happy birthday olivia. have a great weekend everybody, enjoy the weather out there and we'll see you monday. ♪ the >> julie: the long quest by republicans to repeal in a place obamacare, taking another step forward with the rollout of a senate bill. president trump on their side, but can the leadership find the votes? hello, good afternoon and morning to you. this is the "happening now," i'm julie banderas. >> leland: the senate plan would cut funding for medicaid as well as cutting obamacare's taxes on the wealthy. changes favored could end up losing some moderates. the white house insists republicans will get it done.

>> one president thomas to get some he done, it's going to get done. with that combination, i think we'll get this thing done, put it in conference and hopefully by the august recess, really have obamacare repeal and replaced. >> leland: john roberts on the north lawn. we know the math is tight, republicans can only lose two in the senate. how much arm-twisting do we expect the president to have to do and for that matter, to do? >> i think he will be gently twisting arms, but you can bet the president and the white house will be heavily involved in trying to win over the senators who say they can't sign onto the bill. so far, they say they don't like it the way they it is.

senior administration official this morning told me that the white house will be working hard behind the scenes, not as overtly as they were on the house bill, to make changes in the bill that could attract the support of at least two, if not all of those senators. the president telling us on fox and friends this morning that he is optimistic that he can get things done. >> it's a very complicated situation from a standpoint, you do something that's good for one group, but bad for another. it's a very, very narrow path. i think we're going to get there. we have four very good people -- it's not that they were opposed, they like to get certain changes. we'll see if we can take care of that. >> nsm interview, the president also talked this morning about the now infamous tweets that he sent out about their possibly being tapes of his conversations with james comey, suggesting that it was a bit of a nudge to make sure comey accurately reflected the content of their

conversation, should he refined himself before congress. the president also talked about the potential that the special counsel, robert mueller may have to recuse himself from the russia investigation because of his long relationship with comey, listen here. >> he's very, very good friends with comey, which is very bothersome, but he's also, we are going to have to see. we'll have to see in terms -- there has been no obstruction, there has been no collusion, there has been leaking by comey, i can say that the people who have been hired are all hillary clinton supporters, some of them worked for hillary clinton. the whole thing is ridiculous, if you want to know the truth from that standpoint. robert mueller is an honorable man and hopefully he'll come up with an honorable solution. >> back to the tapes for a second, while the president seemed to indicate that he believed that sending out that tweet might have nudged james

comey into accurately reflecting the description of the meeting that they had together and the two phone calls, don't forget the white house did disagree quite strenuously with a couple of things that comey said before the senate intelligence committee regarding the former fbi director's perception that the president was asking him for a pledge of loyalty as well as the fact that comey seem to indicate that the president was asking him to drop the investigation into lieutenant general mike flynn. as well, let's also remember that tweet precipitated eventually the reappointment of the special counsel, robert mueller. you could probably say safely that the president had a little bit of a victory there. >> leland: james comey, also "the new york times" ." john roberts on the north lawn, thank you. julie with more on health care >> julie: the senate republican plan has big cuts to

medicaid funding and also eliminates obamacare texas to the wealthy americans. the president supports it, but democrats loudly oppose the bill. >> health care is a very difficult situation. the clintons tried to get it and after years and years, they couldn't do it. obamacare was murder for them to get, and how it's failed. it's virtually out of business. obamacare is a disaster and we are trying to do something. >> senate republicans had to make a choice, how to pay for all those juicy tax cuts for their rich buddies. i'll tell you how, blood money. people will die. let's be very clear. senate republicans are paying for tax cuts for the wealthy with american lives. >> julie: i'm joined now by glenn hall, news editor for "the wall street journal." let's talk about tax cuts because nancy pelosi also came out yesterday and essentially called this a guise for

