mr. takano's question mend it, not ended and i appreciate the chairman saying we are not out to do away with the va but i especially appreciate a very articulate statement that you made mr. blake expressing some concerns that i share with you about this push to privatize. now i can't help but believe that this is part of an agenda by some, not by all but just to kind of dismantle the federal government and leave citizens in this case veterans out on their own in the so-called private sector. if you look at what happened here with the push to private care maybe this is a short-term fix as one of you mentioned that specifically some of the concerns i have about that are things that we need to address before we go pell-mell down this direction. one of them is just as you raised, there are concerns that doctors and hospitals as they admitted themselves don't have the culture of the va. they don't have the expertise of the va. they are not used to dealing with the kinds of problems that veterans have whether it's ptsd or agent orange so if we push them out there into the private sector we don't k

mr. takano's question, mend i, not end it. i appreciate hearing the claim say we're not out to do away with the va. i appreciate a very articulate statement you made, mr. blake, expressing some concerns that share with you about this push to privatize. now i can't help but believe this part of an agenda by many so, not by all, but that just to kind of dismantle the federal government and leave citizens, in this case, veterans, out there to fend on their own in the so-called, private sector. now if you look at what is happening here with the private care and the push to private care, maybe this is a short-term fix as one of you mentioned but specifically some of the concerns i have about that are things that we need to address before we go pell-mell down this direction. one of them is just as you raised, there are concerns that doctors and hospitals, as they admitted themselves, don't have the culture of the va. they don't have the expertise of the va. they are not used to dealing with kind of problems that veterans have, whethe

mr. takano. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. takano: i rise to support the conference report and want to thank chairman miller for the gracious way he's conducted the committee hearings and thank ranking member michaud for his hard work. principally, i am very pleased that this conference report also includes the inclusion of 1,500 funded graduate medical school education slots at veteran's facilities around this country. it was a good thing we aproved non-v.a. -- access to non-v.a. care for those service members, those veterans who have been on waiting lists for far too long. but that would not be satisfactory to those areas of the country that are experiencing physician shortages. this is a huge, huge accomplishment for congress that is so partisan to approve these 1,500 funded g.m.e.'s and i urge my colleagues to support the conference report. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maine reserves. the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: i yield to the gentleman from kansas, mr. huelskamp, 1:40. the speaker pro tempore: th

mr. o'rourke -- takano, mr. to roarke, ms. chu has spoken, ms. jackson lee, ms. han, ms. barb are lee, mr. conyers and -- [inaudible] all these individuals have taken time and are here with us today, and we're very appreciative. as the panel -- [inaudible conversations] as people arrived, we will turn to them for them to if they have any questions of the witnesses or any reactions to the testimony. with that, let me welcome you and welcome these three fine, brave, courageous young people that are here with us today. let me begin with -- [inaudible] 15 years old, she's from guatemala. she lives on long island with her two younger sisters, her mom and step dad. she grew up for much of her youth in guatemala without her parents. her father died when she was just 2, and her mother traveled to the united states when she was young because she could not support her two daughter cans as a single -- daughters as a single mom in guatemala. she was almost sexually abused by a man working on her uncle's house. when she told her mom what happened, she immediately left for the u.s. to

mr. takano, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. it is very difficult to listen to your story. i'm very touched by them. so i definitely want to thank all of the families for being here today. so, let me ask this question of miss selke, i believe a lot of veterans have that same feeling and therefore i do believe that we have to, it is incumbent upon us to make sure that we get it right at every facility, because veterans are expecting that. they don't want to see this be be a burden to their families financially. i am very much open to making it easier for nonva care to be available. and with that i want to ask dr. somers, you are also a medical doctor, dr. sommer esom? >> i'm a urologist. >> you're from the phoenix area. >> i practice in phoenix. we currently live in san diego. >> in san diego. i'm from riverside, north of san diego, as you know. i went to visit my own va, in loma linda. they're able to -- they get -- they're able to get veterans to see a family practitioner in 24 hours if need be. i'm not so sure about mental hea

