congress. what's the rest of the interview with john murphy the u.s. chamber of commerce tomorrow, here on c-span at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 eastern -- six upon p.m. eastern. veterans --going deputy veterans affairs secretary thomas bowman talks about helping veterans and keeping the v.a. accountable. nationalrom the coalition of homeless veterans. it's the last speech by secretary bowman before he retires later this month. [applause] good morning. it is a distinct pleasure for me are and professionally to introduce our speaker. as many of you know, i had a career here in dcp -- here in

d.c. i served as the director of homeless veterans programs. for those of you who are outside of washington, where all the real work gets done, i will take you that inside washington there are people who make things and one of those people is one of the people that i am here to be with this morning. tom bowman has a long and distinguished career. you have got his bio in your book. he is a proud marine corps veteran, 21 one years of active service, 30 years total, but more importantly to what we do here, he is a man who evaluatesnderstands, and takes action. i workeds at the va,

directly with secretaries, deputy secretaries and chiefs of staff on a regular basis, and i can tell you there is no finer person that i have worked with he is going to make some remarks, but unusual for top leadership officials, he is going to actually stick around a little bit and take some questions from you as well. so be thinking about that. but it is a distinct honor and pleasure for me to introduce tom bowman, the deputy secretary of veterans affairs. [applause] tom: it truly is a pleasure for me to be here. i'm wearing my flashy time. there is a little story behind it i will share with you in a minute. but listening to pete talk about va, it wasogether at the eig

amazing. if you want to talk about a class act and an advocate for homeless veterans, and keeping leadership focused on program and actual execution, it was the doherty. it was pete doherty. it was a pleasure to work with him. [applause] before that, as i was parked in front of the library, i found this on my car. i figured i would give it to you. [laughter] that was easy. [laughter] so i think pete for that introduction. to acknowledge some folks who are here, especially chi

ck, we worked together in years past. he has been not only a tremendous advocate for nch p, but also for veterans writ large across the country. i don't know most of you, but i do know of the reputation your organization has in the community, and i do have some prepared remarks. from them to deviate because this is going to be my last public event as the deputy secretary. i have announced by retirement on the 15th of june, but it is only my retirement from the the eight. i plan to stay very active in the veteran's space, especially in the world of homeless veterans. so it's a pleasure for me to be here, and i can think of no finer organization to part

public ways as the deputy secretary for this organization. departing from my prepared one thing i would like to hopefully dispel is, i know over the last year there has been some consternation, some confusion about whether or not the department of veterans affairs is truly committed to homeless veterans and programs for homeless veterans. let me straight in the record if anybody has confusion about it. we are, and there is going to be, a continuing focus and funding and support of homeless veterans. [applause] fact that there is some in place right now regarding a new secretary, we

will have a new secretary and we will have a new deputy secretary, and the department is going to be in good hands. this is a process you all are aware of, that political appointees come and go depending upon what their personal or professional circumstances are, but the department remains. you have 360,000 employees in the department of veterans affairs across the country. 60,000, 270,000 kind of more oriented and they health arena with the veterans health administration, but all focused on one thing, and that is taking care of veterans. their ability to do that is, in my opinion, based upon the years i have had working at the v.a. but also as an active-duty my last roughly four

years at the pentagon, that we in the country, but we especially in the department of veterans affairs i believe are at an inflection point. there is something happening at the v.a. to move us in a direction of, where do we really need to be as a department, what programs do we really need to have into the future? and that assessment is going on right now in any number of ways. last six orer the seven months the issue of the veterans choice bill, and the difficulty of coming to agreement and then having it passed, but we now have the mission act. so we now have a piece of

legislation that is going to ofp redefine the issue choice in the community, health care choice in the community. why is that important? the reason it's important is it's going to help solidify the understanding and the reality hospitals and its its outpatient clinics and it's its thatters -- and centers, that's not the total picture of the v.a. health care. it also occurs in the health care that is provided by providers in the community. and i think what you are going to find over the next three years to five years is a, not a redefinition, but i think some whener clarity on exactly, somebody says v.a. health care, what does that mean? i werethat when pete and

at v.a., when summit he said v.a. health care, what first came to mind was v.a. hospitals, outpatient clinic, the vet. centers and -- the vet centers. needed, then veterans go to the community. but that community provider system was not looked at as an veterans health care, it was a default, what we would look to because we couldn't provided inside the campus. years down, 15, 18 the timeline, and i think where we are now is giving greater definition, ritter clarity as to what we expect of health care -- greater definition, greater expect of to what we health care in the community, and funding it. and homeless veterans are a part of the knee. and in this organization helps -- helps define the

