shulkin. chairman isakson: welcome. let me introduce those you brought with you to back you up. we appreciate them. edward murray, thank you for being here acting assistant secretary for management and chief financial officer. richard chandler, deputy assist ant secretary, resource management. mark yow, chief financial officer, veterans health administration. james manker, acting principal deputy under secretary for benefits. and mr. matthew sullivan, deputy under secretary for finance and planning. secretary shulkin, floort is yours. secretary shulkin: thank you, chairman isakson, ranking member tester, and other members of the committee. as you can see i brought a big team with me because i know you are going to have lots of questions and in particular with the opening statements i really do look forward to having a meaningful discussion and getting to some solutions and some closure on some of these issues. i also did want to echo the ranking member's concern that the is a sad day for natio

shulkin: absolutely it has not. we are completely focused on what it is going to take to fix the v.a. there has not been any lack of responsiveness from the white house on any of these issues. >> when we look at your lists, your long list of priorities, do you have a sense of, top to bottom of these, what is the most cost intensive? how much is it really going to take in terms of money over 10 years to get you down this road? sec. shulkin: the budget that was proposed by the president for fiscal 2018 is a budget that will help us accomplish this task. i have said that the problems in v.a. are not largely going to be solved through additional money. these are going to be solved through management practices, focus, and some legislative changes. our issues are not because we are lacking the financial resources to be able to accomplish our mission. therefore, i do believe with the exception of one area, that we will not be coming back to congress or the administration to ask for additional money. that one exception is t

david shulkin, secretary of veterans affairs. maybe we'll talk about an issue that a lot of people care about and that's veterans employment. for obvious reasons the v.a. focuses on providing health services to veterans. but could you tell us a little bit about your view, your objectives in using the v.a. and its convening power, its budget to try and do a better job of connecting veterans to society, connecting them to meaningful jobs as the president said? should the v.a. be doing more in terms of programs or should the v.a. be more of an integrator what's already out there in the nonprofit word, etc.? secretary shulkin: well, you mentioned a lot of v.a.'s focus has been on health care and we've been changing the way that we think about health care, to focus not so much on disease but on well-being. and when you think about the well-being of our veterans, you'll have to think about employment because one of the things that we've learned is the most powerful predictor of outcome and success and well become is meaningful fulfillm

shulkin. this is 30 minutes. [applause] mr. shulkin: it's a full house. that's great. on behalf of the president, i want to welcome everybody here today. i have the great privilege of introducing one of the nation's heroes. let me tell you about sergeant michael verardo. he was deployed to afghanistan in 2009 with the 82nd airborne. this was not an easy assignment. this was really dangerous work. in fact, 37 of the men that sergeant verardo served with didn't return home. it was in 2010 that he was severely injured in an i.e.d. blast. he lost an arm, a leg and 40% of his body had burns over it. he wasn't expected to survive the medical flight. but he did. fortunately. thanks to really what may be described as a miracle and certainly the support of his amazing wife, sara. 110 surgeries and years of therapy, michael's able to join us here today. and it's veterans like michael that are the reason the v.a. exists. it's why when i had the privilege of sitting in my office not too long ago with michael and sara, talking about their experience, that it was really heartbreakin

shulkin: thank you, michael and sara. i want you to know, you're the reason why we're working night and day to make sure that we get this system working better. and we're not going to stop until we do better for families like yourses. a few week ago i was here at the white house and i had the chance to deliver a talk on the state of the v.a. and in those remarks i talked about 13 risks that v.a. faces in its reform. one of those was accountability. veterans deserve an organization that they can trust, that provides the highest quality services. employees who act contrary to our core values erode that trust. and there's nothing more demoralizing to our work force and to veterans when v.a. is forced to take employees back who have deviated from those values. i've talked about examples of employees who had three driving under the influence arrests. employees that, taking care of veterans while watching pornography. and a system that allows this is clearly broken. we won't be able to accomplish any of the reforms that we need

