mr. blumenthal. it's part of our investigation and effort to figure out what happened that night and figure out how we would have security to prevent such a thing. mr. blumenthal is part of that. the national archives said today the thousand or so e-mails they came in contact with of a personal nature were in fact personal. do you think they're a legitimate source in terms of being a final arbitrator on this? >> no. i think the best answer is take all e-mails that were on the clinton server and provide those to a neutral third party. we suggested ig from the state department and happy to consider other options. we need to make sure every relevant communication related to the entire investigation, not just former secretary clinton allows us as the folks who are trying the american people get the full story is made available. we don't want the personal information, don't need it. we want everything relevant to this investigation and continue to work to get it. >> to go back to my first question. cindy

mr. blumenthal have business in libya? that's part of the question that we want answered. also whenever libya comes up in this campaign it's got to be ruinous on hillary because we went into this war of choice that created a fail state in the middle of africa. >> look sidney blumenthal for a good reason was not allowed to work for the state department was lobbying his friend in the state department. that's an obvious conflict of interest. she talks about this bubble and how she wants to reach out to people outside the bubble. >> unsolicited e-mails. >> right. we'll find out if that's true. she's been in public life since 1978. she had to go way back to find a friend before she was a politician. >> charles? >> what struck me was the fact that he was not only a friend he was getting paid by the clinton foundation. he was a hire. when you're a friend of the clinton, you join the business. the business is clinton inc. there's no distinction between the private and the charitable and the public. he tried to cash in on the business apparently because of his connection with the l

mr. blumenthal. >> i'm curious how you interpret that. the blumenthal case is interesting to me.st of all, there's the simple fact the obama administration didn't want this guy working at the state department. now we find out -- it appears from these e-mails he was able to pass information to hillary clinton and she circulates it throughout the top officials. sidney blumenthal is working for the clinton family foundation, in business with entrepreneurs who wanted to do business in libya. does this race questions? >> certainly. i think the business connections with libyan official gicize the more worrisome part of the exchanges or rather the unwritten parts of those exchanges. i think when it comes to information that he passes on to mrs. clinton as secretary of state, the fact that she then goes to check this information with -- as i said you know very seasoned diplomats at the state department like the former ambassador to libya or the assistant secretary of state for foreign affairs. it shows she does do a checks and balance on the information she gets from him. but i think tha

mr. blumenthal's account was hacked a couple of years ago by a hacker and these e malsz were put up online. and therefore it was discovered he had been e-mailing hillary. would we have been told otherwise? would she have deleted them with the rest? and how many others has she deleted? >> all good questions. and tell us about cheryl mills, chief of staff when she was at that state. and senior instead of vetting freedom of information request. how unusual is it for senior staff to do that as an agency? >> it is a huge no no. and i would phrase it as "controlling information" at the state department. which we now know this is what hillary clinton was all about from the moment she set foot at the state department. but cheryl mills, blast from the pasts. has been around forever. followed mrs. clinton to the state department. we now know she was telling. departments like this have experts. this is their job to look through these requests and see what complies and what can be released. we now know mrs. mills was going in on top of them and making her own decisions and moreover if they released do

mr. blumenthal's account was hacked a couple years ago and they were put online. would we have ever been told about these e-mails otherwise? would she have deleted them along with the rest? >> tell us about cheryl mills when she was at that state and senior staff vetting freedom of information act requests. how unusual is it for a senior staff to do that at an agency? >> it's a huge no-no. i would phrase it as controlling information as a state department. which we now know this is what hillary clinton was all about. cheryl mills again another person blasts from the clinton past. she's been around forever. followed mrs. clinton to the state department. we now -- departments like this have public records experts. it is their job to look through the requests and decide what can be released. we now know mrs. mills was going on on of them. then mrs. clinton's office would no longer comply with disclosure requirements. >> will there be any ramifications for this? improper behavior but it goes away? >> it seems to fall once again into that gray area that the clintons th

