mr. isakson: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are in a quorum call. mr. isakson: i'd ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presidingvitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: i want to pay tribute to two great georgia georgians. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: it is not often that anyone comes to the floor in the senate to praise a journalist one way or another. but on the 31st of may the anchor of wtoc will retire. sonny dixon is a rare breed because he's actually been in equity willed office sesqui for years in the georgia legislature, some of those years with me. i know him as a friend, a professional and i know him as the best aping korman, period. he's been a recognized for the associated press ad ward for his professionalism, skill and knowledge. it is a privilege for me to being a million to on the floor of the senate his 18 years of service, his ten years of service in the georgia legislature and his lifetime of commitment to the state of georgia, the betterment of its communities and to savannah. as

isakson: thank you very much. mr. rausch. mr. rausch: chairman isakson ranking member blumenthal ranking member blumenthal thank you for the opportunity to share these views with you at today's hearing. has been drafted and it has final language being debated. it's a highly complex lob but the department is working hard to implement to ensure veterans are not left waiting for an acceptable length of time to receive health care services. my remarks will focus on the experiences of utilizing the v.a. trace program. members have reported to us by way of survey research. ishmael provide recommendations to congress and the secretary must consider not to get the program operating at the height of its potential. these recommendations include legislative clarification of the eligibility criteria for access in the choice program, strengthening trading guidelines for v.a. schedules charged with explaining criteria to veterans and continued active engagement with veterans organizations to broadly identified the conference of strategy and pla

mr. isakson: i rise -- could i propound a question of the majority leader. i prefer to propound the question first. as i understand the african bill and the trade enforcement bill will be in tandem together and not subject to amendment an then we'll go to t.p.a. and t.a.a. which will be open to amendment, is that correct? mr. mcconnell: the senator from georgia is correct. mr. isakson: in that case i will not object but i ask unanimous consent senator coons and i be able to make a one-minute statement. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. isakson: in the committee on the act we put an amendment to ensure a review of trade practices vis-a-vis poultry and other issues important to the united states. we would have offered an amendment on the floor had it been possible without this u.c. but with this u.c. coming forward and not objecting we have gotten permission to talk to ambassador froman who has assured us an out-of-cycle review whenever necessary to review the trade practices of south africa vis-a-vis poultry and i commend him f

mr. isakson: mr. president thursday a week ago i had the privilege as a member of the finance committee serving on the markup of the trade promotion authority and trade adjustment and assistance. this past saturday, i was given the opportunity to give the republican response on the radio saturday and i talked about trade promotion authority. i have been privileged to be a ranking member and chairman at one time of the africa subcommittee. i have traveled back and forth to the continent of africa, seen the opportunities of trade and business and exchange with the african people. i came to the congress in 1999. in that year, i voted for trade promotion authority for president bill clinton a democrat. later, i voted for trade promotion authority for president bush, a republican. and i proudly will vote for trade promotion authority for president obama a democrat, because trade is not a partisan issue. it should not be nor should it ever be trade a partisan issue. it should be an issue of the american peo

mr. rowan: wouldn't hurt. senator isakson: if we put one in jail for violating the truth -- mr. rowan: that would really help. i only go on this in the past life i was an investigator for the new york city council. when they started doing that they had a whole lot of different testimony coming out of people. especially when we did talk about sending somebody to jail. senator isakson: the reason i mention that is, we all, dr. roe and i know, members know, the accountability in the v.a. is something we try to focus on. being accountability accountable for the decisions they make. but accountable for the information they let out. cast as light on the v.a. that may or may not be the best light or correct light. i think everybody needs to be held accountable. both those who are responsible to carry out duties as well as those who are dropping information in the media to cast the v.a. in a bad light. they ought to be held accountable for the truth in that testimony. it's about time we got to the bottom of the barrel at the v.a. found out where the root cause, problems are and root the

