danny pommel, diana reubens kimberly graves, robert mckendrick, antoine waller. as we learned at our last hearing, the ig report plays out the alleged abuse of the relocation expense and permanent change of station programs costing hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money. and how they apparently inappropriately use the positions of authority to put their own personal and financial benefit ahead of veterans, taxpayers commander subordinates. the picture is worth a thousand words, so let's start with the map and let me describe the simplest terms. >> let's hearing is all about. initially this graves and mr. waller discussed his potential transfer to philadelphia. those discussions are

waller's leadership?>> excellent. >> i would say that to with their personal interactions that have been pretty extensive and that was just the leader was mr. waller. when these decisions are made though looks at the second or third degree fact? the questions start to ask to bring up the question of the press it has a critical responsibility in our democracy they cannot get a straight you answer so you are right that misinformation and i would suggest don't expect the v.a. to give a benefit of the doubt on anything but what can we do to have the senior leaders to know what is going on in to work with local elected officials can you give them get out there without having to clear all the way back here then back down there? >> we can. that secretary just a you know, i was supposed to retire november 1st of this year. the secretary asked me to stay to be the acting undersecretary i told him i would stay as long as he needed me or have confidence in my ability to do the job. i want them to engage with the pre

waller.ou're now at the -- you're at baltimore? >> yes, congresswoman. >> and you did not want to go to baltimore? >> well, at the time that i was approached about the baltimore region am office, i was not in a position or willing to accept voluntarily going to that regional office. >> so what happened? you got reassigned? >> yes. >> well, did you get compensation and the other house relocation and all of that? >> there were the benefits of a avo appraised offer as well as a relocation incentive to go to baltimore. along with a salary increase as well. >> was -- did you have additional responsibilities in that reassignment? >> i'm not sure i understand i your question. >> well, was it lateral or was it a promotion? >> it was a lateral as far as i was concerned. it was the same capacity as director of a regional office. so i considered it to be a lateral transfer. >> i'm asking did you get additional reimbursement funds for it or was it just a lateral? right. just a lateral transfer. >> let me

waller. excuse me, mr. mckendrick. apologize. .. >> >> it is an interesting position you have the opportunity to work with the challenging community. after doing your research did you decide to take that position? >> i find it is very challenging and my position id is that would have to be direct reassigned and the agency would tell me that i would be the best candidate to go. i was committed to the mission of the v.a. i have struggled with the director reassignment and other agents of the past a senior leader basically said we will directly assign you to another position in another city. ice said water the options and they said non is an alternative san they said you were fired. that did not happen here so i reached out to to find as much information as i could. so frankly there were times when i had to take family into consideration in their went through the process that if i was going to go would have to be director reassigned nobody else would take this position there were already two panels have not produced a suc

waller.and my question is, when these decisions are made, who's looking at the second and third degree effects that it's happening on the work force and that you moved them? these questions start to be ask. i think mr. mckendrick led into this and the question about the press. i can tell you the press has a critical responsibility in our democracy, as you all know. but i can tell you, trying to pull information out of you, all's they have to do is foia, foia, foia. they can't get a straight answer. they're asking the veterans questions, too. you're right, misinformation can get out there. when there is a vacuum misinformation will fill it. but i would suggest to you don't expect the va in this environment to get the benefit of the doubt on anything. that's just simply the reality. what i'm suggesting to all of you is what can we do to have these senior leaders who know what's going on who have the trust of the vsos, trust of the veterans, working with local elected officials, can't you give t

waller -- ms. graves and mr. waller discussed his potential transfer to philadelphia.hose discussions are eventually shelfed because mr. healthcare ken rick is transferred -- mckenrick is transferred from philadelphia ro director's job to become the los angeles ro director. then ms. rubens transfers from v.a. headquarters here in d.c. to fill now-vacant philly ro job and receives about $274,000 in relocation assistance. mr. waller is subsequently transferred from the st. paul ro director job to become the baltimore ro director job. ms. graves then transfers from her position as the eastern area director in philadelphia to fill the now-vacant st. paul ro director job and receives about $129,000 in relocation assistance. finally, both ms. rubens and ms. graves retained their ses-level salaries despite assuming lower responsibility jobs. it seems to me that ms. rubens and ms. graves' use of the relocation expense program is an expensive and confusing waste of taxpayer money given that they both volunteered to take these positions. as my colleague, mr. kaufman, pointed out