mr. blumenthal for five minutes. senator blumenthal: thank you to you, chairman miller and chairman isaacson for your leadership on this committee. most especially for your support of the suicide prevention bill. i want to thank everyone of the panel who are here today for your support and your leadership on this critical measure that was led by senator mccain and myself with the help of representative walsh and others on the house side. just as an example of the fact that we can get things done breed we can help veterans. we can make a difference. i knew you are making a difference as leaders of your organization. as we focus on health care, we should never lose sight of the other challenges before us. veterans homelessness, veterans underemployment, and veterans needs for skills training and education, and jobs. some of the scams that prey on veterans both around military bases and elsewhere. they explode -- exploit g.i. bills. all of these challenges we will face on this committee and broaden our attention from st

mr. blumenthal: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. thal: thank you madam president. i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you madam president. it is spring in washington d.c., one of the most beautiful times of year, as it is in connecticut and around the country. we have endured a tough winter. in the northeast a lot of snow, a lot of cold. and now a lot of loopholes. all around the country spring means potholes, which are endemic not only to the northeast but to our roads all around america. potholes are just the latest reminder of infrastructure challenges facing our nation. and that's just one reason why this week is, in fact, infrastructure week, a time when we should be focusing on rail and roads the decaying and aging infrastructure that bedevils and hobbles our nation as we seek to compete globally, and our businesses in connecticut seeking to compete nationally as well as globally. this time of year is also the beginning of the construction season especially in th

mr. chairman thank you and senator blumenthal for your communities and conducting this hearing. mr. secretary and others, welcome to the committee. i hope to ask a series of questions, but the time on the clock will run quickly. i want to start with a story that i've told before about a vietnam veteran named larry. larry mcintyre lived in florida and indicates that he he's a vietnam veteran. a swift vote navy veteran. indicates while he was in florida, he received excellent care from the v.a. moved to rural kansas and became my constituent. lives about 25 miles and three hours from a hospital. and i started this story or this story began in july 2014 when larry, this vietnam veteran needed a cortisone shot. the v.a.'s instructions were come to wichita. so a 3-hour drive each way to get a cortisone shot. we raised this topic with secretary mcdonnell at a hearing here on september 9th. larry had contacted us and said i don't care how it comes, if the choice act or any other way that the v.a. can provide this service. and so we raised this topic with the secretary in september of last

support republicans' wider benghazi conspiracy theories they raise questions about blooul blumenthal's involvement. mrt. clearly, blumenthal has been a friend of the clintons for years. there's been a long association there. he took the information from blumenthal who was a trusted friend but not a public or should i say government official. how do you see that? >> i think, look elected officials and their advisors get information from a wide array of people. i think the problem with mr. blumenthal is he's been a political advisor to hillary clinton, clearly advising her on politics and had business before the state department. he wanted to get approval for a deal that had to get some kind of state department approval in libya. that deal did not occur or happen for him but once again, with the clintons when you talk about the clintons in office it always comes down to business deals as well for the wide array of people who come with them. i think this is more troublesome news for hillary clinton. >> bob shrum, how do you read it? >> when you look at the new york times story, what the administration wa

mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank my colleague from utah, my friend and very distinguished colleague, as well as our friend from the state of vermont for their leadership this morning and throughout the drafting and formulating of this very well-balanced compromise. a balance between security, which we must preserve and defend and our privacy and other essential constitutional rights which we need to protect just as zealously because the reason for fighting to preserve our security is so we maintain and preserve our great constitutional rights. and that balkan be struck, it's feasible and achievable and this measure, the u.s.a. freedom act, is a strong step in the right direction. i want to talk today about one of its great virtues which is an american virtue, the virtue of due process. of having an effective adversarial process one that is transparent and provides effective appellate review. the lack of an adversarial process as well as transparency and effective appellate review is one of the reasons