i want to thank david shulkin for being here. he is the secretary of veterans affairs. >> she felt a little out of these because of the eighth and eighth. candies outtion is these that better transition so they are talking about the transition here we have a lot of veterans today. i wish you would stand up so we can recognize you. families. [laughter] maybe we should get in everybody. time thatple all the we are of course it nations with that million dollars here in the face of danger. it is a tremendous national at folks have a phd in life without having going to college. they have seen a lot they learn teamwork, discipline, deals. they've been under pressure in the question is can we help them if they need help. fornt to thank michael speaking. if you cannot get a sense of the national at that is available for our country, you're not hearing very well. i mentioned michael last because painting.ctim of my you are not the only one. i painted.who i said, do you like your portrait? their general response was, i am honored you paint

shulkin: i think you are exactly right. tends to the issues in the health care system bit -- before the rest of the american health care system sees it. the crisis in 2014, many people related directly to our returning ever veterans, but in actuality most of our demand was our vietnam veterans growing older and requiring more services. while the number of veterans is projected to decline in the next 20 to 30 years, pending a new major conflict, our demand for services actually is expected to go up. , how do weus is on prepared to meet that demand? one could traditionally think about that is building more hospitals and capabilities in medicine and a long-term care facilities, but, as you know, health care is changing. the models of care are changing, so we are looking at how do we actually help people remain in their homes, help them stay forthy, and avoid the need complex care that takes place in hospitals and institutions? we are increasingly trying to change our medical model and that can on technology help people maintai

shulkin, great to see you. op page 3 of your testimony, you point out, i think, what most veterans organizations can and vetnds know -- veterans know, that by and large, the v.a. has a pretty good health care system. and you quote a study published by the journal of the american medical association where researchers compared hospital-level quality care on 129 v.a. hospitals with over 4,000 non-v.a. hospitals, and you found that you had better outcomes in the is v.a. on six of nine patient safety indicators, and the other three were about the same. that's pretty good. that speaks pretty well for the system that you're running despite all of the criticism we hear every day. >> yes, sir. >> let me ask you a question that has always fascinated me, maybe you can give me an answer. i held a hearing a few years ago talking about preventable deaths in american hospitals. accordingaccording to, i'm lookn article right now in the new england journal of medicine, and they say that hospital medical errors are the third lea

where is secretary shulkin. what a great job, thank you. of course, there's still much work to do but for today's action shows the determined leadership and what it can accomplish. great reform. again, to david shulkin thank you, to all our veterans who served this nation a very special thank you. this is truly wonderful. really monumental reform. so important for our veterans. but it's just the beginning. we're here today to discuss another issue that has gone unsolved for far too long. for too many years our country tolerated unacceptable delays at the airport. long wait times on the tarmac and a slowing of travel that cost us billions and billions of dollars in lost hours and lost dollars themselves. today we're proposing to take american air travel into the future finally. for a long time. we're proposing reduce wait times, increase route efficiency and far fewer delays. our plan will get you where you need to go more quickly more reliably and affordably. yes for the first time in a long time, on time. we will launch this air travel rev

david shulkin takes questions from members of the senate veterans committee about the 2018 budget. secretary shulkin is expected to talk about the veteran's choice program and clans to modernize the v.a. watch tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. eastern on c-span3. you can watch both hearings live usingpan.org or listing the c-span radio app. ♪ >> c-span, when history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. >> sunday night on afterwards, you talk republican senator mike lee talked about forgotten historical figures that fought against big government in his book. senator lee is interviewed by former acting solicitor general. >> when you were on the lookout for them, they come to you gradually. other people i knew who they thought should get more credit than they get. in the case, this is an indian chief. he understood the principle of federalism because they live it for centuries before we were are a country. i was intrigued by that. it's not in a most americans know any

shulkin. >> secretary, welcome and let me introduce those you brought with you to back you up and acup along the way. edward murray thank you for being here, richard chandler, department assistant secretary resource management, marc you, james man ker, acting principle pal deputy, mr. michael sullivan director secretary of defense and planning, mr. shulkin, the floor is yours. >> thank you, ranking member tester and other members of the committee. as you can see i brought a big team with me because i know you're going to have lots of questions and in particular with the opening statements i really do look forward to having a meaningful discussion and getting to some solutions and some closure on some of these issues. i also did want to echo the ranking member's concern that this is a sad day for the nation where public servants who work as hard as i know all of you do have to worry about their personal safety and our thoughts and prayers are with the congressman and the staff and the capitol p