focus for that particular cohort of the veterans and their families. 18 years ago, when people set a said as veteran -- homeless veteran, a homeless veteran was living in tents. i spent a number of years living in florida, in hernando county, and there were tent villages for homeless. tentnnovated in those villages were veterans, and they were not well taken care of by the health care system that we in v.a., in tampa and st. pete. weas part of that, and didn't do as good a job as we should. we are doing much, much better now than we were then, because of organizations like yours. you all are the echo chambers, to make sure that we in washington dc, here and feel --

ear andington see, here and feel the unique needs of homeless veterans and their families. 15 years ago that small phrase and their families was never part of the dialogue, but now it is. that's progress, that is real progress, inc. is on the hill, now legislators when they say and think of homeless veterans, it is now homeless veterans and their families, because there is out, ifo out -- an echo you are going to address almost veteran you are going to also address what may be a dysfunctional family, just by the simple act of helping the homeless veteran.

another point i would like to say thethat some people of all broken, because of this bad press that has gone up. the a is not broken. it is not broken. isis changing -- the v.a. not broken. it is not broken. a lotchanging, and like of parts of our health care system, we have problems. ask it is. how many private health care systems are as open and transparent when a problem occurs, than the department of veterans affairs? is united health? they are a wonderful system, they are good. is humana? out are not going to push into the public arena, the fact of their errors and their mistakes. they may become known, but what is our obligation?

our obligation is to be transparent and to make the problems known. because once we make them known, they are going to get corrected. and where the going to get corrected -- and why are they going to get corrected? because organizations like yours are the guardians to make sure the department does pay attention and does follow and the congress relies upon you all to be there echo chamber. you inform them as to what is working or not working right. we are a better department because of organizations like yours. i think that you take it personal, make it personal, as an organization. if we are not doing what we are supposed to be doing, we want to hear about it. your obligation is to make sure that we hear about it. i think that is where they th

to move.eginning some people say it is broken because of the culture. i think that is worn out right now. the culture with that we have -- the culture that we have at v.a. is, we have a significant employee force that was to do the right thing for the veterans and their families. and the definition of the right thing is ever-changing. if you take lincoln's phrase, to care for him who bore the battle, and his widow and his orphan, the word care for me is the most important. because if you look at it that can, what was the care being provided for the veteran? them offs it was take the battlefield, bind up their wounds, and then they were just sent home to read and then it began to develop that there was a greater sense of obligation that the country had to take care of them, and the word care began to have a broader

definition than just minimal health care. it was pension, and benefits. i think the last inflection asnt of significance was world war ii was ending and general bradley was tasked by president truman to come up with and method, how do you upgrade the veterans administration to be able to take care of all these returning soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines? needs, they needed to be reintegrated back into the community. and if you look at what he structured back then and compare it to where we are right now, it's the same organizational structure. the three administrations, the g.i. bill, home loans, the

to a v.a. medical center, and medical schools. that was all designed and thought of at the end of world war ii. we still have that structure. it has been enhanced, it has been matured, and it still is going to change. youculture of v.a. is, change to be able to accommodate the specific needs of the veterans of today, yesterday, and anticipate what are going to be the needs tomorrow. [applause] you all will help shape that especially inow, the realm of homeless veterans and their families. be aggressive about it.

don't be timid. make it personal. if you take anything away from my remarks today, it is your mission, make it personal. because the more personal it is to you as individuals as well as an organization, the greater clarity and a greater impact you are going to have in the congress, as well is in the department. make it personal. youn't know how many of have heard of the speech by mcraven, make your bed. hands, that's a little less than half of the room. all you have to do is google, make your bed. it's about a 19 minute set of remarks from 2014 by admiral mcr

aven, they had of the u.s. special operations command at the point he was retiring. shortly after that speech he retired and became chancellor at the university of texas system. i'm a graduate of the university of texas, the same rotc unit, samehorns, the unit in the arab to see as the unital,, -- the same rotc as the admiral. and you can see how successful he is. i take credit for all that because of the leadership lessons i left for him to follow through on. i haven't been able yet to communicate that to him. [laughter] absolutely wonderful

