it is not about the v.a.. the v.a. is there and i'm looking forward to being a secretary who motivates and unleashes the power of this wonderful workforce, which i believe wants to do a good job, they need leadership and encouragement to say let's find yeses instead of nose. let's find answers instead of technicalities. let's find hope in people instead of a reason to delay. this is about the veterans. this is about getting them access to care that many on this committee voted for. that is why we do what we do, because they deserve it. this crosses party lines and i appreciate the ranking member talking about bipartisanship. we had a great conversation discussing rural hospitals. could it be looked at? i committed to the senator of illinois that is something i will look at because it helped both sides so we have to get back to the part where it is about the veteran and i want to empower a workforce that wants to get up every day and say i am getting to yes. i'm getting to this veteran so they get the help they need. se

v.a. facilities about those challenges. in the absence of community care, these veterans would not be able to use the benefits they earn. the same could be said for veterans who face long wait times at the v.a., veterans who provide a service the local v.a. does not offer or veterans who have unique needs that are best served through community care. this was created so the v.a. could more seamlessly care for those veterans. seven years after the act was signed into law, it is still not fully living up to its promise. i've heard from veterans nationwide suffered as a result of the last year as v.a. acted to discourage and restrict the use of community care. some of those veterans who have suffered the most are those with mental health conditions and addiction. this morning we will hear from veterans and family members, veterans and advocates about how they overcome barriers which limited access to potentially life-saving care and put their lives at risk. one of those veterans will testify t

the v.a. also discuss the agency's 2025 budget and benefits for veterans. this is an hour and a half. >> good morning. the subcommittee will come to order. i want to welcome my witnesses to discuss the lessons we can learn from the v.a.'s efforts to modernize its technology during the last two years. the v.a. is an organization of nearly a half million people that serves nine million veterans and their family members using thousands of i.t. systems and has a total budget of roughly $370 billion a year, making it second largest agency only surpass by the d.o.d. the scale of the i.t. systems are massive and presents a lot of challenges. the department spends years or decades and costs billions of dollars. this strategy has not worked well. all i.t. projects have either suffered badly or collapsed altogether. and this should come as no surprise. i challenge our witnesses to point to any i.t. project anywhere with a budget this large that has been successful. finally, the digital g.i. bill has mis

v.a.'s determinations, by the time you're determining competency and looking for a disability benefit for that incompetency, v.a.'s determinations are based on the medical evidence of record and not arbitrary, correct? dr. cohen: medical record does play a role in the process. rep. mcgarvey: they have gone in for treatment. they have indeed incompetent. now they are looking for disability because of the incompetence. the medical record plays a big part of this. >> congressman -- please. chair luttrell: you are not recognized. rep. mcgarvey: i want to reiterate the v.a. did not make of this idea to report beneficiaries deemed mentally incompetent. they are obligated to do so under the gun control act of 1968 and the brady act. what we are talking about today and the kennedy amendment does not change or repeal those laws, is that correct? dr. cohen: the kennedy amendment does not repeal the gun control act. rep. mcgarvey: when we talk about the process, about all the sorts of things, a lot of

the v.a. also discussed the agency's 25 budget and benefits for veterans. this is an hour and a half. >> good morning during the last two years. the v.a. is an organization of nearly half a million people that served 9 million veterans and their family members using thousands of i.t. systems and has a total budget of roughly 370 billion dollars a year. making it the second largest agency, only surpassed by the dod. the scale of the i.t. systems are massive and presents a lot of challenges. the department has repeatedly attempted to address these challenges with megaprojects that spanned years or even decades and cost billions of dollars. this strategy simply has not worked well. all six of the v.a.'s multibillion-dollar i.t. projects have either -- or collapse altogether. this should come as no surprise. i challenge our witnesses to point to any i.t. project anywhere with a budget this large that has been successful. we spent many hours in the subcommittee discussing v.a.'s three magic -- mega

