mr. o'roark and the inspector general over the data base of complaints. hope you have found a way to put this unnecessary distraction behind us. my understanding is, that you have. finally, i want to reiterate this committee will not shy away from our oversight roles to investigate improper usage and implementation of this law. however, the only way to do so is to continue this bipartisan tradition, examine issues with statistics and facts, or partisan agendas. now, yield to ranking member tacano for any opening statements. >> thank you mr. chairman. i thank you for calling this important hearing. when the accountability act passed last summer, i voted for it with a great deal of caution. i was cautiously optimistic that it would do what it set out to do. which was, to provide care by making -- to improve care, which was to improve care by making it easier to remove bad employees. i understood that the connection between dismissing bad employees and improved care was superficial. but the bill was the best of several legislative attempts to address the v.a