man. you will enjoy listening to his remarks. and what it is, it's how do you change the world? that's his name. and he gives 10 points to it. i would like to talk you about a couple of them, but it is well worth your time watching him resent, because i think the lessons there that he speaks about our not only lessons for you individually, but they become a template of how many of our homeless veterans, many of them i think, are coming out of homelessness and re-engineering based upon the simple principles that the admiral talks about. the first when he says is make your bed. you wake up in the morning. i saw that, i have been intimidated because notsionally i,

occasionally, most of the time i didn't make my bed. but after listening to the admiral i said, it just takes a minute or two, and i made my bed. youroint was, if you make bed you know you have accomplished something if the rest of the day has been nothing but failure. you come home, look at the bed, and say, not bad are you done good. you have success. [laughter] challenges, he talks about failure. and success can be borne out of failure. in oneall going to fail way or another. i had any number of failure experiences, so have you all, but each one of them kind of gave you an insight into how you can turn that failure into a success. and i think many of our homeless veterans are beginning to do more so now than in the

past because of the programs that the view has and that will be developed into the future, influenced and shaped by people like you. .o don't hesitate you want to try and as you try, if you fail, you're not successful, you get up and continue on. and that was his message. because there will be a success, and that success may be for one person, but that one person then can generate three or four other people, just by reason of their experience and what you did, what you individually did to change that one person's life. that one person can influence three or four others, and they influence 10 or 12 .thers and that happens, it's happening

today, it's going to happen tomorrow in the world of homeless veterans. thatart is to make sure every day, at the department level, every day, that we make sure that people who are involved with the homeless veteran programs and the execution of those programs, that they do their job, and they do it willingly. if there is one cohort i have found in my 10 to 12 years experience at the v.a., where there is really a heartfelt it is in theation, realm of taking care of homeless veterans and their needs. it is heartfelt. each of those veterans has a story, and each of those veterans are experiencing failure but from that organization and you individually, taking it personally, are going to change

the lives of many, many more homeless veterans. i think it is part of the reason why, when we start talking about the number of homeless veterans decreasing, and our goal is functional zero, and that's kind of a bureaucratic term, there will always be individuals who are experiencing homelessness or near homelessness. betterre going to get and actually trying to see those individuals before they become homeless, that's where we want to be. what are the indicators? we have programs and they are into the future, they are going there, we are going to be much better at predictive analysis, but it is going to be organizations like yours that will have to keep us, as a department, focused on moving in that direction, making sure the right amount of resources are dedicated to it. thatxtensions of programs we have, the veterans justice

outreach programs in v.a., the veterans courts, the treatments extensionsse were and i think there were motivated the beginning, i think the first court was in buffalo and since then we have over 500 around the country. ifre are going to be more, there are more judges who want to have either calendars on their docket or actual courts, that they can get the resources to help address the veterans who come in, many of whom are from or world of homelessness, will find themselves moving into homelessness if the program that they are being offered or should be offered in the court system -- isn't there.

we as a country are looking at homelessness, and taking care of homeless veterans to me, is the way the country can take the lead and address the homeless veterans issue writ large nationally. how well we do it at the v.a. can become a template for communities around the country, and you all are the messengers, not only going out but also what you learn out there that isn't being done exactly right, can be done better, and you bring the message back. one of the other principal admiral nic mcraven brought up, i have my list here, he was talking about

hell week. and wednesday of hell week is when they go out to the mud flats, the tijuana my flats. and the individuals who go out ud flats.minde and the individuals who go out there, it is cold, and it is all men, to test the fiber of training to see who else we need to weed out, who else is not going to be able to demonstrate the strength, the commitment, despite the cold weather, despite the pain that they are going to stay. and he talks about how they are ud, and the instructors are touting them, listen, all we need is five of you to quit and we will take you home, we will take you out of the mud.

and there must've been 45 people there, and the instructors are saying, just five of you need to quit. the admirals saying they were looking around, they could see there were two or three were ready, just bent over in pain, they figure these individuals probably are going to step out. he was a participant in that class, so he was in the mud. he wasn't going to be one that was going to quit . to prevent somebody in that group, he can't tell you who, somebody in that group knew that there were three or four of these individuals who were probably ready to quit. and what that individual did was to start singing. here you are, for hours or five hours in, you are colder than you have ever been, you are hungry, you haven't slept in four or five days, and you this

song start. and the instructors were just coming down hard, who is doing that, stop that. come on, five people, we will take you home. voices, it was two more three more voices coming and pretty soon everybody in the mud was singing. night gote says, the shorter, the pain seemed to go away, and everybody who was in the mud flats went home, eight hours later, as a group. four or five who were probably close, didn't. what was the point? individually you have your own inflection point, you have your thought about what is the maximum you can take, whether it is pain, consternation, but is it really all that you can take?