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. rowan: wouldn't hurt. senator isakson: if we put one in jail for violating the truth -- mr. rowan: that would really help. i only go on this in the past life i was an investigator for the new york city council. when they started doing that they had a whole lot of different testimony coming out of people, especially when we did talk about sending somebody to jail. senator isakson: the reason i mention that is, we all, dr. roe and i know, members know, the accountability in the v.a. is something we try to focus on. being accountability accountable for the decisions they make. but accountable for the information they let out. cast as light on the v.a. that may or may not be the best light or correct light. i think everybody needs to be held accountable. both those who are responsible to carry out duties, as well as those who are dropping information in the media to cast the v.a. in a bad light. they ought to be held accountable for the truth in that testimony. it's about time we got to the bottom of the barrel at the v.a. found out where the root cause problems are and root the

mr. isakson: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. isakson: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order the time from 11:30 until 12:50 will be equally divided with the majority controlling the first half and the democrats controlling the second half. mr. mcconnell: madam president, i have four unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent these requests be agreed to and printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now madam president, since the unlawful leaks of n.s.a. programs opponents of our counterterrorism program have painted a distorted picture of how these programs

mr. isakson: i rise -- could i propound a question of the majority leader. i prefer to propound the question first. as i understand the african bill and the trade enforcement bill will be in tandem together and not subject to amendment an then we'll go to t.p.a. and t.a.a. which will be open to amendment, is that correct? mr. mcconnell: the senator from georgia is correct. mr. isakson: in that case i will not object but i ask unanimous consent senator coons and i be able to make a one-minute statement. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. isakson: in the committee on the act we put an amendment to ensure a review of trade practices vis-a-vis poultry and other issues important to the united states. we would have offered an amendment on the floor had it been possible without this u.c. but with this u.c. coming forward and not objecting we have gotten permission to talk to ambassador froman who has assured us an out-of-cycle review whenever necessary to review the trade practices of south africa vis-a-vis poultry and i commend him f

mr. rowan: wouldn't hurt. senator isakson: if we put one in jail for violating the truth -- mr. rowan: that would really help. i only go on this in the past life i was an investigator for the new york city council. when they started doing that they had a whole lot of different testimony coming out of people, especially when we did talk about sending somebody to jail. senator isakson: the reason i mention that is, we all, dr. roe and i know, members know, the accountability in the v.a. is something we try to focus on. being accountability accountable for the decisions they make. but accountable for the information they let out. cast as light on the v.a. that may or may not be the best light or correct light. i think everybody needs to be held accountable. both those who are responsible to carry out duties, as well as those who are dropping information in the media to cast the v.a. in a bad light. they ought to be held accountable for the truth in that testimony. it's about time we got to the bottom of the barrel at the v.a. found out where the root cause problems are and root the

mr. isakson is former chairman and ceo of cnn. chairman of the broadcasting board of governors. . . >> host: walter isaacson, what is the link between ben franklin, steve jobs, henry kissinger and ada. >> guest: they're all creative minds and that interested me throughout my career. a lot of people write about sports heroes or literary figures, but to me it's people who can combine different discipline like the arts and sciences, the way ben franklin did, the way ada lovelace did and albert einstein. we talk about innovations so often, it's almost drained of its meaning, and i've always liked to write about real people who are in a situation whether it whether it be after world war ii when you have to create a whole new world order like the world bank and the marshall plan or steve jobs who says okay we are now in a digital revolution and have to make it personal. these are people who are able to think different and out-of-the-box. so i want to try to explore the creative mind and how it works. >> host: one of the themes in all of

mr. isakson: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. dakota zach respondingmr. isakson: his language is precisely the language introduced by the committee here in the senate, which we were going to send to the house which got lost in the negotiations. the technical lift is the only reason it wasn't already a part of it. i wholeheartedly endorse everything the senator said and pledge to him that if the house does not adopt the language when it goes to the house, we will take it up immediately with it comes to -- in the senate when we have our next markup meeting in the veterans' affairs committee and take care of it. i want toern pally acknowledge senator bennet and gardner for all the work they've done. we went to colorado together to visit a v.a. hospital, which is the genesis of where this motion comes from. i'm glad we're reaching a resolution. the motion will be made shortly to adopt the house decision will ensure that the denver hospital remains open until we can resolve the problems. i commend the senator on his language and confirm everything he said has b

