to the detriment of these transitioning servicemembers. so let's begin, the understanding that if this belief exists at va, it is not okay. these transitioning servicemembers have served in recent years during a decade plus of wars in iraq and afghanistan and with many, multiple deployments and many with service-cservice-c onnected injuries that prevent the continued military service. here i have correspondence from the past couple of months received from both, from soldiers who are waiting to start the post military life. one soldier frustrated with his inability to pay for the future, plan for the future. wrote and i quote, it has been for years since i have shared a christmas with my family. it would mean the world if i could finally spend christmas with them issue. i've gone through the processes and am currently awaiting ratings. another reads quote, i have been awaiting my rating for a long time now. i've also been trying to contact my va rep and the only way i can talk to the it is if i go down to their office. i call and call and l

military adapte srts program has helped 100,000 wounded warriors, servicemembers regain confidence ashey recover from their injurs. why is this so important? >> it is important because it mentaly helps with the rehabilitation, but the phycal rehabilitation. to be coletely well recovered, it has to involve psychological training. there is the mental training, the e physical training. thoskinds of things. it also o includes the family members as well. the family m members have to be pa of the rehabilitation process. >> on the mental part of things, generally that is something that tends to fall through the craras and maybe the most important part o of this is toto bome engageinhink in spite of delitating injuries, you can have a very bright and very productive future. what more can be done on the memental front to help men and women tryiying to recoring get their lives completely back on track? think we're doing a fairly good job a providing resources for them with psychological counseling. i think thehere is always room r improvement. one thing we can do is let them know that resources

more than a million servicemembers returning to civilian life. so we have to do more to uphold that sacred trust, not just this year or next year but for decade to come. we're going to have to stay focused on the five priorities that i outlined last year. i just want to reiterate them for you just so you know what it is that we're committing too. number one, we need to make sure our veterans have resources you deserve and the new funding we just helped, we just passed with the help of, senators burr and kagan, that helps. but as you know it's not enough. even these tough fiscal times, i therefore proposed another increase in veterans funding for next year. and i will continue to resist any effort to exploit the recent problems of the va to turn veterans health care into voucher system. we don't need vouchers. you need va health care that you have earned and you can depend on. we need to make the system work. [applause] second, we need to make sure that veterans are actually getting health care you need when you need it. reforming the vha, and mor

chairman, the consequences of vision injuries to her servicemembers and veterans will be with us for decades to come. therefore, va will continue to partner with dod to provide eye care providers, clinical care practitioners and researchers. who have access to the information needed to develop strategies that will enhance and improve patient care outcomes. mr. chairman, this concludes my testimony. i am prepared to answer any questions you may have. next i would like to introduce lorraine landry, deputy chief information officer for product development, office of information and technology to address issues related to 508 compliance. [inaudible] >> good morning chairman coffman, ranking member kirkpatrick, and members of the committee. we appreciate the opportunity to discuss veterans affairs work to improve access to information technology resources, for visually impaired veterans, stakeholders and opposed to accompany me to is mr. pat sheehan, director of our 508 program office. since 1001 of his office 100 10f his office to provide validation testing on the websites and applicatio

i do not want anyone here to lose sight of these transitioning servicemembers. our newest veterans of any false argument that there is more there's more important priorities until 2015 the va has always had to maintain multiple priorities. and now through 2015 it is no different. i ask unanimous consent all members have five legislative days to revise and extend remarks and include any extraneous material. hearing no objections, so ordered and thank the members for their attendance today and the hearing is now adjourned. >> [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] next a portion of an interview looking how chemical weapons are destroyed. a journalist from popular mechanics joined recently on washington journal. this is about 20 minutes. on the last hour of the washington journal br taking a look at the june cover of popular mechanics, july, excuse me, the american soldier inside an exclusive story about the serious chemical weapons. but interviewed. potential beating editor of the popular mechanics joining us from tallahassee florida this morning to t

under the law, our servicemembers are entitled to reduce mortgage rates. but the burden is on them to ask for it and prove they are eligible, which means a lot of get below rights they deserve. today we are turning that around and announcing a new partnership in which america's biggest banks and institutions will simple fight the process, proactively notify servicemembers who qualify for lower rates, and in other words, we are going to help more of our troops and military families own their own home without questioning them wil. . [applause] we are also going to keep helping our troops transition to civilian life.o because of the work we have done together, if you have a military truck drivers license, every has the skills test so it is easy for you to get a commercial drivers license. [applause] we will keep pushing more states to recognize the incredible skills and training of our veterans. if you can do a job in a war zone, if you are a medic in a war zone, you shouldn't have to go take nursing 101 to work in a hospital in the united states. [applause]

because the men and women of this generation, this 9/11 generation of servicemembers, are the leaders we need for our time, as community leaders and business leaders, i hope maybe some leaders in our politics as well. from the greatest generation to the 9/11 generation, america's heroes have answered the call to serve. i have no greater honor than serving as your president and commander-in-chief. and i have no greater privilege and the chance to help make sure that our country keeps the promises that we've made to everybody who signs up to serve. and as long as i hold this office, we're going to spend each and every day working to be right by you and your families. i'm grateful to you. god bless you. god bless america. with that, i'm going to sign this bill. thank you very much, everybody. [applause] all right, squeezing everybody. good work, thank you. -- squeeze in everybody. i don't get enough practice. i want more. i wantore. just signed the workforce training bill. i said this feels good, doesn't it? we have to do it more often. but you have to get everybody on the committee, did