there is always more that you can experience, more that you can do, and the point there was, find it within. don't quit. in seal point was, training there is the bell. all you have to do if you want to quit at any point in training is go to the bell and ring it. and then you go, you pack your humiliated in not any way, you have just made a decision that this is not where you need to be, this is not what you need to do, you ring the bell. lhe whole purpose of the sea training is that you don't want, or you don't need to ring that bell. you can be successful. you can overcome adversity.

you can do more than you have alwaysne, and it can't start with something simple, because he began to do the simple things in life, how can you expect yrself to do the more complicated? so one builds on the other. and he finishes his 10 points by ever a lie't ever, yourself to ring the bell, to admit that you cannot do more than what you have done. rely on some of the else, don't try to do it alone, find a partner, find somebody to work with. and that is what you all are, as an organization. every homeless veteran out there that you impact, that you deal one of them is a potential success story in their own way, because of what you do.

and not everybody is going to be successful, but we don't know that. it's a question of, who has touched them? all, through your organization and individually, have saved lives, have saved marriages, have saved children. make it personal. don't give up. you hold the department of veterans affairs accountable, for what we offer as programs, you make us successful and we will become even more successful, based on what you do and how you communicate that to us. with that, like i said, this is my last public outing as the deputy secretary. to berobably going joining the ranks of those who volunteer, working with homeless veterans.

i welcome that. i consider it to be a godsend. it is my way of giving back, letting me put action where my last 10 to 12 years of helping to develop policy, i want to get out there and live under the same policies that i helped pass, the kazaa think the are good. they are good policies, and they are going to get better. because i'm going to be part of you, so with that, thank you. [applause] thank you, very much. i will take questions. if i can't answer them, i will take them down and make sure an

answer gets to either pete or to chick. audience member: that is the kind of leadership that has made such a difference, and is really produced results. there is camaraderie and there is support, but you really need leaders, especially as that folkse goes to the local who control the resources that allow us to get the results we do, the hospital directors, vision directors, skilled nurses, clinical support that is crucial to get veterans up the streets, and keep them off the streets and alleviate suffering etc. is to make sure the integrated care that has been developed over the years continues in a robust fashion. the recent act that was passed, and very concerned about how that is implemented, and to

ensure that that's wrong message remains where the local resources are, as it goes from the central office. because for years we had such a struggle to get the hospitals represented in our conferences. they felt they were outside what was going on with homeless services. so i would hate to give that up now, because we have struggled to bring them into our mission. tom: we are not going to move backwards. part of the reason is because you're not going to allow it. congress won't allow it, if they are made aware that this is what is happening. ofhink the attitude leadership within v.a., they are going to want to move forward. i do believe that the ba you -- see today is you not the v.a. that you will see five years from now retained is

going to occur. whether it's addressing the capital assets of the physical plants, we look at the demographics,f where they used to be just millions up in the greater new england area, where have they gone, they have moved south. where was a lot of construction after world war ii? is where the veterans went back. at some point we have to look realistically, where our footprint needs to be to help address and take care of the who are in yesterday need of our were care, but also those of today and into the future. you all will not let us regress, there is no doubt in my mind. mr. secretary,: my name is ralph cooper. know if you remember, but when a secretary had a veterans advisory

committee, i know that petri remembers,that pete and we reported directly to the secretary. our recommendations went directly to him. and my fellow founder just spoke eloquently about what is going on and what needs to happen in the future. and i just want to thank you for so thatere for us, those kinds of recommendations don't just get skipped over. the homeless veterans advisory committee, we had a direct line to the secretary bird that was amazing back then. -- direct line to the secretary. amazing back then. god bless you, and may you have a blessed retirement. [applause] tom: regarding the reports of

the visor he committees, my belief is these reports, copies of these reports should go to capitol hill. they go to the secretary because they are advisory, to help the secretary and the deputy and the other senior leadership decide what are the needs of the veterans community. the homeless in area, women's veterans, whatever the specific mission person is -- mission purpose of the advisory committee, i believe those reports should go to the hill, and i know many of them do. they do. but i think that, as you continue executing the mission that you have as an organization in the community, when you were with congressional members and

