing this dr. for the past five years.

you have to go to this other doctor and spend $200 that you don't have. the supervisor and they tell you the same thing. they don't have to do it. what do i do? who do i go to? everybody is passing the buck. they don't care. it? should be done about presidenthouse, the -- host: what should they do? caller: i think the president and see get involved what's going on. i've been there.

i know that they are just walking around, drink their coffee like nothing is going on. it is easy to sit back and watch life, doingte your your daily things that you're not able to do anymore. they just go on. host: sarah from alabama. a poll looking at people's thoughts on immigration. the new survey conducted by the public religion research 62% ofte found that americans favor allowing illegal immigrants a way to become citizens compared to 63% one year ago. thatditional 17% said illegal immigrants should be able to become legal residents,

but not full citizens. 19% said they should be deported. that theericans agree growing number of new immigrants strengthens american society. societythe trend harms by threatening traditional values. bill from from illinois. independent line. a veteran. caller: the two biggest problems with the v.a. is the patient advocates are incompetent. they are who the veterans report to and they have employed most incompetent people i've ever seen. -- it's thes not only facility that does not send out a follow-up questionnaire with how you have been treated, what do you think of the service. if i was the president, i would call in all the regional managers from each of the state facilities and say, you have 30 days to clean this mess up. if you don't -- if your region

does not clean it up, i will replace you. that is what i would have done. host: when you say incompetence, what do you mean specifically? complaints to vet a patient advocate, all they do is take notes. and then they don't follow-up on it. they put it in the computer and goodbye, thank you for coming in and complaining. doctor whod about a did a botched surgery on me and the patient advocate said, we will look into it and take care of this. then they scheduled me one month later for a biopsy with the same doctor. i said i would not ever want to see them again. that is the kind of thing that happens with the v.a. host: it's more than just wait times. caller: yes. to aveteran complaints patient advocate that, hey, i

tried to get an appointment and stuff, that is where it is supposed to start and then be followed up on. it is not. host: the patient advocates serve as the go-between? caller: yes. the patient advocate is where given to complain or two alimony about your treatment. that is where you go and each facility. host: bill from illinois. kathy from michigan. democrats line. that was a very good point that he made. i worked in a cancer registry in northern michigan 48 years and we did have the veterans in the registry. the v.a. come a most of the veterans went to ann arbor. they were notorious for never

sending the follow-up letters back. it's one of the most important aspects of medical treatment. determine where the patient is medically. i would find an i.t. person that really knows how to straighten the mess out. they are one entity and they have been running the medical part of the military for decades. there is a in the local newspaper here -- the wait times are about one month for new patients. new patients that need a specialty, they are down pretty low. mental health is 2.5 days in ann arbor. that is good.

i would require all members of congress to have some type of relationship with the v.a. and meet with them at least quarterly. so they know firsthand what is happening. workings ago, i was downtown and salt to veterans -- saw two veterans. medicine has advanced so far that we can save people's lives with such semantic injuries. for someone to give to their country like that -- they were both on crutches. that is very unusual. -- such traumatic injuries. the people who sit in congress and determine how this is going

to work out for the country -- host: kathy from michigan. abc news aired its interview with hillary clinton talking about her book. benghazi coming up in the discussion. she said the criticism for handling -- her handling for the 2012 event is more of a reason to run for president. oregon.rmark in caller: i have been fighting a disability claim for 11 years. i went through various agencies trying to get this straightened out. say, there wass

nothing they could do for me. was -- it took them six years to try to diagnose me and each time they did, they falsified a lot of medical information. it is not only the administration for veterans affairs. it's also doctors who are willing to step on any toes. i was overdosed with a drug during a surgery in the military. it was a hyperbaric anesthesia which was in my spinal fluid that turned my vertebrae into chalk. when i did the research in 2003 thisis, i brought literature to the doctor's attention and they refused to accept it. they kept trying to diagnose me with certain things and i would proved them wrong.