secretary shulkin announced this the v.a. will modernize its medical records to as the same system department of defense. no more complications. records will now be able to follow the veteran when they faster,rvice, meaning better, and far better quality care. [applause] .hank you this is one of the biggest wins veterans in decades. i congratulate secretary shulkin for making this very, very important decision. thank you, secretary. appreciate it. it.preciate he's done a great job. [applause] stand up, secretary. where is secretary shulkin? what a great job. thank you. it.ourse there is still he's done much work to do but for today's shows the determined leadership and what it can .ccomplish, great, great reform so, again, a very, very special thank you. is truly wonderful, really so importantform, for our veterans but it's just the beginning. we're leer today to discuss another issue -- here today to hasuss another issue that gone unsolved for -- far too long. for too many years our country tolerated unacceptable delays at t

under president trump, with the assistance of secretary shulkin, these changes were made within weekssident, donald trump, will sign this important bill into law that will assure real accountability for our nation's veterans. dr. shulkin will be empowered to insure that the va adheres to the standard of excellence it promotes and that employees are the ones that hav a servant's heart for those who have worn our nation's uniform. the most difficult part of my war injuries were coming home to such a broken system. thank you, president trump, and secretary shulkin for insuring that we are not forgotten and we will receive the care we need and deserve. thank you. [ applause ] >> kelly o'donnell is back with us. thank you for setting that up for us. there's -- we don't know when exactly the president is going to come out. continue your thought about the relevance of this bill that the president is signing today. >> reporter: well, interestingly the veteran's affairs secretary there, shulkin, was a holdover from the obama administration. he worked at a level lower than the secretary level,

secretary shulkin, thank you for being with me tonight. head during this first full trump presidency cabinet meeting? >> well, erin, it was a very good meeting actually. we had a chance after the press left to talk about issues in depth. i actually spent about 12 to 15 minutes going through what we were doing in the va and how the cabinet could help us advance that agenda. i thought it was a very productive meeting. >> and obviously the reaction to what we all did publicly see was not all that positive. "the chicago tribune" systummard it this way, i love you more, mr. trump. "the washington post "the washington post," had this to say, president trump held a bizarre cabinet meeting monday where he claimed to have accomplished more than any president since fdr before giving the administration the opportunity to shower him with praise. were you encouraged to praise the president or say something nice about him? >> absolutely not. the president doesn't script the cabinet and we're given the ability to say what's on our mind. you have to remem

secretary david shulkin testifying on the 2018 budget. one of several budget hearings. this week both in the house and senate. on the president's 2018 proposal. house activities including hearings largely canceled for today because of the shooting this morning at the republican baseball practice of steve scalise, the majority whip, and several others as well. two capitol police. an aide of, congressional aide to congressman williams of texas, and also a lobbyist tyson food, washington chief mika injured in that shooting this mika injured in t shooting this morning over at the republican practice. the game, the congressional baseball game, tradition that goes back decades, will be held as scheduled tomorrow night at nats park. a briefing on that is expected this afternoon with the two managers of the republicans and democratic -- democrats team. joe barton and mike doyle respectively. look for coverage on the c-span networks. >> senators slowly returning to the room from the senate floor where votes wrapping up dealing with additional sanctions against russia. part of a

i want to thank david shulkin for being here. he's the secretary of veterans affairs. it's really good you are here, mr. secretary. especially since in a couple hours, you will be across the street in the white house for a bill signing. passed by republicans and democrats that president trump will sign the bill which will give you some tools to reform the va. if anybody can reform the va, you can. you are a strong leader. and we're lucky to have your service for our country. [ applause ] you know, a lot of times you hear people gripe about the va. and i'm sure there are some flaws in the system. but it's important for our citizens and our vets to know the vast majority of people who work for the veterans administration care deeply about helping our vets transition. i want to thank people from our team, ken hersch and holly and miguel for putting on this conference. with us today are three educators. from three parts of the country. ken signerhawk that spends a lot of time on veterans issues. margaret spellings who used to be in my cabinet and was ken's predecessor at t