blumenthal: thanks mr. chairman. you know we have been talking a little bit about how to pay for the denver crossover. sen. isakson: we just figured it out. sen. blumenthal: the chairman has told me that we just figured it out. so this has been a more productive afternoon then you could have ever hoped. sen. isakson: i apologize. sen. blumenthal: i want to thank all of you for your thinking through these issues in such a constructive and positive way. i was taught as a trial lawyer never ask a question if you don't know what the answer is going to be but i want to ask an open-ended question. given that the choice program and the choice and accountability act creates this fund of $15 billion, my view is that the potential rate on this money and the effort to use it as a kind of slush fund to pay for cost overruns in aurora and orlando and new orleans and las vegas where in fact in total there have been $2.5 billion in cost overruns is a real threat to veterans health care. we can debate how much private care should be

mr. blumenthal had private business interests in libya at the same time he was emailing mrs. ton about policy there. it's all kind of murky but there is no question that sydney blumenthal a long with a number of other individuals is a very controversial person so much so the obama administration for bade hillary clinton to hire him to work in the state department. with us is the president of the accountability project and andrea tantaros the host of outnumbered. do you know why they for bade her from hiring him? >> yes. they know his past. is he not a new hire or new friend of the clintons. he is a point man bill, for the clintons. he is their hench man. they sent him out to smear monica lewenski back in the clinton scandal. he has been around since the days of white water. >> who else did he smear. >> he smeared a the love people. he smeared president obama for the clintons. >> there you go, barack obama nomiki ordered that he not be hired specifically because he smeared obama in the primary against hillary clinton had. >> yeah. he was the guy. >> he was the guy. >> there wer

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator blumenthal. our first panel will be made up of the following individuals. first of all, the honorable sloan gibson. we've become new best friends the last four or five month. i want to thank him publicly in this introduction for his willingness to take on tough situations. he inherited some tough situations. and i appreciate the fact that he's approaching them in a positive way. we've got a few more tough 1-800- coming up-- tough ones coming up. i hope he'll maintain that attitude. i appreciate the cooperation. to reiterate for those present including the press, secretaries mcdonald and secretary -- under secretary gibson invited the ranking and myself and the house ranking, the house chairman, to the v.a. for what they call a standup which we did in february. we've been invited to come back in june. and i believe the room is for the entire committee if they want to come. i think i heard that this morning. and as many members as want to go, i want to make sure they're invited to see the way in wh

mr. blumenthal, that's not the way to do it. i apologize for injecting that. >> i want to thank the chairman because he and i have worked together. i am not speaking for the chairman, obviously, but i have some alternative suggestions as well. i have no pride of authorship, i don't think anybody does, of meeting the needs of completing that facility but doing it without sacrificing these other projects and i'll have ideas and proposals tomorrow. >> my apologies to the members of the committee and now i turn to senator moran. >> thank you for your comments and conducting this hearing. welcome to the committee, secretary and others. i hope to ask a series of questions but the time on the clock will run quickly. i want to start with a story that i've told before about a vietnam veteran named larry. he lives in florida and he's a vietnam veteran, a swift boat veteran. indicates while in florida he received excellent care from the va, moved to rural kansas, became my constituent, lives about 25 miles from the cboc and three hours fro

mr. blumenthal: i have one more thanks to -- mr. blumenthal: i have one more thanks to mr. kovach and others on the issue of expanding access to choice to make veterans eligible when a local v.a. facility cannot provide the service that is needed. when we measure service, it ought to be for the medical care that the veteran needs not simply whether there is a facility there to provide it. i'm assuming that other members of this panel are in agreement as well with that view. thank you. mr. roe: i recognize dr. abraham for five minutes. mr. abraham: i too have a foster opportunity with me today. she's from louisiana, going to go into a premed curriculum. and hopefully they'll do well. mariah, will you stand up, please. just a quick remembrance everybody here in the room with memorial day coming up, the surviving family members of our fallen heroes. we know they still continue to carry the water and extreme burden. just a heartfelt thanks for that. representative o'rourke and i were in a meeting this morning with secretary mcdonald and undersecretary sloan and a whole cadre of