mr. chairman. chairman isakson ranking member blumenthal and the committee, we're committed to making the choice program work and to providing veterans timely and geographically accessible 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 of 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 va this year than last. relative value units, a common measure of care delivered that measured care delivered across the industry are also up 9%. another focus area for us improving access has been increasing the use of care in the community. in 2014, va issued 2.1 million authorizations for care in

mr. butler: chairman isakson six and ranking member blumenthal and distinguished members of the committee on behalf of our national commander michael hamm in the 2.3 million members of the american legion we thank you for this opportunity to testify regarding the american legion steel of the progress of the veterans choice program. the american legion supported the access to choice and accountability act of 2014 as a means of addressing emerging problems than the department of veterans affairs. v.a. waits for medical care have reached an unacceptable level as veteran struggled to reset access to timely health care within the va health care system. it was clear this with changes were needed to ensure that veterans have access to health care in a timely matter. as a result the american legion took charge by setting up veterans benefits centers in big and small cities across the country to assist veterans in need and their families as a result of the systemic scheduling crisis facing the va. the american legion dbc charges work first-hand with veterans experiencing difficulty in obtaining he

mr. sim six. >> chairman isakson ranking member blumenthal members the committee on behalf of the va and the 1.2 million members all of them are wounded injured or made ill from their wartime service thank you for the opportunity to testify on temporary choice program. while it is too early to reach a conclusion about this program we are beginning to see lessons. as of last week almost 64,000 choice authorizations have been made and 43,000 appointments have been scheduled. by comparison about 6 million appointments are completed monthly inside the egg and another 1.3 million appointments completed outside va using non-va care programs other than choice. a number of reasons like to contribute to lower than expected utilization of the choice program. since let's bring va has used every available resource to increase its capacity to provide timely care that may have shifted some of the demand away from choice. ea was low in rolling out choice cards and in educating its staff. we also hear troubling reports of a significant lag time between when the va clinician determines the veteran is eligible fo

senator isakson: sergeant major overstreet, you may have been captioning performed by vitac >> we all know the ncos really run the military. so we appreciate -- we appreciate what you do very much. mr. rieckhoff, i want to associate myself with your testimony. your five points that you made at the end were very telling. and in particular the focus on secretary mcdonald. he was -- a lot of the problems at the va were not of his making, but solving them have been put in his lap. he's going to need an awful lot of support. the last conversation i had last night at 11:00 was by cell phone with bob mcdonald. we're trying to work through the difficulty to get us through the denver project and get us new footing and get va out of the construction business and back in the health care business, but the core of engineers do the constructing and make sure we learn from the bad mistakes made in aurora. colonel norton, i want to talk about alexis for a second. served in the coast guard, correct? injured in 1999 is that correct? >> that's correct, senator. >> she was injured before 9/11 2001, there are no care benefits given to her? >> correct. >> if she was injured after 9/11 2001, what would h

senator isakson: sergeant major overstreet, you may have been captioning performed by vitac >> we all know the ncos really run the military. so we appreciate -- we appreciate what you do very much. mr. rieckhoff, i want to associate myself with your testimony. your five points that you made at the end were very telling. and in particular the focus on secretary mcdonald. he was -- a lot of the problems at the va were not of his making, but solving them have been put in his lap. he's going to need an awful lot of support. the last conversation i had last night at 11:00 was by cell phone with bob mcdonald. we're trying to work through the difficulty to get us through the denver project and get us new footing and get va out of the construction business and back in the health care business, but the core of en

mr. isakson is former chairman and ceo of cnn. chairman of the broadcasting board of governors. . . >> host: walter isaacson, what is the link between ben franklin, steve jobs, henry kissinger and ada. >> guest: they're all creative minds and that interested me throughout my career. a lot of people write about sports heroes or literary figures, but to me it's people who can combine