process, i perceived the need for additional expertise in that area which is why i went and recruited lee bradley and with secretary hagel's strong support to come return to the department of veterans affairs. we have built underneath a cross functional team of senior leaders across the organization. part of the challenge we're going through right now is just what it takes in the federal government to pursue personnel actions to have them done in a way that you at least hope it's going to stand up in an appeal. the other challenge that we're working through right now is really the recalibration of the department's yardstick if you will. that behavior that looks like this which in the past might not have had any accountability action associated with it as all, at all, may in the future be a deemed appropriate for removal from federal service or for a very extended period of suspension. so what we've done and as we have now, i mentioned earlier, gotten the first of these cases in from the ig, are now exercising that process. following due process, but also managing through this reset that has to ha

lee bradley has begun an assignment. she is a former general counsel at v.a. and most recently at the department of defense where she has direct responsibility for their ethics portfolio. shifting gears, an area of resources. i believe that the greatest risk to veterans over the intermediate to long term is additional resources are provided only to support increased purchases of care in the community. and not to materially remedy the shortfall in internal v.a. capacity. such an outcome would leave v.a. even more poorly positioned to meet future demand. today, v.a.'s clinical staff and space capacity are strained. between 2009 and 2013, the number of unique veterans we treat annually has increased by over half a million and the typical veteran we treat today has on average nine major diagnoses. in just the last three years, 40 veterans health care facilities have experienced double digit growth in the number of patients who come through their doors. as an example, at the fayetteville, north carolina, v.a. center, which i visited several weeks ago, the number of

to support this critical work, iss lee bradley has begun an assignment. she's a former general counsel at v.a. and a member of the general counsel team at the department of defense, where she had direct responsibility for the ethics portfolio for d.o.d. before i conclude, let me briefly address the need for additional resources. i believe that the greatest risk to veterans over the immediate -- over the intermediate to long term is that additional resources are provided only to support addressed purchase care in the community and not to materially remedy the historic shortfall and capacity. such an outcome would leave v.a. even more poorly positioned to meet future demand. we've been working close with the office of management and budget for several weeks to develop the request for funding. while the amounts under consideration are large and the context of v.a.'s size, scope, and existinging about the, they represent moderate percentage increases in annual expenditures. furthermore, a substantial portion of the funds required are not recuring in space and

lee bradley has begun a four month assignment as special counsel to the secretary. she's a former general counsel at v.a., and most recently, a senior member of the general counsel team at the department of defense where she had direct responsibility for the ethics portfolio for dod. before i conclude, let me briefly address the need for additional resources. i believe that the greatest risk to veterans over the immediate -- the intermediate to long term is that additional resources are provided only to support increased purchase care in the community and not to materially remedy the historic shortfall in internal v.a. capacity. such an outcome would leave v.a. even more poorly positioned to meet future demand. we have been working closely with the office of management and budget for several weeks to develop the request for funding. while the amounts under consideration are large and the context of v.a.'s size, scope, and existing budget, they represent moderate percentage increases and annual expenditures. furthermore, a substantial portion of the funds required ar

lee bradley has begun an assignment. she is a former general counsel at v.a. and most recently at the department of defense where she has direct responsibility for their ethics portfolio. shifting gears, an area of resources. i believe that the greatest risk to veterans over the intermediate to long term is additional resources are provided only to support increased purchases of care in the community. and not to materially remedy the shortfall in internal v.a. capacity. such an outcome would leave v.a. even more poorly positioned to meet future demand. today, v.a.'s clinical staff and space capacity are strained. between 2009 and 2013, the number of unique veterans we treat annually has increased by over half a million and the typical veteran we treat today has on average nine major diagnoses. in just the last three years, 40 veterans health care facilities have experienced double digit growth in the number of patients who come through their doors. as an example, at the fayetteville, north carolina, v.a. center, which i visited several weeks ago, the number of

, i perceived the need for additional expertise in that area, which is why i went and recruited lee bradley. with secretary hagel's strong support to come over to the department, to return to the department. we have built underneath her a team of senior leaders from across the organization -- part of the challenge we are going through right now is, part of it is just what it takes in the federal government to pursue personnel actions and to have them done in a way that you at least hope it's going to stand up to and appeal. the other challenge that we are working through right now is really the recalibration of the department's yardstick, if you will. that behavior that looks like this which in the past might not have had any accountability action associated with it at all may in the future be an appropriate -- deemed appropriate for removal from federal service or for very extended period of suspension. what we have done, as we have done mentioned earlier as we got the cases from the i.g. are exercising that process. following due process but also managing through this reset that has to ha

process, i perceived the need for additional expertise in that area which is why i went and recruited lee bradley and with secretary hagel's strong support to come return to the department of veterans affairs. we have built underneath a cross functional team of senior leaders across the organization. part of the challenge we're going through right now is just what it takes in the federal government to pursue personnel actions to have them done in a way that you at least hope it's going to stand up in an appeal. the other challenge that we're working through right now is really the recalibration of the department's yardstick if you will. that behavior that looks like this which in the past might not have had any accountability action associated with it as all, at all, may in the future be a deemed appropriate for removal from federal service or for a very extended period of suspension. so what we've done and as we have now, i mentioned earlier, gotten the first of these cases in from the ig, are now exercising that process. following due process, but also managing through this reset that has to ha

bradley has the details. >> reporter: a dramatic chase through streets near houston followed by a tense three-hour standoff ended with police nabbing their suspect. authorities say, ronald lee haskell killed six people, four of them his children. the kids were ages 4, 7, 9 and 14. >> it's just a terrible thing. i don't know what could have happened. >> reporter: around 6:00 last night, police rushed to this house after his 15-year-old daughter called 911. despite being shot in the head, she managed to i.d. her father. authorities say the gunman and his wife are estranged. >> it appears this could be some kind of domestic dispute. >> reporter: the wounded 15-year-old girl also told authorities that her father may have been planning to go to her grand parents' home and kill them. that tip helped police intercept the suspect. >> we quickly put out a broadcast and dispatched units to the street. we only had an actual street name. we didn't know the exact address. we stationed constable deputies on that street. about five minutes after we did that, he comes driving up. >> reporter: the man fled the scene and was followed by nearly two dozen patrol vehicles. >> they're trying to