republicans. it's really tax reform, these are tax cuts under the guise of a health care plan. which is it and is this going to help the rich and hurt the poor? we don't know who to believe. >> and a lot of ways, this has to be a tax and spending bill because it's going through the reconciliation process. it does address the tax issues. they are rolling back many of them facing out. it's a goal that many conservatives how to reduce the costs and reduce the deficit. it's got those impacts. the question of how much impact will have on average americans is something we will learn next week when we get the cbo scorecard. the senate is hoping that it will be fewer americans on the 23 million that were slated to lose health care according to the score in the hospital. >> julie: during the trump campaign, he promised he would not make cuts. by rolling out tax cuts, and

that means billions of dollars. federal funding has to go somewhere and it has come out of somewhere, so that would mean medicaid. medicaid costs would in fact increase. until the cbo score comes out next week, we don't know the exact numbers, we don't know if the democrats are actually accurate on the tens of millions of people that are going to lose their insurance, but what is your take, your prediction on how the american public will be affected? >> we had a poll out yesterday that took a look at that and what we saw was generally speaking 41% support the act as it is right now, but 30% that was a bad idea. the problem of the house bill, we were unable to pull on the senate bill, the house bill was a 48% are thinking the house bill is not a good idea. there's a challenge in terms of the american people and that's why there's so much debate within the g.o.p. because many who are worried about the impact on their election chances back home. >> julie: the house bill and the senate bill. let's talk about the differences, because some say, while there are some

similarities, there are a lot of differences. pre-existing conditions, premiums, which by the way have been skyrocketing for a lot of people under obamacare. and the affordable care act really should be named the un-affordable care act. how is this going to be more affordable for the american people because that's what they want. affordable health care that works. >> the expectation from the house in a senate or by shifting the responsibility back to the states and allow them to adjust the medicaid programs, giving them per capita allowances, will allow states to have flexibility to change the program and adapt to their unique circumstances. a specialized program might work better. >> julie: what about caps question at this allows states to put caps on health care, medicaid. right now, as it stands, the senate for medicare and medicaid just before president obama enrollment dropped down from 12.2 million. that's a big drop.

the reason why, sticker shock. a lot of people are concerned that states are not going to be able to afford medicaid. >> that's why the senate and house bills want to fade out the expansion and they'll put it back to a similar situation before obamacare. that's where the concern from those who oppose these plans because that would reduce the access to care for a lot of americans, millions of americans. that's one of the great debates they're facing right now and trying to get these two bills, one of the senate to see how they reconcile with the house. >> julie: glenn hall, thank you very much for trying to make some sense out of all this for us. we'll wait for the cbo score next week and we publicans will back to the drawing table, they've got till july 4th. a lot to do until then. thank you so much. the >> leland: russia announcing at launched cruise missiles targeting isis positions in syria. moscow saying six missiles were fired from their vessels in the mediterranean sea claiming to strike command centers and

ammunition stockpiles. conor powell why from our mideast bureau. we take the russians at their word on this? >> it seems to be that there were strikes launched by russia and russia is a saying that before they launched these strikes against isis which is their claim, it hasn't been indefinitely verified yet, they gave both israel and turkey a heads up about these strikes. they did not however give the united states a heads up as they have done in the past. russia's latest show of force against isis comes as mounting tensions between moscow and washington after a u.s. jet shot down a syrian plane that dropped bombs near american backed rebels in syria a few days ago. the russian assad regime in response, russian military cut all communications with the pentagon and russia said it would treat any u.s. jet west of the euphrates is a potential

target. the assad regime does continue to consolidate those victories and territories on the ground in syria and the united states, russia, and the assad regime are starting to buff up against each other as they battle not only for space, but against isis and it is becoming much more tense there and raising the real possibility for conflict, but one thing we are starting to see is that as we move forward and the assad regime is starting to win on the ground among countries like france, the president said yesterday that the priority needs to be on isis and not on a side leaving. that's very much the view of russia and iran. that's a big change in countries like the united states and saudi arabia which one side gone. a lot of change and dynamics right now on the ground in a large part, the united states is left out of the future right now. the u.s. and russia are not talking. >> leland: success is defined in some way different ways. conor powell live in the mideast

