james tuchschmidt, the interim deputy for health, and rick murray interim chief officer, and gregory giddens the principle director of office of acquisitions, logistics and construction. thank you for being here. mr. gibson you are recognized for your open statement. >> one year ago today 290,000 veterans were waiting more than 30 days for care. that represented the veterans' needs we were unable to meet timely. improving access to care has been among the top priorities and we made progress. we c seven million more appointments than in the previous year and doubled the capacity required to meet those veterans needs. average wait time for completed points is five days for regular care, three are for special and three for mental health. authorization for care in the community are up 44%. 97% of appointments are completed within 30 days of the clinically indicated date or the date the veteran requests. we know it is far too long to wait. 93% completed with 14 days 88% completed within 7 days, and 22% of appointments completed on the same day. after hours and weekend appointments are up 12% and

edward married the acting assistant secretary for management and interim chief financial officer gregory giddens, the principal executive director of the office of acquisitions, logistics, and construction. thank you for being here. mr. gibson, you are recognized for your opening statement. esther gibson: -- mr. gibson: one year ago today thousands of veterans were waiting for care today. that represented needs we were not able to make timely. with the past year, improving access to care has been among v.a.'s top priorities and we have made real progress. we completed 7 million more appointments for care inside the v.a. and in the community than the previous 12 months. -- initial capacity to required -- double the initial capacity required to meet those needs when you go. average time to make appointment, four day for primary and five for specialty and three days for mental health. scheduled appointments inside the v.a. are up 12%. authorizations for v.a. care in the community are up 44%. 97% of appointments inside v.a. are completed within 30 days of the clinically indicated they or the date th