v.a. and veteran homelessness. this is about two hours. >> good morning. may we come to order. i want that welcome the undersecretary back to discuss the budget. we have not been able to get a straight answer from anybody at v.a. about how much money they have or how much money they're spending. numbers keep changing. v.a.'s leaders haven't been shy about asking for billions of extra taxpayer dollars. however when we dig into how they came up with those numbers, we get the run around, and there's no true answer. all the estimates are wrong. basic figures about how much they have already spent are wrong too. and large parts of the v.a. budget request seem to be made up. if you ran a small business this way, you would soon be out of business. managing a $370 billion budget this way is inexcusable. the accounting disaster is insulting to every veteran, taxpayer and member of this committee. in september, congress appropriated $2.88 billion because mr. jacobs told congress the veterans communi

v.a. didn't spend any of the $2.88 million before the end of the fiscal year. i understand being conservative and insuring funding would be in place but there's a big difference between a dollar versus several billion. now srarpblgts is putting out statements claiming that no one had any idea until weeks after september 20 there was more than enough money to pay all of the benefits. not only that, somewhere along the way someone decided to keep telling the same story about a shortfall though the numbers didn't support it. this committee is going to tpaoupbld out who decided that and why. the situation with your healthcare budget seems similarment in july you told us your budget was so tight you had to spend every single dollar to make it the end of the fuss calendar year to deliver health care. you told us that the community care payroll equipment drug and prosthetic cost were all exploding at once. you told us that unheaded for a $12 billion shortfall in fiscal year 2025, which started oc

v.a. it would not be enough to get you through the year. >> we carried over far less in benefit accounts from 24 to 25 than previously. which was about 10 and 11%. that was and 24 to 25, we carried over 4.4 billion, that was 2.5%. in readjuster am we carried over 4 in. in 23 we carried 5 1/2 billion that is 43%, and 30%, for readjust am benefits account we carried over half a percentage that or 4.5%, that was 689 million dollars. if we had not received supplemental funding we would have about half percent away from exciting our spend -- exceeding our spending cap. that is a long way of saying we're actively looking at our fy25 mandatory funding needs right now, we're reevaluating total estimates based on our experience here and updated economic projections, we'll come back likely in the next month. >> is there a target amount of carry over either a dal orel hershiser percentage -- dollar or a percentage. >> we don't set an established target. the challenge and fundamental structural risk t

v.a. benefits. retired military personnel, veterans advocates and policy researchers testified before a veterans affairs subcommittee. seems to fail to give veterans due process before violating their right to bear arms. according to regulations, the v.a. must report to the fbi's background system the name of any veteran who needs help from a fiduciary to manage their finances because of a disability. these veterans sacrificed to protect the constitution, due process and the second minute rights of every american, but v.a. bureaucrats have stripped 250,000 veterans of their right to possess and purchase firearms. these actions have prevented veterans with fiduciaries from owning -- see me after class, sir --good to go, mr. reynolds? i will repeat this. over 200 50,000 veterans with fiduciaries have a constitutional right to possess and purchase firearms. these practices have prevented veterans with fiduciaries to own firearms. v.a. reports these veterans to the nix list without a ruling fr

hospital or clinic, but the v.a. portal is closed to me. what's going on? what's going on? this was the leading edge of this chaos. someone else came to me -- you know, this kind of good news event about volunteer tax assistance and said, the federal government is paid to build a v.a. clinic in fredericks burke -- fredricksburg, state of the art, scheduled to open in february. we are still told that the grand opening is going to happen but now those working there said they're under a hiring freeze. we spent tens of millions of dollars to build this facility that looks great, but we're under a hiring freeze. can we hire people to serve the veterans in this region? this was how it started. from then to today, let me tell you other calls of anguish we've received in our office. two child care centers, one in the williamsburg area, one in appalachia, far, far away in west virginia, we think our funding may be cut off. we think we may not have enough to pay staff. and we also think that parents who are receiving some child care funding, that may get cut off, and so neither they