antoine waller. as we learned in our last hearing, the i gchg's report la out the alleged be a bus of v.a.'s's location expense appermanent change of station programs costing hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money. and how miss rubens and miss graves apparently inappropriately used their positions of thooauthority to p their own personal and financial benefit ahead of veterans tax pace and their subordinates. as the saying goegoes, a picturs worth 1,000 words. so let me start with a map. you can look at the screen up here. initially miss graves and mr. waller discussed his potential transfer to philadelphia. those discussions are eventually shelved because mr. mckenrick is transferred from philadelphia r.o. director's job to become the lanos angeles r.o. director. then miss rubens transfers from v.a. headquarters here in d.c. to fill the now vacant philly r.o. job and receives about $274,000 this relocation assistance. mr. waller is subsequently transferred from the st. paul r.o. director

waller and mr.mckenrick you've done a tremendous job for the va and the system but have any of you been interviewed or questioned by federal agents on this ig report? i consider them to be an agent if that's what you're asking me regarding this report be interviewed me twice on the record i believe one other time we had extensive dialogue. >> mr. pummill, let's go back to the baltimore application process k. i think we were told there were 131 applicants have applied to the job. or they're any of them interviewed or questioned them is there any ability to take this job? >> i don't know, congressman. >> were you aware that mr. rubin had family in philadelphia? do you think that influenced her decision to move you from los angeles to be closer to her family backs to become? >> i do not believe that it is her decision to move me to los angeles was the chief of staff. >> and did you read the report? you understand the implication of the possible misuse of her position to move into that position and poss

waller. i think it would be in the va's best interesting with transparency and veterans trust. this is a senior executive giving the authority to talk to people and reassure them. i appreciate that offer and i yield back. >> thank you very much. >> thank you for calling this hearing, mr. chairman, and trying to get to the bottom of some of these questions. i appreciate the line of questions. i want to follow up, i believe mr. pummill made a statement to the extent -- i think you said it was virtually impossible to fire a gs employee? could you clarify and explain that a little more from your experience? >> in my experience -- it's not very much. i've been with the va for five years. the civil servants -- i believe this is federal government wide -- have incredible protections and safeguards so the process of taking care of a problem employee takes an incredible amount of documentation and oversight and time and energy and taxpayer dollars and normally ends with somebody outside of our organiz

on lesbos, the sea may be waller, but nerves are on edge. when the refugees make it ashore, the sense of relief is eclipped only by a growing outrage. >> can i not imagine. i feel shamed that i'm a european, that i'm from holland. i feel a bit shamed that european union, union? for me it's not a union at all. >> maryke is one of the people here committed. >> almost dying, i cannot imagine you can live with yourself when this is your responsibility. >> reporter: the refugees while while extremely grateful for the help know life won't get much easier any time soon. but for many, choosing to stay in their home land may have been an even riskier option. yet the choices between dying in the assess says ahmed and dying in iraq, i take sea. ahmed tells me that he, his wife and four children, have no other choice. in iraq, it is the children who die. presidents don't die, ministers don't die. it's the kids who die. the children try to make their fear recede even if it's only for a few minutes. over 200,000 refugees arrived in europe by sea in octobe

fats waller who brought up the jazz organ as an instrument to jimmy smith who brought it as a solo instrument and the 70's come along and it goes away but thanks to joey defrancesco, it's coming back. mollie: what is it like? >> this is a jazz show but it's important for people to know he's beyond that genre as well. he plays a lot of gospel, blues, r&b. here a lot of that in his music and you feel it when he plays. i heard them in a small jazz club in ally with maybe 100 people and it was incredible. the audience just feeds off of it. mollie: how do we get tickets? night, the about rfid -- november 15 at the valley performing arts center. go to civic music.org and tickets are at $20. mollie: as we said, absolutely top of his class. looking forward to it. >> if you want a great experience and groove to keep dancing with, come to this concert. he went to public schools, then college, where the work of his life began -- fighting injustice and inequality, speaking truth to power. he moved to vermont, won election and praise as one of america's best mayors. in congress, he stood up for working fa