mr. blumenthal's advice seriously forwarding his memos to senior diplomatic officials in washington and atimes asked him to respond. mrs. clinton continued to pass along the memos and much of the intelligence passed on appears to come from a group of business associates he was advising as they south to win contracts from the libyan transitional government, all in the piece in the "new york times." clinton was asked to explain her relationship with blumenthal just today. here's the secretary. >> should americans expect if elected president you would have that same type of relationship with these old friends that you've had for so long? >> i have many, many old friends, and i always think that it's important when you get into politics to have friends you had before you were in politics and to understand what's on their minds, and he's been a friend of mine for a long time. he sent me unsolicited e-mails which i passed on in some instances and -- and i see that that's just part of the give and take. when you're in -- when you're in the public eye, when you're in an official position, i think

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator blumenthal. i want to thank mr. sloan for his willingness to take on tough situations and i appreciate the fact he's approaching it in a positive way. we have a few more tough ones coming up. i'm appreciative of the cooperation. just to reiterate for those present, including the press secretary mcdonald and undersecretary gibson invited the ranking member and myself to the va for what they call a stand-up, which we did in february. we were invited to come back in june. it's for the entire committee if they want to go. as many members can go and they can see the way in which the va is benchmarking itself against itself, so to speak, to try and find better ways to do things and flush out the problems in advance and get them solved earlier and we're looking forward to doing that and we've got big problems to solve in the next few months which will be a testimony or a test. i appreciate you being here to help mr. sloan. we appreciate you being here very much. our private providers mr. mcintyre i appreciate the help that

mr. blumenthal for five minutes. senator blumenthal: thank you to you, chairman miller and chairman isaacson for your leadership on this committee. most especially for your support of the suicide prevention bill. i want to thank everyone of the panel who are here today for your support and your leadership on this critical measure that was led by senator mccain and myself with the help of representative walsh and others on the house side. just as an example of the fact that we can get things done breed we can help veterans. we can make a difference. i knew you are making a difference as leaders of your organization. as we focus on health care, we should never lose sight of the other challenges before us. veterans homelessness, veterans underemployment, and veterans needs for skills training and education, and jobs. some of the scams that prey on veterans both around military bases and elsewhere. they explode -- exploit g.i. bills. all of these challenges we will face on this committee and broaden our attention from st

mr. blumenthal's work with mrs.clinton at state in anyway benefited his private dealings, or how any of it fit into his work for the foundation. house investigators now intended to interview mr. blumenthal. let's hope they can uncover more about this pal of hillary's job as unofficial political and foreign policy advisor to a secretary of state. the broader point is that this is how the clintons operate, on the edge of the law, mixing business and politics, the personal with the official." here is how hillary clinton answer the question about receiving e-mails from her friend sid blumenthal. she was asked by jeff zeleny about this, if this is something that she would continue to do if she were elected president. take a look. [video clip] hillary clinton: i have many, many old friends, and i think it is important when you get into politics to have friends you had before you get into politics and to understand what is on their minds, and he has been a friend of mine for a long time. he sent me unsolicited e-mails whic

senator blumenthal. >> thanks mr. chairman. you know we have been talking a little bit about how to pay for the denver crossover. >> we just figured it out. >> the chairman has told me that we just figured it out. so this has been a more productive afternoon then you could have ever hoped. >> i apologize. >> i want to thank all of you for your thinking through these issues in such a construct of them positive way. i was taught as a trial lawyer never ask a question if you don't know what the answer is going to be but i want to ask an open-ended question. given that the choice program and the choice and accountability act creates this fund of $15 billion my view is that the potential rate on this money and the effort to use it as a kind of slush fund to pay for cost overruns in aurora and orlando and new orleans and las vegas where in fact in total there in 2.50 yen dollars in cost overruns is a real threat to veterans health care. we can debate how much private care should be provided and how much it should be through va facili

mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. just a minute to thank all of my colleagues for the progress that we have been making on a very bipartisan basis. i want to thank particularly the chairman of the veterans affairs committee for his working so diligently on on an immediate and temporary solution to advance the aurora project and available us to keep it going and our visit out there illustrated to us the importance of this project, which my two colleagues and friends from colorado have described so well and eloquently. and i want to thank my friend from the great state of kansas. he and i have worked to make sure that veterans are really served by the choice program along with the chairman who has understood and enabled us to work together on a bill which will be passed by unanimous consent, i hope, and will passed by the house of representatives i hope by unanimous consent. but if not as i have committed to him, i will continue working to make sure that the 40-mile rule and choice mean that veterans are served by a fac

mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you mr. president. these trade agreements are a big deal and trade promotion authority used to mean setting tariffs. now they can affect everything from the safety of our food to the working conditions of people around the world environmental standards and very frankly and simply, that means that americans should know what the agreements say and what gowfort is-- and what our government is saying about them, and they should be given that information while there is a meaningful chance to influence them. and i hope to influence them through this deliberative process. it's supposed to be open and transparent. and i have two amendments, one that would promote greater transparency in great trade agreements and the second to help ensure that foreign companies cannot use trade agreements to undermine the safety and security of america's food supply. first, on the subject of transparency nothing is more fundamental than for the american people to know what's in these trade ag

mr. blumenthal for five minutes. senator blumenthal: thank you for your leadership on this committee.

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator blumenthal. our 1st panel is made up of the following individuals.loan gibson. i want to thank him for his willingness to take on tough situations. i appreciate the fact he is approaching it in a positive way. i hope you will maintain that attitude. to reiterate secretary mcdonald and undersecretary gibson invited the ranking member and myself for what they call a standup which we did in february and have been invited to come back in june. as many members as want to come i will make sure they are invited. benchmark itself against itself to try to find better ways to do things to flesh out problems in advance and get themselves earlier. we have big problems to solve. we appreciate you being here to assist. i am sure that everyone appreciate you being here. providers, mr. mcintyre, i enjoyed our meeting earlier this week. i appreciate your being here today. >> thank you, mr. chairman. chairman, ranking member members of the community we are committed to making the program work and provide veterans timely and geographically accessible quality care using

mr. fuentes. is that close enough? >> yes, sir. >> chairman isaacson ranking member blumenthal, i would like to thank you for the opportunity to present our views on the veterans choice program. the vfw opposes va's change to the way veterans choose to use the veterans choice program. veterans must have the opportunity to explore their private sector options before rejecting their va appointments. this change is a bureaucratic convenience that will negatively affect veterans experiences. the vfw continues to play an integral part in identifying new issues the veterans choice program faces in recommending reasonable solutions. yesterday we published our second report evaluating this important program which made 13 recommendations on how to ensure it accomplishes its intended goal of expanding access to health care for america's veterans. our initial report identified a

mr. fuentes. is that close enough? >> yes, sir. >> chairman isakson, ranking member blumenthal, i would like to thank you for the opportunity to present our views on the veterans choice program. before i begin i want to say the vfw opposes va's change to the way veterans choose to use the veterans choice program. veterans must have the opportunity to explore their private sector options before rejecting their va appointments. this change is a bureaucratic convenience that will negatively affect veterans experiences. the vfw continues to play an integral part in identifying new issues the veterans choice program faces in recommending reasonable solutions. yesterday we published our second report evaluating this important program which made 13 recommendations on how to ensure it accomplishes its intended goal of expanding access to health care for america's veterans.