last year the v.a. reported almost 3,000 severe occupational staffing shortages, but that didn't stop this administration from pulling every pending job offer the day they took office. and while some have been reinstated, others are still in limbo. just one example, v.a. employees at a facility focused on research and care for veterans with late-stage cancer were told their jobs were under review and they may be terminated altogether. now i know everybody in this chamber believes that we made a commitment to those who have served this country in uniform, and we don't want to fail our veterans when they return home and enter civilian life. so how does this firing the people who take care of them help us fulfill that commitment? and then if we want to talk about jobs that keep americans safe, let's talk about keeping planes from falling out of the sky or colliding on runways. i work closely with the national air traffic control union and the faa's collaborative resource workforce group to adopt a new staf

last week on january 8, secretary mcdunna of the -- mcdonough of the v.a. announced another five illnesses are going to be added to the eligibility structure of the pact act claims system. we are talking about very serious illnesses in terms of additional cancers and myelomas that today don't get the benefit of that fast track process of getting their claims approved and getting the help that they need. again, this is make ago big difference in my district, the second congressional district of connecticut, which is home of the oldest submarine base in our nation's history w. about 9,000 sailors, and many retirees serving in the area there. over 4,025 veterans in the district have filed pact act claims, more than double the rest of the congressional districts in the state of account d has made a meaningful difference in the lives of people who wore the uniform of this country. again, because of their service incurred service connected injuries that for many, many years had long been denied health coverage. i want to congratulate secretary mcdonough as he lea

i worked for the v.a.ost: v.a., the largest in terms of employees, federal agency with half a million employees, as compared to the smallest agency, the department of education which is just a couple thousand. caller: right. and nothing against the department of education. they have a certain duty that they have to do. but we're helping vets and there's a huge mental health issue in the united states and these vets are coming back with post-traumatic stress disorder. and to start telling people they can just, you know, take a buyout package with all these people leaving, and they didn't explain, is it going to be someone who has 15-20 years of service or is it 20 years and over? you can leave and near that retirement age? and if you're near that retirement age, then ok. that's a possibility. but to come out with a blank statement -- host: the reported detail is it's offered to almost everybody, "the wall street journal" reporting, the program the white house calls deferred resignation will be available to

would that include the fact that would be including protecting v.a. disability that would match the president's point of view, and would you advise them to actually follow through on that by protecting v.a. disability ratings? mr. vought: again, senator, i'm not getting ahead of the budget process other than to say it's been a priority to fully fund the needs of the veteran and will continue if confirmed. >> i yield back. chairman paul: senator scott. sen. scott: thank you, chairman. mr. vought, congratulations on the nomination. i enjoyed working with you when you were up here before and know you'll do a great job. we've seen the bloating of the federal government under the biden administration and in his four years alone, he's added $8 trillion to the national debt. and he's increased our spending by 53%. our population is up 2%. we can't continue down this path of spending way above prepandemic levels. with the past four years of joe biden, there hasn't been serious discussion on how to control spending or reduce our now $36 trillion worth of debt.

let's start at the v.a..let's make sure those in government are held accountable, that if they are not doing a good job, they can be fired. accountability is how you change cultures. the government unions have a grip on that. then special interests. they are unwilling to change and want to get invited to cocktail parties. they impugn and attack their opponents. the v.a. will fix it, but it doesn't. then you read a 29 page document focus just on me. then it is a hit list of everything you've ever done in your life because they don't want to argue the merits of the issue or issue a report. they just want to attack the opponents and say, we want to privatize or shut it down. it is easy to get along and you can take that example through every spectrum and level of government and every place you were going to meet resistance. every place you are going to fail again and all they want you to do is quit. all they want you to do is quit. the school board wants you to quit, the local government wants you to quit, the v