in the 90's, isowan robert james waller published the best-selling novel, which spawned a blockbuster film, starring meryl streep and clint eastwood. having the broadway musical start here? jeff: it seemed to make perfect sense to open here in iowa, just a few miles away from the actual bridges of madison county. rose: much to the joy of the story's many fans. isabel: so now, we get to see it in iowa. i mean, that's perfect. i'm sure it's going to be great. rose: the musical captures the story about an iowa farm woman's whirlwind romance with a traveling photographer. jason robert brown, who won two tony awards for composing the score, conducted the night's performance. jeff: in the very opening song, iowa is mentioned. and i think that will illicit a great response. rose: making the musical feel a little bit like home. build myself a home [applause] rose: the civic center president tells me there are still tickets available. the show runs through december 5. in studio, rose heaphy, kcci 8 news, iowa's news leader. todd: looks like fun. thanks, rose. a slow-moving wintry storm system,

waller the morning than it is in the afternoon. there will be showers off and on all day. sunday is a chilly day. only 46 but remember, we are supposed to be this time of year. that cold weather settles in for monday. we start out the day 20th from pest now we start to head to tuesday. we start to talk the threat of showers moving in. you will notice temperatures warming up to 50. here comes that mild air surging up with that threat of some rain. i don't think there is much rain on tulles day. going to be a night vent. as we head toward wednesday. rain. look at highs again. 54 degrees and then j.c., wondering about. here we go some cool air moving back in. it is looking dry. so as far as the rain is concerned. it will be movings way out of here. we'll be going back to some sunshine. you will notice during the week, you go up and doub a couple of times! tomorrows the down. stays down. then we warm up as we head toward tuesday and wednesday then slowly cool things back down. j.c., reid? j.c.: breaking moose. wcvb newscenter 5 has confirm the officer killed in colorado tonigh

is brad waller with hy-vee. what brought down a russian airliner last week ... with hy-vee. what brought down a russian thank you so much. did you say honey? hey, try some? mmm that is tasty. is it real? of course... are you? nope animated you know i'm always looking for real honey for honey nut cheerios well you've come to the right place. great, mind if i have another taste? not at all mmm you're all right bud? never better i don't know if he likes that. or a terrorists bomb? we have the latest on the investigation and how u-s and british officials are responding to it. a missing child is found safe ... but he isn't a child anymore. find out how a college application lead to the phone call a mother has waited more than a decade for. and we have some big news to bring you 15 minutes from now. find out how channel 13 is launching a first of its kind candidate experience to our viewers and all iowa voters. news at four front door despite the rumors ... there is still no definitive answer tonight about what brought down that russian jetliner in egypt, killing 224 people. the w

amanda and beveteran brad waller and becky beach from puppy jake foundation are on with us today to help honor our veterans and talk about hy-vee's annual homefront initiative. this week, hy-vee begins its annual homefront initiative to raise funds and awareness for important organizations serving the nation's military members, veterans and their families. in the two years of the program, $621,375 has been collected through customer donations and a hy-vee corporate match. the funds go to hope for the warriors, operation first response and puppy jake foundation - groups that focus on supporting military members and their families once they've returned home from active duty. the homefront campaign encourages the public to join hy- vee in supporting the 3.9 million veterans residing in the eight- state region by taking part in the hy-vee homefront roundup from november 5-15 - when customers can make in-store donations by 'rounding up' their bill at the checkout line. sam weather adlib: you better get out and enjoy our warm day because tomorrow we sam weather adlib: you better get out and en