mr. takano. >> thank you, mr. chairman. dr. matthews are you familiar with the federal classifications of employees, title 38? are you aware of that system? >> yes. >> in your capacity as a -- as chief of psychiatry, was that a title 38 position? >> yes, title 38 position. >> doctor, had your -- you're a physician where i formerly were, was that a title 38 position or something below title 38? >> title 38. i'm still employed. >> you're still employed. >> i'm a title 38 employee and i've been employed as a physician throughout my va career here. >> okay. dr. davis? mr. davis? >> no, i'm just a general service employee. >> general service employee. >> one of the things i'm grappling with is the proposal to fire va employees believed of wrongdoing. typically whistle blowers come from the lower ranks of employment but there's a debate about whether or not we should extend this sort of standard to title 38 employees. in my mind i'm going through this contradiction of well there is a sense amongst some members that we want to make it

mr. takano, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. it is very difficult to listen to your story. i'm very touched by them. so i definitely want to thank all of the families for being here today. so, let me ask this question of miss selke, i believe a lot of veterans have that same feeling and therefore i do believe that we have to, it is incumbent upon us to make sure that we get it right at every facility, because veterans are expecting that. they don't want to see this be be a burden to their families financially. i am very much open to making it easier for nonva care to be available. and with that i want to ask dr. somers, you are also a medical doctor, dr. sommer esom? >> i'm a urologist. >> you're from the phoenix area. >> i practice in phoenix. we currently live in san diego. >> in san diego. i'm from riverside, north of san diego, as you know. i went to visit my own va, in loma linda. they're able to -- they get -- they're able to get veterans to see a family practitioner in 24 hours if need be. i'm not so sure about mental hea

mr. takano: mr.peaker, i rise today to talk about the humanitarian crisis that is happening at our border. since october of last year, more than 50,000 children have fled their homes and turned themselves in to the united states border patrol. these children are fleeing extreme violence, extortion and poverty. as they await their hearings, some are being transported to my district. several weeks ago the first wave of buses transporting these children was scheduled to arrive right outside my district. i was disappointed and disturbed to see some of my fellow americans curse, spit at and block one of these buses filled with women and children who have endured traumas many of us will never understand. mr. speaker, this is the united states of america. we are a nation of laws and compassion. and as this body determines its course of action, we should ensure that every one of these children are taken care of and treated with dignity. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempo

mr. takano, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. soto, i understand you had worked at this office for four years, is that correct? >> yes, sir. >> had you served the va in this capacity prior to other offices? >> yes, but i prefer not to discuss that, please. >> i just want to get a sense of how long you have been serving in the va. >> i have been a government employee for about 15 years. >> all within the va? >> no. >> okay. so how long have you been at the va in total? >> about i would say over ten years. >> ten years? and mr. robinson? similar question. you have been at this office for nine years. have you served the va in other capacities or in similar fashion longer? >> i have been in the columbia office for 18 years. >> 18 years? >> yes, sir. >> and the past nine years, you have been in this current capacity you are in now? >> in the past nine years, yes. >> okay. miss ruell? >> i have worked at the va for seven years this august 20th. >> let's start with you, miss ruell. has this situation with these narrow metrics and this m

mr. pocan: thank you, representative takano, for the work you're doing. next i'd like to yield to a colleague of mine from the great state of wisconsin, a great friend of mine going back to days in the state legislature, not only a great representative but a great friend to me, representative moore. ms. moore: i want to start by thanking you for your stewardship with the progressive caucus in putting this specialed or together. i won't waste a lot of time complimenting our fellow wisconsinite for at least listening to some of the ideas that have come from the democratic side in his poverty plan. i think that looking at mandatory minimums is long overdue sort of proposal that needs to get some traction. and certainly expanding the earned income tax credit for millions of americans will make a true different in many people's lives. i just want to congratulate mr. ryan for that. but let me be really clear. you don't have to really go through the entire 70 pages of his proposal. he starts right out in the beginning telling you he doesn't believe that the safe

mr. takano, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. it is very difficult to listen to your story. i'm very touched by them. so i definitely want to thank all of the families for being here today. so, let me ask this question of miss selke, i believe a lot of veterans have that same feeling and therefore i do believe that we have to, it is incumbent upon us to make sure that we get it right at every facility, because veterans are expecting that. they don't want to see this be be a burden to their families financially. i am very much open to making it easier for nonva care to be available. and with that i want to ask dr. somers, you are also a medical doctor, dr. sommer esom? >> i'm a urologist. >> you're from the phoenix area. >> i practice in phoenix. we currently live in san diego. >> in san diego. i'm from riverside, north of san diego, as you know. i went to visit my own va, in loma linda. they're able to -- they get -- they're able to get veterans to see a family practitioner in 24 hours if need be. i'm not so sure about mental hea