bureau, thank you. >> julie: majority leader mitch mcconnell unveiling the g.o.p. senate health care bill and now, he just needs for fear of public and senators to vote for it, which may actually be easier said than done. senator john cornyn will join me next to discuss how the leadership will get republicans on board and if it is possible to do so. plus, a woman convicted of trying to hire a hit man to kill her husband wants a new trial. it could be her fourth on the same charge. why her lawyers say she didn't get a fair trial third time around.

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prevented her from having a fair trial. in texas, the search for a missing teenager has come to a sad end. police have found the body a 14-year-old caitlin cargo miles from her bedford home. still waiting for the medical examiner to determine her cause of death. remember the wisconsin inmate feature in the hit netflix series making a murderer? he is one step closer to to gaining his freedom. a federal appeals court is bringing brandon dancy's life sentence to be tossed out. they say he was coerced into confessing to the 2005 murder of teresa hall back when he was just 15 years old. prosecutors say they're going to appeal this ruling to the supreme court. the >> julie: on senate health care bill may be on shaky ground just hours after mitch

mcconnell released his proposal yesterday. mcconnell still wants to bring it to a floor vote before the july recess. >> there'll be ample time to analyze, discuss, and provide thoughts before legislation comes to the floor and i hope every senator take that opportunity. next week, we expect the congressional budget office to release a score, after that, we will proceed to a robust debate in an open amendment process here in the senate floor, a process that i would encourage each of our 100 senators to participate in. >> i want a bill that looks like, feels light, and is a repeal bill. my fear is when i look at this, i keep reading it and it's sounding like obamacare to me. >> julie: joining me now is john cornyn, the senate majority. tell us how you feel about the plan.

>> i'm actually optimistic that we are going to pass this legislation. right now, the obamacare individual markets -- people are expressing huge increases in their premiums. 105% since 2013, deductibles of a simple he cannot afford an insurance companies pulling out of the marketplace and leaving consumers with no choice. we need to stabilize the market, we need to bring premiums down, we need to reassure people that have pre-existing conditions that they will be covered and wanes but medicaid, which is the health care safety net for poor americans on a sustainable path. >> julie: those who oppose this are saying that it's ascension only just a tax cut and there are putting it into a health care plan, but of those people forgetting the fact that the premiums under obamacare have gone up so much that the people are bailing out of medicaid because it's become too

expensive? what do you say to the republicans who are opposing this as well? >> this isn't going to be a tax cut. obamacare raised $1 trillion in taxes to pay for obamacare, but this affects middle and low income people wear their insurance premiums are taxed. their pharmacy benefits are taxed. we're going to repeal that along with the original mandate. this process that we are going through right now, this is a discussion draft. we are having ongoing negotiations with senators. we've invited democratic colleagues to join us. so far they have refused to join us. if they continue to do so, we have no choice but to continue to do our best to rescue the people from the feelers of obamacare. >> julie: how does this boost options for millions of people who buy their insurance on the individual market? >> right now, the mandates from

obamacare force people to buy insurance that they don't necessarily want or need. it raises the cost of that in a way that makes it unaffordable. while the goal of obamacare was supposed to be universal coverage, we know that about 28 million people are still uninsured in the country. what that's done as it's narrowed the risk pools so only older people with more illnesses have signed up, while younger, healthier ones have not and that's raised premiums for everybody. >> julie: i want to talk to all those rural americans who voted for president trump and now are trying to be scared by those who are saying that this is going to help the wealthiest americans and our country, while hurting the poorest. this plan provides tax credits to help low income families.