mr. blumenthal sent mrs. clinton a more thorough account of what had occurred. had tied to al qaeda, had planned the attacks for a month. we should get this around asap. mrs. clinton said to one of her aides said we'll do. so she knew and -- she knew it was a terrorist, not just a demonstration. and she suggests we should let people know about this. isn't this the opposite of what the gop has been saying about her? that she tried to keep it secret? >> this is the problem with conspiracy theories. they run into conflict with human beings basically trying to do their best in realtime. what you saw actually from the e-mails we now see and there will be more released later today is that blumenthal originally corroborated the whole idea this was a video. >> the first day. >> correct. and then all of a sudden fog of war recedes and you start to get actual intelligence. and his problem is his relationships with interest in libya at the time. you see a sense in realtime they're figuring this out and they were trying to get the story right piece by piece. like human bein

mr. blumenthals who opinions are never second guessed.ld know that they will not only be electing hillary and bill and chelsea, but this will entire menagerie. >> a lot of other things to worry about. "wall street journal" doesn't like hillary. i don't much like the libya policy that they got us into. that's the much bigger deal. >> and obviously bigger concerns about the team around them. >> you're not concerned if somebody is giving advice to the secretary of state who has business interests that could be ekt affected by the advice given and those aren't disclosed? >> that is pervasive for anybody everywhere. look, i think in is not really the story, but you there is an important story about the libya mess, how we got into it why we have a completely destabilized country. so i think she has to answer for foreign policy. that's where i would put the focus. >> you're saying because the practice is pervasive, that people try to influence the government to effect their business interests, that you're not interested in condemning it or you d

mr. chairman, thank you very much. >> senator blumenthal. >> thanks, mr. chairman. >> mr. bruder, would you like to make a comment? >> i will be quick. one of the things, that exact conversation happened on the judiciary committee and they have the exact same conversations there. ultimately it came down to a matter of what was subject to the freedom of information act and what was not. again it came down to a resource issue and the fact that we've got very small police departments that would ultimately have to create a department to keep this data that's coming in and out and all the requests. the decision was made not to make it a public document but to be able to give a copy of that data to a small amount of people. they obviously could do with it what they wanted to after that. that was our way of narrowing it down so the public still does have input, still does have knowledge and of course the agency head, law enforcement agency head, can still release it if it benefits the public as well. >> thank you very much. thank you, senator scott. senator blumenthal. >> thanks

mr. chairman. chairman isaacson, and blumenthal, members of the committee. we're committed to making the choice program work and to providing veterans timely and geographically accessible quality care using care in the community whenever necessary. i'll talk shortly about what we're doing and the help that we need from congress to make all that happen. first, i want to talk very briefly about access to care. most mornings at 9:00 a.m. for the last year, senior leaders from across the department gathered to focus on improving veterans' access to care. we've concentrated on key drivers of access, including increasing medical center staffing by 11,000. adding space boosting care during extended hours and weekends by 10% and increasing staff productivity. the result 2.5 million more completed appointments inside v.a. this year than last. relative value units measure of care delivered across the used to measure care deliver across the industry are also up 9%. another focus area for us in improving access has been increasing the use of care in the community. in 20

blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for having this hearing. we went through a terrible tragedy and debacle not long ago that prompted the veterans access choice and accountability act which sought to relieve some of the problems and underlying issues, including deceit and fraud that caused delays and misreporting within the va system. the discussion today is centered on the remaining flaws and failings in the va healthcare program, particularly the veterans choice program. and as much as this program was established to deal with the immediate crisis of access to care in the short term with an investment of 10 billion to 10 billion to provide direct care services in the community and $5 billion to provide a choice program, there is still a lot to be done the program was just a down payment, just a 1st step. i believe that it has to be improved even further. there remains underutilization of the choice program. the underutilization may well be the result of the failure to sufficiently publicize or make aware veterans. it may it may be the result

blumenthal? >> thank you, mr. chairman. thanks for holding this hearing and thanks to senator scott for the bill that he's introduced and the initiative that he's taken. and thanks to all of you for being here today. i'm a strong supporter of body-worn cameras by police. in fact, i've supported the full appropriation for existing programs that would fund them. and i think they will make a very substantial contribution to the credibility and effectiveness of law enforcement. at the same time, i respect mr. hend hendricks' point that a lot of care and thoughtfulness need to go into should policy. you have a camera so of course it will record everything, no problem. and there will be no questions. well, in fact, there are questions about privacy. there are questions about chain of custody. who has access to the results of these body-worn cameras. where are the results stored. if so, by a third party. the chain of custody issues are multiplied. and what are the standards, existing federal programs do not fund standards and poli