shinseki a few times in the circuit court and in veterans affairs management when i was fighting for my claim. my paper.as on it is a bureaucratic mess. records,release my they called them classified. which is understandable. the incident that took place with made that caused the surgery in the first place was falsified. from 1980-1983 during peacetime. , "i'mfrom twitter guessing most of the v.a. as problems in wait time and care are administrative and related to inefficiency, not funding." the washington post highlighting some of the things they are doing in light of the release of the report saying they're taking steps to address goodling

problems at the phoenix clinic where allegations of fraud and fake waiting lists spurred the inspector general's whattigation into is quickly becoming a nationwide scandal. officials saying they're still trying to figure out how much money and how many doctors will be needed to fix the health care system. lloyd from virginia. democrats line. caller: good morning. defense ofg in in president obama. ,hose were mentally challenged republicans are always trying to laced up on his doorstep. this is a problem that congress should have been taking care of. far as theen up as president.

that is all i have to say. congress needs to do their job and stop trying to blame stuff on president obama. host: has the president done enough on this issue? caller: it should never get to him. congress should handle it. they should have been taking care of all of the stuff. he is aware, do you think he has more response ability? caller: no. it is still congress. they need to provide veterans with as much money as they need. they are building new facilities and stuff, which is great. they are trying to add to doctors, which is great. they should have been doing it. not wait until now and make it look like president obama's fault. host: alex from st. petersburg, florida. independent line. caller: i appreciate you taking my call. i am very glad that this issue has come to light recently because this is -- these

problems are things i have grown up listening to. iigrandpa was a world war vet. this is not a new issue. this has been a problem for a long time. there was a gentleman from illinois who called and hit it right on the head. it's an administrative issue and you need to hold people accountable. any other sector, whenever regions are performing poorly, you hold regional directors, black people step down over things like this. why is this any different? if congress drafted legislation forcing the v.a. to see people , they 90 days or 30 days will find a way to do it. if you hold people accountable, things start getting done. a story looking at the

possibility of investigation for awol or desertion. even after five years of captivity, the sergeant could still face a lengthy investigation trial on awol or desertion charges if military concludes that he left his post without authorization before his capture by the taliban. awol charges in the that states are more common and most are disposed of administratively without convening a court-martial. -- in the united states. you can see that live tomorrow at 10:00 on c-span3. go to our website for more information. diana is a veteran from california. hello there. caller: nobody has mentioned that puerto rican veterans have to wait over one year to get an

appointment. i have not seen that mentioned once. in san francisco among you put and they don't even write it down or even call you to confirm the complaint. -- it is the military allowed. there is all this corruption in the v.a. that has been allowed for so many years. they should have criminal investigations. from twitter, "the could do something we have never seen before -- take responsibility." is on oureport

website. we are talking about -- chris up next from maryland. republican line. this is what happens when you have politicians who have been in congress and senate too long. this veterans administration problem has been going on for way too long. the president knew this would be brought backn he the military from iraq and afghanistan. he did not set up the necessary administration to take care of this problem. we have government control in our health care right now and this is what we are leading up to honor government health care also. we need to open our eyes. i apologize to all of the veterans out there that they are being treated like this because they should not be treated like

this after they fight for us. i hope people will comment on this. host: david from alaska. independent line. i just wanted to say, i've been watching the show for the last few minutes and a lot of people have been getting things right on the head. it is more of a nightmare to deal with. i have been to and from the v.a. 17 times to get my benefits corrected and they keep changing my packet. it's not just having to wait. it's being able to even get in line to wait for the appointment. host: what causes the delays and the changes you have experienced? caller: i have overheard some conversations. one person will meet their job is to find any reason to delay

adding benefits because they can't handle it. host: a previous caller talked about a patient advocate. do you have one of those? caller: i have dealt with their patient advocate. like the lady said, they don't write anything. they are there to listen, but they don't do anything. their job is to stall your way. waiting two years just to get my benefits and i'm still fighting. phil from columbia, maryland. caller: i am a retired military lieutenant commander. and i never used v.a. don't have to because i can use the military medical system. go and you will still