we were always fully funding the needs of the v.a.. we will continue to do so if i will be confirmed. sen. gallego: i have been a veteran since the bush administration. i have seen great progression under all the administrations. certainly some under the trump administration. why i am asking this is again because prior to starting the line of questioning i asked, will you give advice to the president. that is what i am trying to get at. what is your thought process? this will give me a very good indication about where future decisions will be made at future advice will be given to the president. i have zero doubt you will fully execute whatever the president tells you. but at some point you will also likely be giving advice. this is why i ask about your past position in government, your past position, whether or not you were the head of your think tank. for example it is concerning when it comes to means testing. there are places, obviously, within government benefits that there should be some means tests. when it comes to veterans and

if your v.a. mortgage gets held up, i need to know. if you're a nonprofit that is giving services in the area of violence against women, refuges for people who are battered, and your funding gets held up, these are the stories that i think need to be held up to understand just what is happening in our country right now. and i hope that all of us -- not just democrats, but republicans as well who have a vested interest in being able to create certainty in our own states, certainty for the economy, certainty for the small business community -- can come together and say that this is not what democracy looks like. let's create that certainty. let's follow the law. let's make sure that whatever we agree to here in this amazing capitol, that not only passes both chambers, but gets signed into law by the president of the united states, that we abide by that. because only if we all agree to color inside the lines and to act like this is a democracy will this remain a democracy. and i just want to say to my own constituents how sorry i am that

you are on the v.a. committee and i appreciate your service. the v.a. accountability act and the mission act were brainchild of concerned veterans for america. we used our donor money very intentionally and focused to create policy that bettered the lives of veterans. >> mr. hegseth i am asking you a very simple question. how many serve in the united states army? >> 450,000 on active duty. >> how many in the navy? >> 425. >> 327 this year. how many in the marine corps? >> 175,000. >> 172,300. those numbers dwarf any experience you have by many multiples. i do not believe that you can tell this committee or the people of america mollified to lead them. i would support you as a spokesperson for the pentagon. i do not dispute your communication skills. i believe we are entitled to the facts. i have asked for more documents. i assume you would be willing to submit to a background check that interviews your colleagues, accountants, ex-wives, former spouses, sexual assault survivors and others and enable them to come forward. >> i am not in charge of fbi and

eastern, president ump's pick for v.a.ing for the veterans affairs comttee. the house gavels and at noon eastern and will consider several bills, including a measure authorizing the washington, d.c. location for the national medal of honor monument. c-span2, the senate will debate a bill on requiring medical care for a child or an after a failed abortion. on c-span3 at 10:00 a.m. eastern, elise stefanik, presidentrump's pick to be u.s. ambassador to the united nations, takes qstions at her confirmation hearing from members of the senate foign relations committee. you can watch these programs live on c-span now, our mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. >> since his first interview on c-span on book notes in 1993, harold holzer has appeared close to 200 times. up to that year he had written or edited six years -- written or edited six books on abraham lincoln. since then he has added 52 his name. viewers and listeners have the opportunity to hear him talk about lincoln's life from his birth in kentucky in 18 oh seven u

in the v.a. we need to have that.we haveli to make sure veterans are getting the same kind of treatment so our skills in the treatment or matching. >> wonderful. thank you. if come from we commit to work with myself and my colleagues on this committee to strengthen and refine v.a. policies that improve wait times and access to v.a. healthcare rather than resorting to privatization pgh yes. what were looking at now is a view that it he healthcare system and getting affected through veterans. i'll said again, i said it before. when they have to call my office when i was in congress or your office now, that is a failure from the v.a. it's not a fan on the people dealt for anybody catch was sort of thing. the v.a. has a mission to take her veterans. if some reason the pattern is not able to get the care and we need to step up and make sure he has why. so trimming the wait. time, they can actually get that. some of the things we could be missing is preventative care that could help us long-term in our cost perspective it f