maria: it is terrific to see you modernize the agency secretary shulkin will disappointing may jobs'k what is being expected from the federal reserve an he crash reliesing the economy apple shares down this morning back in a minute. when you have something you love, you want to protect it. at legalzoom, our network of attorneys can help you every step of the way. with an estate plan including wills or a living trust that grows along with you and your family. legalzoom. legal help is here. generation opportunity to fix america's broken tax coden a by pushing their harmful bat tax. the senate has said no way. president trump says it's too complicated and his top economic advisor says it will force consumers to pay more for everyday things they rely on. mnuchin: it has the potential to pass on significant costs to the consumer. vo: tell congress to drop the bat tax so real tax reform can get done that helps all americans. i'm the one clocking in... when you're clocking out. sensing your every move and automatically adjusting to help you stay effortlessly comfortable. there. i can even w

where is secretary shulkin? what a great job. thank you. of course, there is still much work to do but for today's action, shows the determined leadership and what it can accomplish. great, great reform. so again, to david shulkin, thank you to all of our veterans who have served this nation, a very, very special thank you. this is truly wonderful. really monumental reform. so important for our veterans but it's just the beginning. we're here today to discuss another issue that has gone unsolved for far too long. for too many years, our country has tolerated unacceptable delays at the airport. long wait times on the tarmac, and a slowing of commerce and travel that costs us billions and billions of dollars in lost hours and lost dollars themselves. today, we're proposing to take american air travel into the future finally. finally. all right? finally. a long time. we're proposing reduced wait times, increased route efficiency, and far fewer delays. our plan will get you where you need to go more quickly, more reliably, more affordably and y

that's a question people should have secretary shulkin, should they get the chance. make changes. this is yet another reform bill, and it doesn't happen. >> yes. one thing to sign a bill. it's another thing to see the changes, which clearly are slow and difficult to make in such a problematic system that is intertwined when it comes to government health care run by the v.a. president trump speaking now. let's listen in. [ applause ] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much, everybody. that's really greatly appreciated. and thank you to secretary shulkin for that introduction and for your really tireless efforts, david, to protect those who have really been protecting all of us for so long. great, great people, and you know what i'm talking about? right? congratulations. in just a short time we've already achieved transformative change at the v.a., and believe me, we're just getting started. we have so many people that have been so helpful right here in the room, and tom and all my friends. it's been fantastic. the enthusiasm for the veterans

where is secretary shulkin. what a great job, thank you. [applause] of course there is still much work to do but for today's action shows determined leadership and what it can accomplish, great, great reform. so again, to david shulkin, thank you, to all of our veterans who have served this nation, a very, very special thank you. this is truly wonderful, really monumental reform. so important for our veterans, but it is just the beginning. we're here today to discuss another issue that has gone unsolved for far too loaning. for too many years our country tolerated unacceptable delays at the airport. long wait times on the tarmac and slowing of commerce and travel that costs us billions and billions of dollars in lost hours and lost dollars themselves. today we're proposing to take american air travel into the future finally, finally, right? finally. [applause] it is a long time. we're proposing reduced wait times, increased route efficiency, and far fewer delays. our plan will get you where you need to go more quickly, more reliably, more a

david shulkin. we have worked with secretary shulkin and his team to draft the bill that is before us today and i want to thank -- be thankful for his and president trump's support. president trump and secretary shulkin have endorsed this legislation not because they want to punish or make it harder to recruit quality employees, but because they see this type of change is desperately needed if the secretary's going to meet the president's goal of truly reforming the v.a. i also want to thank a group of bipartisan senators including senator isakson, senator tester and the primary sponsor senator rubio. senator rubio and his staff have been with me every step of the way and i want to thank him and his staff over the years. i want to pass out to a good friend of mine, i want to thank ranking member walz and his staff for their support and leadership. they've been fantastic. sergeant major, thank you so much. i also want to thank speaker ryan and majority leader mccarthy and their staffs for helping us