what does it do to those under the current law that cannot afford health care? >> to me, this is one of the most positive aspects of a bill, that even if you live in a state like texas but did not expand medicaid, if people above -- people in poverty will now have access to tax credits they can use to buy private insurance. that is a tremendous improvement. i think it will be, and my state alone, we'll see hundreds of thousands and across the countr country. to me, that's a big improvement. >> julie: would you say to rand paul who causes obamacare? >> this is not a perfect bill and i understand senator paul's concerns and i share many of them, but we have to deal with the art of the possible. it's not going to be something we are going to like. i think this is the best we've been able to do with the hand we've been dealt and we can

afford to fail. >> julie: john cornyn, thank you for talking to us. >> leland: he's got a busy couple weeks coming up. coming up on the show, a woman linked to notorious mexican drug lord el chapel was arrested trying to enter our country degeneration, amd, he told me to look at this grid every day. and we came up with a plan to help reduce my risk of progression, including preservision areds 2. my doctor said preservision areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula the national eye institute recommends to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd after 15 years of clinical studies. preservision areds 2. because my eyes are everything.

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okay, what do we got? okay, watch this. do the thing we talked about. what do we say? it's going to be great. watch. remember what we were just saying? go irish! see that? yes! i'm gonna just go back to doing what i was doing. find your awesome with the xfinity x1 voice remote. >> leland: right now, a former mexican legislator is now being linked to an aquarius drug lord. the u.s. attorney's office claims she worked to hand in hand with the drug lord, al chabot. she was caught trying to enter the united states, she is being charged with conspiracy. authorities say she intended to sell cocaine into drug trafficking rings without chappell.

he is awaiting trial next april. >> julie: london police assay manslaughter charges are being weighed in last week's deadly high-rise fire. police are saying that the fire started apparently in a refrigerator freezer. please are saying insulation in tiles found in the building did not pass fire safety tests. grenfell tower is still being searched. >> i want to be as transparent as i can. at the same time, i need to protect my investigation. if i find out that individuals deaths

individuals -- the working conditions found at grenfell tower are distressing in many ways. the >> julie: benjamin hall is live in london with the very latest. >> good morning. now the focus on this has moved to the read of element of the building that happened last year. the firm which carried it out and maybe people are asking whether they try to cut corners and save money and whether they are guilty of negligence and possible manslaughter charges. the building is still standing, but it's dangerously unstable. rescue services can get to many of the apartments. while police have said that 79 people died, they also say that they may never know the true total. up to 600 buildings in the u.k. u.k. -- so far in the u.k., 11 buildings have been identified with being at risk.

authorities believe of the nighttime fire was started by a fridge freezer catching fire on the third floor, but then accelerated quickly upwards. prime minister theresa may has apologized for the government's slow response in the immediate aftermath. >> that was a failure of the state, local and national, to help people when they needed it most. as prime minister, i apologize for that failure. and as prime minister, i've taken responsibility for doing what we can to put things right. >> now focus turns to people left homeless. the government have also purchased 68 new apartments in a new luxury development to house those affected. this is turning very political over here. some people are accusing the left of politicizing the strategy

social divisions caused this and had it been in a wealthy neighborhood, this would never have happened. >> julie: benjamin hall, thank you very much. >> leland: through this weekend, dangerous flash flooding and the wake of tropical storm cindy. look at that. there is more rough weather on the way. millions of people in the bull's-eye. plus, the controversial changes in the daily white house news briefing. is it possible relations between donald trump and the mainstream media could get any worse? >> we will never be intimidated by the dishonest media corporations who will say anything and do anything to get people to watch their screens or to get people to buy their failing papers. whoooo.