the new v.a. medical center set to open in fredericksburg, virginia has to contend with hiring freezes jeopardizing its opening in february. medical school students are told they can't go to the v.a. because of the hiring freeze impacting the training of a critical work force provider. our veterans deserve much more than this. and veterans should be able to access but this hiring freeze is putting that in jeopardy. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor the brave firefighters who have stepped into the breach to take on the fires raging across southern california. their bravery has been on full display these past weeks including in my own district where they have responded. we all owe them our than

easte, president trump's pick for v.a. secretary doug collins testifies at his confirmion hearing. the house gavels in at noon eastn and will consider several bls. on c-span two, the sene will debate a bill on requiring medical care for a child born after a failed abortion. on c-span3 at 10:00 a.m., new york congressmember, pick to be

it v.a. is the nation's largest -- t.v.a.s the nation's largest power producer across tennessee, mississippi, alabama, north carolina, virginia and kentucky. this legislation corrects a change that was enacted in 1995 that removed a requirement for t.v.a. to ex close the management structure and salaries of its executives. today t.v.a. has approximately 13,000 employees and the median salary is $160,000. they've in essence got 6,500 congresspeople on salary. doing t.v.a.'s work. that's absurd. and they've got the head of the t.v.a. whose salary has been reported, makes $10 million a year. he's a fine fellow. he's really a nice guy. and he does a good job. but he was working for a canadian firm before he got hired to run t.v.a. where he was making $2 million or $2.5 million. i don't know if he's four times better than he was in the state of canada. but he's making that. and the executives whose salaries they have to disclose are making $2 million to $6 million each annually. the public should know about these salaries and know

my mom was a dedicated be a nurse for 38 years -- dedicated v.a. nurse for 38 years.he told me some incredible stories. both my mom and dad taught me the value of hard work, integrity and never being entitled to anything. my parents knew what it meant to put in a hard days work, overcome challenges, and to sacrifice to give their kids a better life. i wouldn't be here without the values they instilled in me. thank you, mom and dad. [applause] we did not have much money growing up but we did have faith, that through hard work and perseverance we could achieve so much. i was the first and my family to graduate from college and law school. i fought through some tough times, but i bore down, worked and kept going. that doesn't make me special because that is no different than what hard-working west virginians do every single day. [applause] the values my parents instilled in me are at the heart of why i choose public service. i know what it's like to worry about paying bills or struggling with debt. i know wh like to work hard and still feel like you are struggling to get

i appreciate your service on the v.a. committee. the v.a. accountability act and the mission act were all brain childs of concerned veit veterans for america. used donor money focused to create policy that better evidence the lives of veterans. >> i'm asking you a very simple question. how many men and women currently serve in the united states arm eave? >> the united states army, 450,000 on active duty. >> how many in the navy? >> navy is 425, sir. >> 337 this year. how many in the marine corps? >> 175,000, sir. >> 172,300. those numbers dwarf any experience you had by many multiples. i don't believe that you can tell this committee or the people of america that you are qualified to lead them. i would support you as the spokesperson for the pentagon. i don't dispute your communication skills. but i believe that we are entitled to the facts here. i have asked for more documents. i assume you would be willing to have an expanded f.b.i. background check that interviews your colleagues, accountants, ex-wives, former spouses, sexual assault surv

like each one of you, we fought to expand veterans access to health care and prevented the closure of v.a. facilities in west virginia. every day we work to improve lives of west virginians. we protected health insurance for people with preexisting conditions. for seniors, we established a multifaceted strategy to combat opioid epidemic. that is one thing that we haves to conquer. lastly, since day one in the united states senate, i have worked to be protect, and i want to repeat this, i have worked and i believe with every bone in my body and every fiber in me to preserve the bipartisan foundation of this senate and that's the 60-vote threshold of the filibuster. i believe with everything in me. i do. each of those victories required senators to come together from both sides to find solutions many these were bills that just made commonsense. when each side could take a step to find common ground, powerful things happened. i have seen more than my share of missed opportunities. legislation that was overwhelmingly supported by the he american public, bills that would have improved the live