va secretary shulkin recently announced that we are upgrading technology to allow the seamless transfer of veterans medical records from the defense department which has been a huge problem for decades and decades for our great veterans. we'll have it fixed soon but it has been a problem for decades across government. we are fixing problems in months that others have not fixed in years. 50 years ago our government drove the innovation that inspired the world and put americans on the moon. today many of our agencies rely on painfully outdated technology. yet we have the greatest people in technology that theorld has ever seen right here with us in this room. and most of them are just nodding as i am saying that. they are actually agreeing with me. that's interesting, right? government needs to catch up with the technology revolution. we'll i'm real excited and honored to be a part of today as many as conversation and applaude the work jared and so i many others are leading. it's clear a lot of thinking being applied its what's been needed for a long time. and it's the beginning of a lot

veterans's affair secretary shulkin told a senate panel today that a program that offers veterans private sector healthcare will run out of money much sooner than expected. that hearing is next on c-span 3. then defense secretary james mattis testifies about pentagon budget priorities. later a strategic look at iran's political power in the

david shulkin. secretary shulkin joins us right now.'re not stopping there but you are saying there will be a change. when you lead the defense department, when you stop fighting for the country, there is no gap when you go to the va system, correct? >> that is correct, brian. it just makes sense. when you leave the military until the time of your death you will have only one system. and there is no gaps for care. brian: i need this care. you are out. let me get the paperwork in. it is electronic and quick. it already started. you didn't stop there. what passed through the senate yesterday? >> yesterday fortunately the senate passed the accountability bill. now we'll see that returned to the house. i expect the house will quickly pass that again. they had passed it once before. we'll get it on to the president. so he can sign that and we can start making some changes. brian: president noticed, he tweeted this out. said the senate passed the va accountability act. house should get the bill to my desk as soon as possible. we can not toler

irony here, david shulkin is a hold jover from the obama administration. the number two at the department of veterans affairs and it was recommended keep this guy. we think he is part of the solution. some say, wait. you were there when there was a problem. that relationship is a fascinating one. >> also something that candidate trump talked about almost every time he was on a stage. was veterans. and veteran affairs. fixing the v.a. in that sense he is able to point to something he's able to sign here. how much credit he gets for developing it is maybe another matter. the only discordant note during that whole ceremony, him joking about firing, you know, shulkin. his cabinet secretary. you know? so who was the obama holder. we love our david. don't have to say that. we're not going to fire you. kind of an odd moment. >> but for a president who most of the moments we see him, again we'll get to them in a couple moments. this is important for the country. this piece of legislation and the emphasis we can put on reminding politicians to double, triple, quadr

we saw just this week an incredible announcement with secretary shull ki shulkins inne their operations with the department of defense which is something they have been trying to do for 20 years so there could be continuous care for our soldiers as they leave service. so this is arguably the most important thing that'sed adminiy within the v.a. in decades. and it just shows, you know, there is a real focus on getting things done. and getting big things done. and obviously my father has made taking care of our veterans his highest priority. and just laser beam focused on it. brian: what about the talk of jared clashing with the inside? is any of that true? >> there is 24-hour news cycle that gets fed by -- and is encouraged by lots of salacious details. at the end of the day, we are all focused on the work. and that's very true for jared. you know, he is somebody who just likes to get things done. so he doesn't get involved in sort of all of that. ainsley: i know you are going to wisconsin and talking to the voters and to the people. >> yes. ainsley: to the core of this great country. we

now the trump administration has released its first state of the va report with secretary david shulkinnt of the department and saying there'sa lot of work who do and starts with decreasing patient wait times. >> the first area is access and of course as you know we started with our wait time issue in 2014. the crisis that began recently va. >> amopping most alarming nipding 14 va healthcare center long wait times in at least 30 locations nationwide and out of date facilities often understaffed and shulkin said he will not ask for additional funding. we had enough money to do its job. >> problem in va will not necessarily be solved through additional money it will be through management, practices, focuses changes. >> whether it comes for increase in total va funding and some veterans groups are applauding the president and sores say it's not enough to care for the other veterans in need. >> up like it is yesterday human knees and once the cut staying in the department and once increase -- >> starting thursday the white house nba will launched point play meanwhile medical marijuana could