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>> we will never be intimidated by the dishonest media corporations will say anything and do anything to get people to watch their screens or to get people to buy their failing papers. these guys, the fake news, they tell you -- it's fake news. not all of it, some of it is good and some of the people are great actually. some are real bad and there really fake.

if you listen to them, we didn't pass any -- i'm not talking about executive orders, which we have signed a lot, and we got rid of a lot of really bad pieces that were signed by president obama. believe me. if you listen to the fake news, they say, "he didn't pass any legislation." >> leland: president trump making it quite clear how he feels about the press. some of the founding fathers didn't like much of the press coverage they got either. ed appears adversarial relationships between the president and the media is almost becoming toxic. to talk about it, tammy bruce and dan bernstein. nice to see you both. tammy, ladies first. doesn't matter that it's bad? >> it depends on where we set for whether it's bad.

as a viewer of popular culture in the media, we've seen this trajectory. let's not forget who coined the issue of fake news, that was the democrats. this is their effort to try to affect the nature of what has been done online. the democrats also have an issue of trying to control things, but i think what you see here, especially flick over the last eight years, you had a media that was compliant with president obama, a lovefest if you will, and now you have a few months of donald trump and this is surprising americans, the starch difference between how they covered that president versus this one. i believe that you have to confront power, absolutely, but you also have to inform the american people. a couple years ago, there was a poll that found media approval ratings below that of a cockroach. a couple weeks ago, 6 out of 10 americans were angry.

they were angry at how the media was covering politics. they may see it as adversarial. but we want is information and sometimes, opinions and that's where americans think their failing. >> leland: does not depend on which media you are angry at? >> one of a few things americans agree on is they dislike the media. >> leland: but they still watch a lot of it. >> let's go to the main point, donald trump has been a fraud his entire life. this is a fake war on fake news and the best way you can expose that if you look at the way he cultivates the media behind closed doors and attacked them in public. it is a nakedly cynical ploy to hold onto his base and distract attention from his policies. the >> leland: i'll let you have your own opinion. in a real sense, he was known for a long time as a favored

background source in new york on gossip and real estate. the war on media is real and a sense. you should out the media from having cameras inside the white house briefing room, we have some video from yesterday, the only part of the briefing that we were able to show you, which was sarah huckabee sanders walking out and that we had to pan off and turn the cameras off. jeff mason, president of the white house correspondent's association put a statement out saying we are not satisfied with the current state at play and we will work hard to change it. in the meantime, i have asked reporters that we use audio moving forward. tammy, does this matter? >> i don't think so. there are so many ways at the white house is communicating with the america people. they got very upset when other news is brought in or certain networks were moved to the back

row. it's like high school. with new media and all the writing of what they do, the media is not saying they can't get in, they just can't be on camera, god forbid. the american people -- >> leland: you will note that they are using copies of their questions that are being reported. >> we do and that's my point. my point is that this is about attention, it's about ego with the media. the more there on camera, the more they control the messaging. that's their issue. the more you bring a new media, that brought other resources, it means that there are other voices. >> leland: okay, dan. you may not be a member of the media, but we do love -- >> i will say that the silver lining about this, with the president and the white house is doing is discussing a total lack of transparency. the silver lining would be these

are useless. they spew propaganda. misinformation, thinks the president openly contradicts the next day. at a certain point, the white house press corps, the national media would be much better served going out and reporting and getting hard facts. the president's approval ratings are going to drop once people find out what's in the health care bill. the health care bill that he called me and embracing it. >> leland: at some level, you just said you agree that the briefings have become useless, but you do get from either sarah huckabee sanders or sean spicer, a lot of i don't knows, a lot of i haven't talked to the president about that. these are pretty basic questions that they seem to have a tough time kneeling down because often times the president contradicts them. >> it's less that than the fact that no matter what you say, it comes out differently in the end. it becomes this statue game. it makes it easier for you to have your spot at night or the