. >> reporter: army vet george buchanan has worked for the v.a. for nearly 11 years. what was the reaction when you saw this last night? >> a little shocked. i thought it was combative, condescending, insulting especially as a veteran. >> if we can circle back to the announcement to send detained migrants to gitmo. it took the pentagon by surprise. >> reporter: five defense officials tell us many people were caught offguard. the military has no orders or guidance from the white house be on this from the president. tonight homeland security secretary kristi noem says this will require money from congress, meaning it could take months to ramp up. >> thanks. >>> in new york, a federal judge sentenced former senator bob menendez to more than a decade in prison for his conviction on bribery, extortion and other charges. we have late details. >> reporter: tonight, a stiff sentence for a man who was once one of the most powerful members of the senate. a federal judge handing down an 11-year sentence to bob menendez, a democrat from new jersey for numerous crimes including br

the v.a.has a long history of working with our alaska native health organizations to extend the reach of care into very rural parts of alaska and partner to get alaska native veterans but also non-natives that live in these rural communities to go to an alaskan native organization to get the care because they partner with the v.a.. can i get your commitment to continue to partner? to expand and extend v.a. health care for native alaskans in the most rural parts of our state? >> yes, senator, i am willing to commit to that. thank you, congressman and i look forward to supporting you. >> thank you. it is nice to see you and congratulations on your nomination. as part of my responsibilities to ensure the fitness of any nominee that comes before any of my committees, i ask these questions. since you became a legal adult have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment? >> i have not. >> have you ever faced discipline related to this kind of cond

we are working in early-stage with the v.a. who have been absolute pioneers on many problems related to behavioral health given the overlap between veterans and substance use disorders. i also think there is a broader opportunity not just to study these things for critical efficacy, but to think about their application in settings like child welfare, homeless housing. many other settings where we think about the negative consequences of addiction as washing ashore in profound ways. but beyond innovating on treatment efficacy, if you believe we will have to innovate on engagement strategies to improve medication adherence. i will give you guys one example of something we are working on outside of child welfare that has lots of implications and applications to the child welfare setting. here we are thinking about involuntary hospitalizations. just as a bit of background, every state in the country has a law on the books that allow people to be committed to voluntary hospitalization when they are at risk or a danger to themselves

host: the v.a. is a 2 million number workforce.count for 500,000 numbers of the federal workforce, the largest by far, correct? outside of the military? guest: they are. they are the largest bill you agency. they have hired a lot in the last several years. in the veterans health administration and they have expanded hiring significantly. if there is a hiring freeze on certain portions of that workforce it would bring some impacts. host: the department of education, which has gotten so much focus in the lead up to donald trump taking office, something like just 4000 employees. guest: it is definitely a smaller agency. that when i imagine would be under the hiring freeze. we have not seen a lot of details from agencies of how that is exactly going to play out. yes, they are one that is definitely a much smaller workforce in the v.a. guest: taking -- host: taking your calls with drew friedman. hannah out of north carolina on the line for democ. good mornin. i have a question and a comment. my comment is that it seems that at the begin

unions representing federal workers from forest service firefighters to v.a. nurses, say this isn't a voluntary buyout, but a purge. >> they're scared. they're scared that they're not going to have a job. they're scared that they're not going to be able to, you know, pay the bills, take care of their families. >> reporter: and the union is stressing that this could have wide-ranging impacts on everyone from doctors who care for veterans to firefighters to civilians who work at the department of defense, and the union isn't confident that the administration will be obligated to pay these employees through september if they do resign. their message to federal workers tonight -- do not resign. david? >> david: our chief white house correspondent mary bruce. >>> now, to the f-35 fighter jet crashing at an air force base in alaska during a training exercise. the images all on camera. the pilot ejecting just moments before. here's martha raddatz. >> reporter: tonight, dramatic video circulating online showing the million tear's premiere fighter jet, the f-35, plungi