get paid by medicare. if they did that for v.a. people would not be a problem. you would not have to worry about the v.a. host: what is the military medical system? caller: army hospitals. people who go there, a lot of them are on active duty or are retired. i get my prescription there and it's not a problem. if they don't have time, i can go civilian and it does not cost me anymore. there was another thing -- when marine, irchant served with veterans from world war ii and i know one of them shot a famous for having

german airplane -- those guys in the 1990's.re host: one more call. john from north carolina. caller: i'm one of the lucky ones. v.a.'s one i. one is durham. are bad.nt reps they don't care. day for 4.5one hours -- i stopped by and he had a cup of coffee and he was reading the newspaper.

he said i had to be nice. said the previous caller he avoided the v.a. altogether and went to army hospitals if he had to. options?ve those v.a. for mye the eyes and my hearing. host: john from north carolina. last of the calls we will take on this topic. we will talk about issues of today with members of congress. , ast up, doug collins republican from georgia. in effort he is making on streamlining the redundancy when it comes to federal programs and the like within the federal government. from vermontders will talk about a deal he has struck with john mccain taking a look at the v.a. situation. .e will talk about his proposal

♪ >> religion is a powerful identity forming mechanism. human society. figuring out who we are and who was them. who is my group and who is the outgroup? questionanswers that pretty easily. if you pray like me and delete like me and you go to the same church as i do, you are us. if you don't, you are them. you can see very easily how that mindset can very easily lead to extremism and marginalization. religion may be the most powerful form of identity formation, but just as powerful as violence. how do you know who was us and them?

if you are fighting alongside me, you're asked. if you are fighting against me, you are them. violencereligion and being these two things that are at odds and should have nothing to do with each other, they have throughout history been much more aligned than we would like it to be. he will take your calls and comments for three hours, live starting at noon. 3, ron paul. september 7, the former chair of the u.s. commission on civil rights and children's rights advocate mary frances berry. we are discussing the forgotten man, a new history of the great depression. start reading and join others to discuss the book in our chat room on book tv.org. >> c-span's new book, sundays

and eight, includes kenneth weinberg who oversaw the 9/11 victims compensation fund. .> i don't see any distinction if you try to justify my program on the basis of the victims lost, i can't convincingly yes, 93 world11 trade center, no. the only way you justify this thing iss a special from the perspective of the nation. was,ognition that 9/11 along with the civil war and pearl harbor and maybe the assassination of president -- this was a response from america to

demonstrate the solidarity and cohesiveness of the american people towards these victims. >> read more of our conversation in c-span's "sundays at eight." now available for a father's day gift at your favorite bookseller. "washington journal" continues. host: representative doug collins from georgia. a member of the oversight and government reform committee. also a member of the foreign affairs committee. welcome. are doing an effort in congress, taking a look at something called redundant federal programs. what do you mean by that? caller: we have a bill we have introduced looking at programs that are duplicate of were inefficient. it takes away our excuses. this should be done already in our congressional oversight. what we are doing here is taking commission that says,

let's look at these programs and come to an agreement and talk about them and put this on the floor. it gives another tool to our toolbox. host: examples of programs you would deem redundant. iveler: you have duplicat inspection programs for the same basic program, our cap this program. -- catfish program. this is the kind of programs that have been talked about for years and have never been acted on because they end up in the farm bill again. we are simply saying, let's take the political pressure out. something that we all that was there.

let's look at it and confirm the ones we can and bring it to the floor and you can explain your either for cutting it or not. host: how do we get to the point where we have programs that duplicate themselves? caller: overtime. overtime.s just you have multiple agencies that do housing or other issues you look at from social security and disability benefits. -- multiplements payments going on. the waste book in the gao reports -- we have seen this every year. since 2011, the government has only addressed 1% of redundant programs. you say your bill eels with excuses. what are the excuses you hear when dealing with these programs? do thise need to

because we are able to do this part. from public officials, they hear back home that this is a program that is good in their district. yet, it may not be best for the country. this takes in the interest of each of our congressmen and says, what are these areas that we can look at? there is no more excuses. let's quit telling the american people that we are going to get it in order and let's do this in a way that is done on the floor. is it condensing the agencies? guest: i was a state legislator before i came here. one of the issues from a republican perspective, we look at these areas of government waste and inefficiency and i sponsored a piece of legislation in georgia that consolidated savedment agencies -- it