sound bite. i think getting back down to real boots on the ground reporting, and vesta getting getting, speaking to a variety of sources and then doing a larger story either in print or on camera is a great thing that americans like to see reporters doing again as opposed to this reality television. >> leland: whenever there is boots on the ground reporting, there is a source reporting that comes out from the white house, often times is attacked by the president. >> this is also a dynamic framework where the president is one of the most active presidents we've seen in a while. in his business style, he was asked acting his team to keep up with him. this is one of the arguments, should the president of the united states slow down and stay back with the people who are trying to catch up or shut his team be able to manage and stay up? this is where we might see as more changes at the white house. we have individuals who can keep up with the man who is an active president. >> that is a very generous spin. this is the most unorganized, undisciplined white house in

history. they'll have a real problem dealing with their communications because no one in washington or even new york for that matter who is good at this will take the job. they know they are set up to fail. they put these people out there to say things that are contradictory the next day by the president. they've lost total credibility. >> leland: or talk about the job of white house -- >> i love doing what i'm doing right now. what i think they need -- >> leland: does dan have a point? >> they have a hard time finding people that can keep up with this man. >> leland: you are admitting failure? >> no. it's creative and it's a work in progress. the president is a different kind of president. we have to have a fresh kind of look an end i am a hammock -- and dynamic you need a fresh point of view.

>> this is something we can agree on. the president will have a hard time having people who can keep up with all the dishonest, contradictory, insane things he says. >> leland: you have three words of agreement. >> this is a difference of opinion and point of view of what's occurring. there's judgment and then there's looking at the nature of what's happening and conveying that. >> leland: she gets the first word, she gets the last as well. thank you both for being here, appreciate it. >> julie: the remnants of tropical storm cindy may be getting a more dangerous than we had originally predicted in more dangerous than the storm. heavy rains from the storm causing massive flooding affecting millions of people from the gulf coast to the ohio valley. possible tornadoes also in the forecast and more rain is on the way. janice dean joins us live from the fox weather center.

>> the next 12-24 hours will be dealing with flooding's. there's a tornado warning for the next 15 minutes in mississippi. tornadoes will be a threat as well as big flooding. we could see -- we've already seen 6-8 inches, we could see an additional 8 inches on top of that. that's all we have the potential flash flooding. here's our future radar. mid atlantic in the northeast, you'll get some of this moisture. we look for that threat for flooding. back to you. >> julie: thank you so much. a woman convicted in an notorious charles manson murder, she is about to go up for parole. did california decide to free her after almost 50 years behind bars

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>> julie: heading to the white house now. be a secretary david chilton speaking to for the president be signing the va accountability act. >> it was in 2010 2010 that hes severely injured in an ied blast. he lost an arm, leg, and 40% of his body had burns over it. he wasn't expected to survive the medical flight, but he did, fortunately. thanks to what may be described as a miracle and certainly the support of his amazing wife, sarah. 110 surgeries and years of therapy, michael is able to join us here today. it's veterans like michael that are the reason the va exists. it's why when i had the

privilege of sitting in my office not too long ago with michael and sarah, talking about their experience that it was really heartbreaking for me to hear their story because the va had failed michael. he had to jump through one bureaucratic coupe after another just to try to get the services that he deserved and he had earned. in one situation, he had to wait 57 days just to get his prosthetic leg fixed. he had to wait three and a half years to be able to get the type of adaptions for his home that he needed to be able to live comfortably in his home. i'm pleased to say he's waiting no longer. unfortunately, michael's story isn't unique and that's the reason why we are so focused on fixing the va and reforming the va. the president and i are committed to fixing the va and tackling the challenges that have been within the va system for decades.

millions of veterans like michael and their families are counting on us, so today we are here to celebrate an important step towards that reform of the va. i'm thrilled that michael and his wife sarah are here with us today. they have two daughters and their home in north carolina and as you will see, expecting another very soon. michael and sarah, thank you for your service and sacrifice. you inspire all of us to do better. laser domain, please welcome sergeant michael and sarah. [applause] the >> julie: we are waiting the president to come out and speak about the va accountability bill. essentially what it does is it makes it easier to fire these employees.