napa at 71 and cloverdale, 72, and 68 in oakland, the report at the airplane, three or four degrees wallero nearly 70 inland east bay neighborhood, an toxic and present booed and livermore around 70. get used to the 40s and 50s and a look at next tuesday and wednesday and thursday the rain is in the form of the green problems does not look impressive but one model is cranking out half an inch of rain. what does it mean for news we have slick conditions and wet streets and icy and snowy streets in the sierra and arrival delays at sfo starting on wednesday and lasting through thanksgiving. my seven-day forecast shows until we get there, we will have 60 at the cost through sunday and nearly 70 an the bay and inland 60s on monday, and upper 50s to low 60s on tuesday and fighting wind and chilly wednesday with the 50s and showers. kristen? >> update if san leandro we told you of a traffic break to clear the traffic and it is over and now southbound 280 is usual. 101 san francisco to sfo is taking 11 minutes. 880, highway 238 to the maze is 15 minutes northbound. 101 highway 85 to san jose airpo

waller servicemen and women are deployed, their spouses are the one to take care of the families at homeare for the children, they manage the finances. and they pray that there has been and wives will return home safely. rodriguez andt his wife marlene joined us at our ranch in 2013 and 2014 for the bush center annual warrior 100 i cried. she talked about the service in the airport and she said, we, i say we served 35 years. i lived every deployment with him. every trial and tribulation. the day i said yes to him, i did not realize the impact it was going to have on me. that is why it is so important to make sure that while our servicemen and women receive the support that they need, that we care for their families as well. as we have heard this morning, employment support is the perfect place to start. studies show that post-9/11 veterans -- the consequences of that employment or underemployment are not only financial. when one family member is suffering, the entire family suffers. full lineup of veterans day programming for you. join is starting tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern, form

that leaves us on the waller side of it eventually. it is cold out there this morning. single digits up north. teens and 20's elsewhere. a similar night set us for us tonight. high temperatures in the 30's. making a run at 30. light winds and sunshine in to the afternoon. a warming trend with an increase in clouds tomorrow. showers tomorrow night and in to wednesday before it pulls away on erin: kevin. it's been her fight for twenty years. something is wrong with our healthcare system and it needs then, it was about health reform and getting eight million kids now, it's about stopping republicans from repealing obamacare, and taking on insurance companies to bring down drug prices. i'm not going to let any family i'm not going to let the republicans rip up obamacare and throw it away. >>> welcome back to "gma." you're looking at an amazon fulfillment center in new jersey. that's fancy name. >> they're fulfilling a lot of things for me right now. >> fulfill away, amazon. fulfill away. >> more than 120 million americans expected to shop online today. we'll tell you some o

. >> we send people to the dry waller the carpenters and the plummers. >> we are conscious who we giveob referral to. >> we look at the skills part as far as hayou do with a hammer and nail there are other components to be able to be a team player. be able to take directs and be precise and punctual things like this you need to help you keep your jobs. >> we will looking at the interviews today and doing the critiquing from the papers. >> i was thinking last week we were talking ask that was so much thinking going on about the interview and how i was going to do it. >> i feel like, me, as an african-american woman and older woman with children i feel i have to set an example. a lot of people don't know how to deal with anger and conflicts. the kids here look up to me. if i do something and don't set an example then they are going to follow. since i've been a positive roll model, coming to school everyday. some of those kids pick up on that and i see the improvement in them. >> one thing that i knew but the class helped reinstate is that you have to check yourself. we are all grown adul

waller or mr. mckendrick, you would have not come had somebody said "don't come." i think you would have been here. and we had to subpoena you in order to get you to come here. mr. pummill, you obviously were subpoenaed because miss hickey left her position, and i suspect that we may invite her to appear before us at a later date. but with that, if there are no further questions, we are now in recess. >>> coming up tonight remarks from president obama on the keystone xl pipeline and his administration's decision to reject the request from a canadian company to build it. he spoke earlier today at the white house and we'll show you a portion of those comments now. >> several years ago the state department began a review process for the proposed construction of a pipeline that would carry canadian crude oil through our heartland to ports in the gulf of mexico and out into the world market. this morning secretary kerry informed me that after extensive public outreach and consultation with other cabinet agencies, the state department has decided that the keystone xl pip