. >> as you know the dignified ceremony is given to all fallen servicemembers. up to the family determine if they want the media there. greeting the body, the secretary of the army and the chief of staff of the army, a man who is no stranger to the personal loss of war including his own son lost from an rpg attack in iraq. he was a brilliant but kind man with a sense of humor. he was an expert in logistics. one of the many capabilities that makes the u.s. army so strong, several postgraduate degrees, masters of engineering degree and from usc, a masters in science, a masters in strategic studies in the u.s. army war college and other degrees as well, yet some fellow students according to the "los angeles times" today called him sergeant greene. he was willing to take that kind of teeth. he is survived by his wife and two adult children. turning to the insider attack itself now, many questions surround the attack. the afghan soldier who committed this atrocity was 27-year-old went by one name, he had just returned from patrol. u.s. soldiers gathering of the weapo

they just focused on the fact that, you know, when we lose our technological advantage it puts servicemembers, like seth, at risk and you know that, it's a terrible and tragic thing when any service member dies in the line of duty but it seems to me it's even worse and it is aggravated when you learn that there's a component in the ied that was actual manufactured in the united states and, it was acquired by somebody for that purpose. that represents a failure to me. and that's, you know, what needs to be addressed, i think. as i said, i'm an optimist so i'm expecting to see it addressed and maybe your book will do that. >> maybe. we have a few minutes for questions, if anybody has a a question? >> i think your story is extraordinary and i'm looking forward to reading the book. my question is, how do, what happens to that kind of operation when you have shifts in the political dynamic as we're seeing now with iran? how does that impact what you're doing when you indicated the target is in fact the government of a country we may be having, softening our towards? >> me? >> either. >> i'm not a

in education and immediate response and effort has been available as you stated most military servicemembersand veterans as i stated earlier in my testimony are not going to go and say that was a horrible experience. i think i should talk to someone before i have issues. they are going to wait until it becomes a crisis point in life and a debilitating nature before they seek treatment. >> i just feel like if it was a part of the culture and theater that there is a constant by a law that is going on that that would have to be helpful to the men and women who were there. >> when they were on the 15 month tour there was at one time they lost four people in one mission and when he was out there the morale was very low because these were people that were high up surgeons so they sent someone and when the soldiers would go in and talk with then he asked the same question was it sort of like a movie and that just insulted them then just insulted them almost like why did you ask us a silly question survey all shut down and i think by not processing those thoughts come and you're going to internalize

the character of the detainee that inspires and motivates our commitment to the recovery of the servicemembersroad. we don't see this as setting a particular precedent because it does fall in the tradition are of the prisoner exchanges and there have been in the past occasions where the united states has dealt with nonstate actors. >> can you give a specific example clicks >> i'm aware of the helicopter pilots michael durant in somalia who was held captive by the warlord and there was a quiet as i understand arrangements whereby the united states regained his freedom and in exchange for individuals that were captured in the same operation. any characterization is negotiating and misses the fact that we were and are at war and as a member of the military fight in that war. on the gitmo piece is that your opinion that at the end of 2014 we consider that to be the end of hostilities because we will still have 10,000 troops but assuming there was an end of hostilities that it would have been at the end of hostilities is that department opinion or are they undecided or do they feel the opposite? >>

the process will be exactly as it is for every other servicemember who arrives here at dover. as for the attack that killed general greene there's an investigation that will try to determine how and why a moefb the afghan army hid in a bathroom at a training facility and then fired out the window killing general greene and wounding eight others. he'll be buried at arlington national cemetery next week. >>> sergeant bergdahl went through more questioning yesterday. the sergeant's lawyer called the meeting productive. investigators want to know what lead to his capture by the taliban since 2009. >>> this morning officials say computer hackers targeted a company that does back groubd checks on hundreds of thousands of workers. jeff pegues in washington has new information on the data breaches and the government impact. jeff guld mornood morning. >> good morning. federal investigators are still trying to determine how much data has been compromised. we're told for now in a highly unusual move most background checks have been inspected. the personal information of some government e

substantial mitigation of risk for this country, for our interests, for our citizens and our servicemembersat decision. >> that just flies in -- >> we were satisfied. we could make that determination. >> just flies in the face of all the other evidence we have and with that, mr. chairman, i yield back. >> here is what is ahead today on c-span2. next from the recent supreme court term, oral argument in the case of mr. such shun fer just the -- mccutcheon. which deals with campaign finance issues. they look into economic espionage. and later, today's edition of "washington journal." >>> later today, booktv is live at politics & prose in washington for author hampton sides. his book is called, in the kingdom of ice, which recounts the u.s. naval expedition to the north pole in 1879. then it gets underway live on c-span2's booktv at 7:00 p.m. eastern. >>> join us tonight for more booktv prime time programing. our focus will be living in the tech age. authors include, craig debt wiler, and his book, i-gods, how technology shapes our spirit all and social lives that. starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern.

over 2300 soldiers and servicemembers lost. other civilians, far, far, far killed,e afghans thousands. before this nato conferences poster and, there is no deal there to keep the troops to train, and a list of us afghanistan democracy is in and what was supposed to cement afghan democracies in shambles. and i guess what i am trying to figure out going forward is what role can the outside help play with afghans, and what role can afghans played to move past this? i always see a way forward when i look at what is going on there , because there is so much progress that has been made. the government officials are totally right about women educated, the value ability of cell phones or whatnot, and the gdp per capita is gone up four or five times. i remember driving around the city with these satellite phones, these little hen all, out the window of a car trying to make a phone call -- these little handheld things come out the window of a car trying to make a phone call. now our cleaning that he who does not read or write has a cell