mr. chairman thank you very much. >> senator blumenthal. >> thanks mr. chairman. >> mr.bruder, would you looic icyou like to make a comment? >> that exact conversation happened on the judiciary committee and they have the exact same conversations there. ultimately it came down to a matter of what was subject to the freedom of information act and what was not. again with being it came down to a resource issue and the fact that we've got very small police departments that would ultimately have to create a department to keep this data that's coming in and out and all the requests. the decision was made not to make it a public document but to be able to give a copy of that data to a small amount of people. they obviously could do with it what they wanted to after that. that was our way of narrowing it down so the public still does have input, still does have knowledge and of course the agency head, law enforcement agency head, can still release it if it benefits the public as well. >> thank you very much. thank you, senator scott. senator blumenthal. >> thanks for holding th

mrs. clinton's closest friends sydney blumenthal was trying to work some kind of business deal with libyale he was in contact with secretary clinton about the situation. >> he has been a friend of mine for a long time. he sent me unsolicited emails which i passed on in some instances and i see that is just part of the give and take. >> talking points is exhausted with all the hillary clinton stuff. i bet you are too. the ongoing drama is getting tedious and takes away from the serious business of fixing america. finally americans elected president obama twice. his presidency has been anything but smooth. all of us on both sides of the aisle should consider that old saying the next time we vote. country get what they deserve. that's the memo. now for the top story tonight, reaction. joining us from washington. richard good stein who advised president clinton's campaign. writer from the pulitzer. all of these hillary clinton controversies and there seems to be one every other day, going to mean anything when the voters show up? >> well, the data from the polls have shown so far they have ha

mr. roe: senator blumenthal, you are recognized for five minutes. senator blumenthal: my thanks to each of you for being here. i apologize i was away because i had to attend a legislative markup at another committee. i want to just pick up on your point, mr. reickhoff. i think that college affordability, college loan issue is one of the paramount issues of our time particularly as it relates to veterans. and i hope that you and others on this panel and your leadership and members will give us the benefits you have used on this issue so we can get education benefits both more flexible and more effective. i say that as a dad who has two sons, one who served in afghanistan, another serving in the military now. as well as two other children not in the military. i want to focus for the moment on the issue of the disability claims backlog. in the congress, in the media there are issues du jour. so the denver aurora facility right now is the issue du jour. but this issue of disability claims backlog so far as i'm concerned continues to be a major challenge

mr. chairman, thank you very much. >> senator blumenthal. >> thanks, mr. chairman. >> mr. bruder, would you like to make a comment? >> i will be quick. one of the things, that exact conversation happened on the judiciary committee and they have the exact same conversations there. ultimately it came down to a matter of what was subject to the freedom of information act and what was not. again it came down to a resource issue and the fact that we've got very small police departments that would ultimately have to create a department to keep this data that's coming in and out and all the requests. the decision was made not to make it a public document but to be able to give a copy of that data to a small amount of people. they obviously could do with it what they wanted to after that. that was our way of narrowing it down so the public still does have input, still does have knowledge and of course the agency head, law enforcement agency head, can still release it if it benefits the public as well. >> thank you very much. thank you, senator scott. senator blumenthal. >> thanks

mr. blumenthal: thank you madam president. we're here debating choices.out our budget, about the future of our nation that will be determined by choices we make about how to invest. that is the key concept at stake in this really momentous moment as we consider choices for how to invest in middle-class financial security and all that goes along with it -- job creation infrastructure, clean energy research, all of those choices are critical to the future of our nation and we will make did you everrous choices if we adopt -- disastrous choices if we adopt the budget that has come to us from the conference report for fiscal year 2016 because it fails to understand the need for investment in our future. we're in danger of leaving a lesser america an america for the first time in our history will reflect a lesser nation left to our children and their grandchildren. all generations before us determined that they would sacrifice, that they would give back and pay forward. and yet now sadly in fact, tragically we are in -- we endanger their future by failing in t