shulkin, i want to know how we're doing. some of the estimating i've got to place some of the uncertainty with respect to accounts and how much we need and one thing is a fluid situation based on factors that are different across the country. another one may have to do with having the right systems in place so you can get to the information quickly. i understand cio nominee i think has withdrawn their name for consideration, how are we doing on trying to get that administration stacked up so that you've got a permanent organization under you? >> well, not only the cio but the cfo candidate. if we're attracting a good viewing audience, we need help. we need people to want to come and to come and help. >> permanent cfo will be important to getting your financial planning in order and getting your financial processes and planning processes in order. >> yes. >> i think you've touched on something important, hopefully somebody can step forward. i know it's a sacrifice and you need somebody who highly skilled but we've got to get

thank you shulkin. >> thank you. thank you, sarah. i'm glad to be here today.rah said earlier today, i made the announcement about the department of veteran affairs decision on electronic health record. normally that's not too exciting decision about a product. but i have to tell you i'm very excited about this. i think this is going to make a big difference for veterans everywhere. and it's going to make a big difference for the department of veteran affairs. i want to say from the outset that when the president selected me to be secretary, he made clear to me that he expected us to act with faster decisions, to act like a business, and to really make sure that we were doing the right thing to change veterans health care and that's exactly what we're trying to do today. i had told you when i was here last week i was going to make a decision by july 1st and i want to let you know that we're coming back early and that i'm honoring that commitment. and so having electronic health record that can follow a veteran during the course of his health and treatment is on

shulkin says there is a lot of work to be done here specially with wait times.ound there are long wait times, and at least 30 locations across the country. yesterday the white house and va announced they're launching a joint complaint hotline for veterans, it should be fully operational by mid august. >> time now 4:42, when less is more. >> employees making quite a statement. stripping down. oh, ya, barely there. talking about getting rid of some packaging as they go throughout in their birthday suits, and some aprons? you knew when you cast it they'd lock you up. but that didn't stop you. you traveled far and wide, and others followed. mothers, daughters, sisters, lions. and because together you roared so loud, i know my voice matters today. this summer, come celebrate new york state's equal rights history. download our guide to plan your trip. >>> good morning, everybody, 4:45, kinds of shows you what a difference couple every minutes can make here, already here, starting to see traffic backed up here on 95. all because of this disable tractor-trailer, it has

secretary shulkin will give us an update on your tremendous work to make sure that our veterans are finally given the care that they deserve, one of the most important things to me on the campaign trail. we've also been pushing for the passage of the va county building act to ensure employees of the va can be held accountable. if they fail, our great veterans, it's pass the senate and the house is voting tomorrow. so tomorrow we have a big boat coming up, david, and i think we'll be in good shape but that something that is going to be great for our veterans. we are also going to hear from secretary about a major announcement that i'll be making later this week, expanding apprenticeships and getting our people back to work. while we have the lowest number in terms of unemployment in many, many years, at the same time i've always argued with that number because it doesn't take into account millions and millions of people that if given up looking for jobs. and we are going to be doing something about that and we'll get those people back to work. it's already starting in a while, it's starting

secretary shulkin says he is open.dical marijuana is legal suggests that it might be helpful in treating vets. currently va doctors are barred from prescribe, to it patients but a measure passed just last year allows them to discuss it in states where it is legal. >>> and finally a new animated twist on snow white and the seven dwarves is being accused of body shaming. a billboard for the new movie red shoes and the seven dwarves was spotted at the cannes film festival with the tag line read wag if snow white was no longer beautiful and the seven dwarves not so short. it has the suggestion being that the shorter rounder version was no longer beautiful. chloe grace moretz tweeted she's appalled and angry by the marketing and that it wasn't approved by her or her team and those are y >> thanks, mow. >>> happening today in virginia, attorney general mark herring will announce a new grant aimed at helping sexual assault victims. >> the more than $550,000 will go towards hiring a total of seven sexual assault nurse examiner