that's called the v.a. system. i work with suicidal vets, iraq events now. let me tell you the v.a. is doing nothing for you people. a practice policy, , they don't practice medicine. how can you turn around and look at your friend, because i've been a combat, how can you look at your friend and say go forward, fixed bayonets if you lose an arm or leg there any mess, and this government will drop them like like a rocke them by the side of a beach. >> thank you for the call and those are great points. we need to be doing everything we can to ensure the soldiers that fossil valiantly are taken care of. our medicine on the battlefield is incredible. the lives lost at 3600 would be be much more if this was a war fought ten, 15 years ago, 20 years ago because were saving a lot more lives than we have in the past. you've got guys coming back to the states with real significant injuries. they need to be taken care of. i can speak specifically to whether or not the v.a. system has failed to give it has and i've heard anecdotes that it has. we need to be doing everything we can to be taken c

eastern, president trump's pick for v.a.ding a measure honoring the washington, c. location for the national medal of honor monument. on c-span two, the senate will debate a bill on requiring medical care for a chi born after a failed abortion. on c-span3 at 10:00 a.m. eastern, new york congresswoman elise stefanik, president trump spec to be u.s. ambsador to the united nations, takes questions at her confirmation hearg from members of the senate foreign relations committee. you can watch these programs live on c-span now, our mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. ♪ >> since its first interview on c-span on book notes in 1993, harold holzer has appeared close to 200 times p that year he had written or edited six books on abraham lincoln. since then harold holzer has added another 50 books to his name. c-span viewers and listeners have had the opportunity to hear him talk about lincoln's life from birth 1807 to his assassination in 1865. the following conversation is meant to be extensive. the center of

she proudly served in the coast guard and the iowa city v.a. health care system honored her with a plaque to recognize her incredible dedication. clara's humble spirit and sense of humor shine through as she fondly recalls her time in service, joking that she joined in 1945 to help get that darn war over with. but as she herself will tell you, her greatest achievements are no not in her service, but -- are not in her service, but in the joys of her family, getting married, raising children, and cherishing a family she calls the greatest in the world. clara, your century of life is a testament to the strength and heart of our nation. we are grateful for your service and your example. thank you. ... mr. speaker, i rise today to reaffirm my unwavering commitment to protecting life and supporting both mothers and babies. every life is precious. and it's our responsibility to defend the most vulnerable among us. as a mother, a doctor, and a member of congress, i have always been dedicated to ensuring that children have the opportunity to grow, thriv

hearing on allowing veterans to purchase or own firearms while relying on someone else to manage their v.ared military personnel, veterans advocates and policy researchers testified before a veterans affairs subcommittee.

eastern, president trump's pick for v.a. hearing before the senate veteranaffairs committee. the house doubles in at noon eastern and will consider several bills including a measure authorizing that washington, d.c. location for the national medal of honor monument. on c-span2, the senate will debate a bill requiring medical care for a child born after a failed abortion. on c-span3 at 10:00 a.m. eastern, at least trump's pick to to be invested to the united nations. youan watch all of our programs liven c-span now, our free mobile app, or online at c-span.org. >> since his first interview on c-span on book notes in 1993 harold holzer has appeared on the network close to 200 times. up to that year, he had written or edited six books on abraham lincoln. since then, harold has added another 50 books to his name. c-span viewers and listeners have had the opportunity to hear mr. holzer talk about lincoln's life from his birth in kentucky in 1807 until his assassination in washington, d.c. in 18 to 65. the center of attention will