senator blumenthal has returned so he is up next. >> thanks mr. chairman and thanks for having this series of excellent hearings and to all of you who are before us today the chairman mentioned earlier that you were a very efficient panel and also a very distinguished and informative one and i want to thank you for being here. i was interested as a writer of amtrak as well as a flyer and some other reports last week in the wake of the philadelphia potential price-gouging among airlines and the terrell meant obviously was a horrific event and i know you join me in expressing our sympathies to all the loved ones and all who were affected but i wonder whether mr. smisek as an executive for united airlines can you confirm whether these reports are valid or exaggerated if the ftc were to look at these what would they conclude? i just want to mention that a $2309 flight from d.c. to laguardia would be an example of potential price-gouging and i want to just emphasize i'm not asking you because i am pointing to united airlines in any way or form as poten

senator blumenthal has returned so he is up next. >> thanks mr. chairman and thanks for having this series of excellent hearings and to all of you who are before us today the chairman mentioned earlier that you were a very efficient panel and also a very distinguished and informative one and i want to thank you for being here. i was interested as a writer of amtrak as well as a flyer and some other reports last week in the wake of the philadelphia potential price-gouging among airlines and the terrell meant obviously was a horrific event and i know you join me in expressing our sympathies to all the loved ones and all who were affected but i wonder whether mr. smisek as an executive for united airlines can you confirm whether these reports are valid or exaggerated if the ftc were to look at these what would they conclude? i just want to mention that a $2309 flight from d.c. to laguardia would be an example of potential price-gouging and i want to just emphasize i'm not asking you because i am pointing to united airlines in any way or form as poten

senator blumenthal. >> thanks mr. chairman. you know we have been talking a little bit about how to pay for the denver crossover. >> we just figured it out. >> the chairman has told me that we just figured it out. so this has been a more productive afternoon then you could have ever hoped. >> i apologize. >> i want to thank all of you for your thinking through these issues in such a constructive and positive way. i was taught as a trial lawyer never ask a question if you don't know what the answer is going to be but i want to ask an open-ended question. given that the choice program and the choice and accountability act creates this fund of $15 billion, my view is that the potential rate on this money and the effort to use it as a kind of slush fund to pay for cost overruns in aurora and orlando and new orleans and las vegas where in fact in total there have been $2.5 billion in cost overrun, is a real threat to veterans health care. we can debate how much private care should be provided and how much it should be through va fac

senator blumenthal, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. again, my thanks to each of you for being here. i apologize i was temporarily away because i had to attend a legislative markup at another committee. and i want to just pick up on your point mr. rieckhoff i think that college affordability, college loan issue is one of the paramount issues of our time, particularly as it relates to veterans and i hope that you and others on this panel and your leadership and your members will give us the benefit and your views on this issue so we can make education benefits both more flexible and more effective. and i say that as a dad who has two sons, one who servinged in afghanistan afghanistan and another serving in the military now as well as two other children not in the military. i want to focus for the moment on the issue of the disability claims backlog. you know, in the congress in the media there are issues du jor. this issue of disability claims backlogs, so far as i'm concerned, continues to be a major challenge. and i wonder if that is t

blumenthal. >> thank you so much, mr. chairman. thank you. and congratulations on your nomination. i just wanted to start -- obviously you have a very important job, and it's often said it's one of the hardest jobs in washington. i think that's reflective in some of the questions you have gotten today. in my home state, as you probably know, we've had several people charged since november since traveling or attempting to travel to the middle east to join isis. and before that we had a number indicted and a number convicted for trying to join al shabaab, and that continues to be an issue for our state, both groups. if you're confirmed, how will you ensure the information such as no-fly list be disseminated among allies to prevent someone being trained from boarding a plane to head toward the u.s., and how will you ensure that tsa works with domestic agencies and international partners to respond to threats? >> i apologize. senator, thank you for your question. you're at the heart of the challenge with respect to understanding the threat and disseminating that. so it's about informat