secretary shulkin just spoke ab how that vision is being carried out at the va. the president launched a great new era in aviation starting with the modernization of our air traffic control system. today everything uses gps technology. but washington has been unable to upgrade the air traffic control system from ground base radio and radar systems despite 14 years of attempts by the faa. this delay has left us stuck with a system that just can't keep up with an industry that has grown since it was designed. our current air traffic control system cost our economy as much as $25 billion a year in delays, inefficiency and unreliability. this is a problem that nearly everyone agrees needs to be solved. joining the president today were representatives from the air traffic controllers union, passenger advocates, leaders of airline and cargo companies and every former coo of the faa. though aren't people that typically agree on much of anything. even where all of these people behind reform, it was still stuck in the washington political machine. president trump was elec

shulkin -- by the senate. dr. shulkin said the first thing i need is accountability legislation. it allows me to terminate bad employees. the v.a., the vast majority, many of them are personal friends of mine that i worked with in health care, are good people taking the very best care of veterans. but there are some bad apples there, and they cannot be terminated. almost could not happen, mr. chairman. so what this legislation does is it protects the whistleblowers who call these people out. it provides due process rights for employees so they don't have those trampled on, but it allows the secretary to terminate these bad apples and hopefully improve the morale of the entire v.a. this is only phase one. we also are going and have passed out of this body, over to the senate -- and i want to thank our senate colleagues, senator isakson, senator rubio who was a lead sponsor in the senate and senator tester, the minority leader, and also i want to thank the minority leader on our side, sergeant walz, who worked hand in hand. it was a bipartisan bill. we passed it in the house. we se

secretary shulkin just spoke about how that vision is being carried out in the va and this morning the president launched a great new era in american aviation starting with the modernization of our outdated air traffic control system. today everything from the cars on the road to the cell phones in our pockets use gps technology. but washington has been unable to upgrade the air traffic control system from ground base radio and radar systems despite 14 years of attempts by the faa. this delay has left us stuck with a system that just can't keep up with an industry that has grown exponentially since it was designed. our current air traffic control system costs our economy as much as $25 billion a year in delays, inefficiency and unreliability. this is a problem that nearly everyone agrees needs to be solved. joining the president today were representatives from the air traffic controllers union, passive advocates, leaders in the airline and every krerksceo leaders of the faa. those are groups who typically don't agree on everything. it was still stuck in the washington political machine

just a moment. [ applause ] >> in case you missed it on c-span, veterans affairs secretary david shulkin on the state of the v.a. >> 20 veterans a day are dying by suicide. that should be unacceptable to all of us. this is a national public health crisis and it requires solutions that not only v.a. will work on, but all of government and other partnerships in the private sector, non-profit organizations. >>> fordham university law professor on corruption in the u.s. government. >> this is splitting community and it relates to the incredible class split we have in this country. and mark twain, whom you go to for almost anything, writes about this in his novel, the gilded age, the two different languages of corruption that happen in the late 19th century. where elites start to say, this isn't really corrupt, this is just the way we do things, and everybody else says, you know, if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it's a duck, right? >> pranav talks about free speech to cleblg campuses prch. >> call it a de facto tax on free speech. i agree. they're in a tricky position when they

secretary, david shulkin, who is a holdover from the obama administration, when he went before the senate to be confirmed to become the veteran affairs secretary, the confirmation vote was 100-0, and that's something that donald trump talks about quite a bit when he's talking about veterans' issues. >> sreenivasan: i remember the scandal that started this. i mean, this was in phoex. this was a few years ago, it even caused secretary eric shinseki his job. refresh us a little bit on what caused this. >> well, it was uncovered that at the v.a. medical center in phoenix, staff there were keeping separate waiting lists of veterans that were waiting for appointments. they were trying to cover up the long waits that were-- that it was taking for veterans to get their appointments with their doctors. data was being falsified, and throughout a lot of this, it was found that some veterans actually died while they were waiting for care. it cost eric shinseki his job as v.a. secretary, as you mentioned, and caused congress to start thinking about ways to transform the v.a. and to help get veterans t

shulkin. this is 30 minutes. [applause] mr. shulkin: it's a full house. that's great. on behalf of the president, i want to welcome everybody here today. i have the great privilege of introducing one of the nation's heroes. let me tell you about sergeant michael verardo.