this is a bipartisan agreement that has gotten bipartisan support. this is a promise he made on the campaign trail to fire va employees who have let our veterans down. his goal here is to fix the broken va health care system in order to protect our veterans and better serve them and provide them the medical care that they need. we'll have much more from the president. we're waiting for him to come out and speak and when it does happen, will bring it to you live. we will be right back, stay right there. it's our little differences, that can make a world of difference. expedia, everything in one place, so you can travel the world better.

the >> julie: fox news alert. wanted to get back to the east room of the white house we are expecting any minute now for president trump to sign the va accountability act. currently the va secretary david chilton who supports the measur

measure. let's listen right now and then we await the president's remarks in a moment. >> the veterans affairs accountability and whistleblower act will make it easier and quicker. the bill also gives us the additional flexibilities and it comes to hiring. it dramatically reduces the time that it takes to be able to put strong leaders in place in these important positions. i want to thank the members of congress that are here today. this was a bipartisan effort, this was your leadership that allow this to happen and of course, the president will be able to sign this because of the work that you've done. i also want to think the veteran resources. over these past few months, we've accomplished a lot at the va.

we've dramatically expanded access, we've published all of our wait times so our veterans can see what the times are. we reduced our times to process disability claims. we've launched the presidents white house topline. we've made decisions that are important and modernizing the va. one of those was to replace our electronic medical records and we started to modernize our facilities with new public-private partnerships and getting rid of vacant and underutilized properties. we've also reduced regulations and made it easier for states to be able to build state nursing homes without the federal guidelines. most importantly, we've taken important steps to reduce veteran suicide. we've expanded mental health providers and we've also expanded coverage to other veterans who have been discharged. i want to thank president trump

for his leadership and determination to fix the va. the president knows that we have to do better for our veterans. and so, essentially a great honor today that the president will sign the veterans affairs accountability and whistleblower protection act. i'm the pleasure today of introducing the biggest champion veterans can hope for under his leadership and unwavering support, the va has been moving to solve many of these challenges that have been expanding multiple ministrations over decades. veterans deserve a va that they can trust and have pride in. va is a national resource that must be protected. president trump understands this and knows that in order to fix the va, we need to modernize our systems, improve access, and deliver the highest care and quality and services. mr. president, today is no doubt a great day for veterans, their

families, and the vast majority of va employees want nothing more than to give back to those who have sacrificed so much. mr. president, thank you for your leadership and unwavering support for veterans. it is with great pride that i introduce the 45th president of the united states, donald trump. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you very much, everybody. that's greatly appreciated. and thank you to secretary show

can for that introduction and for your tireless efforts to protect those who have really been protecting all of us for so long. some great, great people. you know who i'm talking about, right? congratulations. and just a short time, we've already achieved transformative change of the va and believe me, we are just getting started. we have so many people who have been so helpful right here in the room and tom and all my friends, it's been fantastic. the enthusiasm for the veterans administration and for making it right for our great veterans has been incredible and i want to thank all of you. one of my greatest honors during the presidential campaign was the time i spent going all across the country with our nations really and truly

incredible veterans. their courage, their dignity and their selfless sacrifice, they represent the very best of us. veterans have fulfilled their duty to this nation and now, we must fulfill our duty to them. to every veteran who is here with us today, i just want to say to very simple words, thank you. thank you. thank you. [applause] you are the warriors and the heroes who have won our freedom and we will never forget what you have done for all of us eve ever. as you all know all too well, for many years, the government failed to keep its promises to our veterans.

we all remember the nightmare that veterans suffered during the va scandals that were exposed a few years ago. veterans were put on circuit wait lists, given the wrong medication, given the bad treatments and ignored in moments of crisis for them. many veterans died waiting for a simple doctors appointment. what happened was a national disgrace and yet, some of the employees involved in these scandals remained on the payrolls. outdated laws cap the government from holding those who failed our veterans accountable. today we are finally changing those laws, was an easy, but we did have some fantastic help, to make sure