you are going into their offices and briefing them, you can just say, have you and seen the last advisory committee report that was provided to the secretary? i'm willing to bet you that in better than 50% of the cases, the answer is going to be no, but again, that is the reason you're there, to help them refocus and ask the department of copies -- department for copies of the recent report, and of congress asks, they will get it. they will get it. questions. audience member: good morning. chatham andhristie i'm with catholic charities. my first question is about women veterans. i'm a veteran myself. even though i'm grateful for what the v.a. has done so far, there are a lot of initiatives

for homeless female veterans, but i think that the a can do more. a lot of our female veterans have children and a lot of shelters won't house a 16-year-old. a lot of shelters won't take children, therefore a female veteran is limited in her options. a lot of grants we received from the federal government are more allowriven, and some easier access for male veterans than female veterans. what do you suggest i do our we do to champion those causes for housing for our female veterans? as far as fema veterans again, is there a coalition or something that is making major changes within the v.a. system, to be more female friendly as far as health care? things ofsts, and that nature, a lot of women have days to see gynecologists, which to me is a

female veteran, i have the same rights as a male veteran. if a male veteran can get care today, i should be able to. answer on those questions, and thank you for your service to the aid i really appreciate everything you have done. tom: let me answer both questions. fee a ise, the attempting to do more to accommodate our women veterans. there is a women veterans advisory committee. i would recommend that this thatization connect with advisory committee and make them aware of any resolutions you have, any ideas that you have, as it relates to women veterans. it's ae they get it, very active group i have to say that. cohort oft growing veterans in the veterans space

are women veterans. medicalhe country, centers have attempted, and not all of them have been as successful as others, to try and theade the structure, to aities, the clinics comedy women veterans. in washington dc, i went through their clinic. i was impressed by the difference that i saw from when i was first over there about 10 years ago. there hasmpa, florida been a separate building just specifically focused on women veterans. womanrticular needs for a veteran to feel comfortable, and coming to a v.a. medical center,

that is where the v.a. now is trying to have medical center directors bring their attention. how do we make it more welcoming for the female veteran to come to my hospital? ofre is a significant amount funding that is being oriented toward updating and creating clinics at our medical center. withe to be very frank you. one of the problems is staffing you can build the most beautiful clinic. if you can't staff it, you have not provided what the woman veteran needs. at the same time, you attempt to cliniciansth ob/gyn to come in. i think they are attempting to do that. we are not where we need to be, but we are going to get there

because of the focus, the comments that you just made, because of the focus on it. because that is the need into the future. want tod a young woman go into the military, maybe serve a career, with the belief that i serve my country and it will take care of me when i leave, especially if i have incurred illnesses or injuries as a result of my service. that is an expectation that is a promise, that the country makes. it is kind of cliche, but it is true. it is a promise. we owe it to you. personal,d, make it and make sure your voice is heard. just got the hook. [laughter]

i thank you, i wore my special type for you all because this is my last event. pickughter happened to this out. it happened one day when i was getting dressed, i was going to speak to a research advisory group and i was face timing with my oldest granddaughter. was 16, theshe younger one was 14. i am going to speak to a research center. they go boring. [laughter] a really great group. i am looking to have some very rewarding experiences. i said i'm going to wear a suit and tie. no, you are wearing a

cool one, wear the with all of the colors. i said ok. it, and they said they would really like me. [laughter] that was the goal. [laughter] with that, thank you very much. i look forward to being part of this. [applause] journal,'s washington live every day with news and policy issues that impact you.

coming up sunday morning, laurence tribe on his new book. andxamines the process history of impeachment. and anthony scaramucci, former white house munication is director, talks about the press, politics, and trump administration. be sure to watch c-span's washington journal, live at 7:00 a.m. eastern sunday morning. join the discussion. >> now, more of c-span's coverage of this year's commencement addresses with anita hill. maine republican senator susan collins, pacific research ceo sally pines at pepperdine, and instagram chief operating officer marnie levine at the university of business michigan school. speak.ill was asked to

earlier this year, professor hill was chosen to lead an anti-sexual harassment commission in hollywood. during confirmation hearings for supreme court justice clarence thomas, professor hill became one of the first women to speak publicly about her experiences with workplace harassment. [applause] anita: thank you. good morning. it is a pleasure to be here. i want to thank the board of trustees and the faculty and have made this singular recognition possible. i proudly accept this honorary degree and the privilege of addressing the class of 2018. class of 2018, so yo