$2 million. over time. that is what we as republicans have always said. look at the programs that need becomes moreit efficient. the same things are getting done . many of these agencies are government to government function. they don't even deal with the general public. host: who is with you on this effort? have cosponsors -- when members hear the process, they say that is something they like. the process --t we have had such a broken appropriation system for many years. this is another way we can get back to getting another tool in the toolbox for cutting and getting our fiscal efforts in order. host: doug collins from georgia

here to answer your questions about what he has talked about as far as duplicated programs and other issues. (202) 585-3881 for republicans. (202) 585-3880 for democrats. (202) 585-3882 for independents. if you want to send us a thought ,ia e-mail or send us a tweet that is how you do that. a hearing yesterday released information that was put out when it came to the prisoner trade. did you have a chance to attend that? guest: we have had numerous conversations with other members and those who have look at this -- i'm very concerned about this. goes back to a base issue of what the administration did. as someone who still in the --itary, i look at folks

this should not have been done. this puts us in a very bad position and goes against our y four years of not negotiating with terrorists. it's something this administration does not seem to get. when you have prisoners of war were saying this is a bad idea, it sends a terrible message across the world. those released -- if we had any idea that these guys are going to go back and be peaceful oolingns, we are f ourselves. host: she was briefed on the exchange. she talked about those who criticize the exchange. here is what she had to say. [video clip] >> at the end of the conflict, were individuals who never -- there were no specific

charges against them. it is very possible and very likely that, at the end of the conflict, those individuals would have had to have been released. we then might have got nothing. reason this operation took place when it is there was reason to believe apparently that sergeant gotdahl was in danger so we something for that exchange. i don't understand -- i am mystified and disgusted by the fact that this kind of successful operation now is being criticized. guest: i'm amazed at her statements. -- all pows are in danger. militaryers in our

knew if they were captured, they in danger. this is covering for an administration that failed to do their job get. to protect our country that is t -- in thewith wha end of the war, that is when you have a sorting out. some live, some did not live. to say, we had to get something for this, what we got is a weutation that i am afraid will negotiate if someone's life is in danger. what is the next step? i'm mystified at her comments. host: could this hurt things going forward in afghanistan? guest: it good. you departed from a long-term our policy in this country.

from not notifying congress to not doing things that have been raised appear to the basic fact of come everything i've heard so in danger.life was all pows lives are in danger. to simply use that as an excuse, why are we not trading for everybody else? host: steve from california on our independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. turned from republican to independent was that the government can't take care of their own house. yet, like you were talking about earlier, all of these redundant programs, yet you want to cut social programs that people need. this is an issue. the tea party especially is one thing that chased me to independent. take care of your own house first before you start talking about cutting social programs. one of the things i have

said here, i have not targeted at a specific social program. if you are going to be honest with the federal government and honest with our budgeting process, i think, as a conservative, you have to look at that and say, we need to get onto the path of fiscal stability. these are things in which everything should be on the table. if you look at my voting record, i have been very consistent in saying areas of defense to other programs in our government. if they are inefficient, they need to go. to make a generalization and say that i or anyone else is not getting our house in order first, when you look at it from a national perspective -- "tell me oneitter, program that georgia gets benefits from that you would end." if it's redundant, it

needs to go. -- states have to balance their budgets and look at their programs. in georgia, we went to a situation in which we lost almost $5 billion in revenue. we had to look at our government. programs, we have to look at our government. congress' role is to control the purse strings and do oversight, and it is part of what we should be doing as legislators. host: another treat brings it -- tweet rings it back to legislation. that is ado, and reason many of us offer mms on the floor, we go at the appropriations process as we do. the problem of the last three years is that we have been doing these omnibus spending bills