pete hegseth for defense secretary as well as doug burgum for interior secretary and doug collins for v.a> bret: we will have complete coverage here on fox. aishah hasnie live on capitol hill. thanks. president biden is taking steps to ensure migrants coming from some countries do not face immediate deportation he is extending what he calls temporary legal status for nearly a million immigrants inside the u.s. these are people from places such as venezuela and sudan. the order extends protection for deportation -- from deportation another 18 months. president biden the white house announcing he will deliver what is being called his farewell address to the nation next week. the white house says the speech will take place wednesday, 8:00 p.m. eastern. you can see that here on fox news. up next, the panel on the politics of the southern california wildfires. ♪ ♪ you'll get better when you're not blamed for a condition you can't control. ♪ you'll get better when your pain isn't minimized, dismissed, forgotten. we will never stop trying to get better. because when medicine gets better, all of

would you advise him to follow through on that by detecting v.a. disability? mr. vought: i won't get ahead of the budget process other than to say it has been a priority to fully fund at the needs of veterans and it will continue is confirmed. sen. gallego: ok. chair paul: senator scott. sen. scott: thank you, chairman. mr. vought congratulations on your nomination. i enjoyed working with you up here before and i know you will do a great job. in biden's four years he had added $8 trillion to the national debt and increased federal spending by 53%. our population is up 2%. we cannot continue down this path of spending way above pre-pandemic levels. with the past four years of joe biden there has not been any serious discussion about how to control spending or reduce are now $36 trillion of debt. if you travel around florida here is what you hear. people can't afford it. they cannot afford the inflation. they said, i can afford to live, a few years ago, but today, with disinflation i cannot buy a house. interest rates are up. i cannot buy a car. i sure as heck canno

. >> all of the things, my v.a. i.d.as insurance but worries it may not be enough in an area where home prices have skyrocketed. for him, like so many, starting over here may not be an option. for now he is saying at the frthe korean war vet calls himsf a survivor. >> i have been through a lot. that is what i kept thinking. i can get through this. and that is what i am thinking now. stephanie: here in altadena, you can see that conditions have improved since i was here 24 hours ago. the smoke has somewhat cleared. you can still smell it in the air, but you're starting to see some blue sky. you're also continuing to see flames like the ones behind me and smoldering wreckage. this area is still completely closed to residents, many of whom have tried to go back to their houses but have been turned away. they did, however, let media come through this area to assess the damage today. we drove throughout the streets. there were some streets where all of the houses on a block would be burned down, but across the street houses w

the family moved to dallas and later waco in 1934 where his father took a job building the v.a. hospital. he attended waco before attending the navy. he took the oath of office march 12, 1943. bob served his country aboard the u.s.s. chester, ca-27, a heavy cruiser of the fifth battle cruise as a hot shell man for one of the large guns and fought in the battles of tara, saipan and iwo jima. after the war bob signed on for extra duty to sail on chester to her home in philadelphia, navigating the panama canal in the process. three months after returning home from the military, bob gave ida, lou dale vincent a ride on his motorcycle outside a local bowling alley. a man of my own heart. the two were married a few months later in 1947 and shared 62 years of marriage before dale's passing in 2009. their beautiful union created two magnificent children, david lance osborne and darlene dale osborne. he had a long career working with otis elevator as a mechanic in waco, san antonio, and lubbock before retiring in 1983. while in san antonio, he helped build the hemisphere tower where he w

and if we can get it over to europe, we can create more opportunities to compete against rush v.a. --ia are then funding the war against ukraine. and so we've got to cut off the money that that's going to russia by selling their dirty oil and gas and thereby starve out the russian economy from funding the war the against ukraine. larry: so if you had, just for arguments sake, brent crude is about $80 a barrel, more or less. i'm going to call it $80 a barrel. west texas, a little less than that. whatever it is, $76, 77. but let's say you produce more. let's say the saudis and opec open the spigots a little bit, and we're going to produce if america right? we're going to -- doug burgum wants to produce, i don't know, 15, 16 million barrels a day. point is, if we cooperate, and we bring oil prices down to $60 or 55, that'll have a crippling effect on russia. i don't think russia would be in the war business because there wouldn't be any money because their product if's not going to be yielding as much. that's essentially what i think mr. trump is saying. >> that is what he's saying. and