secretary shulkin reversed the decision. homelessness funding is something people are paying close attention to. host: also, suicide. you wrote about that. what might we expect this year? guest: the v.a. and defense department have poured resources into suicide prevention studies. we may see some results this year. there is a program trying to predict which veterans and service members might be at risk for suicidal thoughts. they are trying to put more money into that prediction. hopefully, we will see outcomes of that. there's a couple that are veterans and psychologists. they have their own studies and methods for suicide prevention therapy. they are trying to push that. they think if it could be widespread, it could drive down the rate of veteran suicide which we all know is tragically high. host: john is calling from silver spring, maryland. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. veterans usually, they give them lip service. they say they will do something for them but they do not. veterans are mentally sick

shulkin's day. the vsos are going to have the chance to address the house and senate committees in our annual report and we look forward to their input. i hope the vsos and the agency will do everything they can to disseminate the fact that our veterans who had the pending appeals have the option to opt out and go into the new modernized program, 3% of those have done and s.o. and those have gotten a response in 30 days. that is a light years improvement. i commend you on what you started. let's help him finish by getting our veterans a timely appeal. ener moran? >> mr. chairman, thank you very much. i'm going to depart our hearing as soon as my questions have been answered, but i would pay honor in this setting to senator dole, who we will all be in the capitol to honor today. in kansas and perhaps the country there is no more esteemed public servant, but in my view, while his public service was tremendous, his military service and then his commitment to those with disabilities and the veteran comm

thank you, doctor shulkin. thank you to the men and women of va for all their extraordinary, dedicated work. i am going to be sending you today a letter that cites the need for stronger protections for the post 9/11 veterans under the post 9/11 gi bill benefits. i've raised this issue with you during confirmation hearings in january last year. it has been almost a year. in fact, on february 13th, it will be a year since your confirmation. and, quite honestly, i am deeply dissatisfied with the lack of action under existing authority, 38 united states code, section 36.96 to crack down on the predatory practices of for-profit schools like corinthian and itt that have exploited our veterans. this letter sets forth in detail what those actions have been and why i think that the lack of action by the va has been troubling. and i know that you are sympathetic to this cause but i would like to see good words followed by action. and i will appreciate a response in my letter. i ask that it be made part of the record, mr.

i appreciate secretary shulkin being here today and all his hard work. the ranking member is on his way and i'm going to start with my brief opening statement. by the time that's over, hopefully he'll be theory for his brief opening statement, upon which we'll go to secretary shulkin and the members of the committee for q&a.

the secretary of veterans affairs david shulkin is our guest in the next hour. but first we must begin with a push for a deal. a bipartisan meeting between president trump and members of congress seems to have moved the discussion on immigration reform forward. daca, border security, chain migration and an end to the visa lottery system. president trump reiterating the importance of the wall. president trump: we need the wall for security. we need the wall for safety and to stop the drugs from rolling in. i would manage the people in the room both democrat and republican will couple a solution to the daca problem which has been going on a long time. but any solution has to include a wall, because without the wall, it doesn't work. charles: joining me, tammy bruce and gina loudon. gina, 24 hours after that extraordinary meeting, there is still some good vibes out there and hopefulness maybe a deal will be done. but if a deal is don't will anger a lot of people on both sides of the aisle. >> i think the democrats should deal and they would be smart to deal. but i

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david shulkin on veterans' health care and homelessness. >>> then later, women foreign ambassadors talk about their careers in global politics. >>> this is followed by an empowering women's symposium hosted by the white house. >>> c-span's "washington journal" live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up saturday morning, we're getting your reaction to the latest in the debate over funding the government. and politifact editor will discuss her group's report on

david shulkin on veterans' health care and homelessness. >>> then later, women foreign ambassadors talk about their careers in global politics. >>> this is followed by an empowering women's symposium hosted by the white house. >>> c-span's "washington journal" live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up saturday morning, we're getting your reaction to the latest in the debate over funding the government. and politifact editor will discuss her group's report on ca

veterans affairs secretary david shulkin testifies at a v.a. oversight hearing. and this year's state of the state addresses by iowa governor cam reynolds and alabama governor kay ivey. at a senate hearing on social media and terrorism, witnesses from facebook, youtube and twitter discussed what their companies are doing to prevent criminal activity by users and the tech sector's cooperation with law enforcement. senatoroh

veterans affairs secretary david shulkin immediately removed three top officials and order the investigation. the va says the problems are being addressed. the outlook is slowly getting brighter in puerto rico where the wrath of hurricanes maria and irma left two-thirds of the population they are without electricity. this week, massive reinforcements are on the ground trying to get a half-million people back on the grade. correspondent laura ingle has the story. >> waiting for the lights to come back on has been a nerve-racking process for nearly half a million people who are still without power in puerto rico. help from u.s. mainland power companies has been coming in waves for months. this week, an additional 1,000 utility trucks and 1500 workers will be added to the mix. over 470,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, causing an estimated $140 billion in damages. as crews carve their way through the catastrophic damage, their progress is slow. but they met a major milestone this month when 1 million customers had their power restored. utility crews say they won't stop until everyone is back

. >> i want to thank secretary shulkin, secretary nielsen and deputy secretary shanihan joining us, as we take another historic step to make sure our incredible veterans and that they're taken care of, that they're being taken care of in a proper manner. so important. we want them to get the highest care and the care they so richly deserve. i've been working very hard on that with david and with everybody. it is something that is a top priority. we're also honored to be joined by acting national director of suicide prevention dr. franklin and three veterans who work supporting their fellow veterans at the va, all experts and tremendous people. we've already made tremendous strides delivering for our veterans, including passage of long-awaited veterans accountability legislation. one of the things i'm most proud of. trish: that is the president right there talking about the executive order he is signing right now to help veterans with their mental capabilities as they transition back into civilian life. let's go back to mr. karl rove for more reaction to that meeting. forgive me, karl,

the secretary of veterans affairs david shulkin is our guest in the next hour. first we must begin with a push for a deal. a bipartisan meeting between president trump and members of congress seems to have moved the discussion on immigration reform forward. daca, border security, chain migration and an end to the visa

is secretary shulkin been briefed? is he aware of the issues and is he in tune with your strategies? >> the secretary has spoken to the secretary about this very issue. so he is personally aware. also our deputy secretary is well versed on this issue and in fact a couple of weeks ago met with mr. bright and others to discuss this issue. so this issue has the attention at the highest levels of va and they are extremely supportive of what we are doing. >> very good. i appreciate the secretary's leadership more and more every day and that testament of his interest and issues like these is a great compliment more so of his leadership. >> mr. cooper, i wonder if you can talk about your company's ethics and how you arrived at a place to be an ethical company not to take -- not to take advantage of some of these predatory examples that we've heard about in the testimony. >> sure. thank you, mr. banks. that's a great question. we as a company are based on a set of values that we worked really hard on as a group, as all of our

david shulkin. he was testifying about the oversight of the veterans affairs department. can visit c-span.org to find that. ohio, a dayton, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. happy pre-shutdown. i think that we do not have to reach a shutdown point. we have tot first realize that the gop is in control of both houses and the white house. they could get this done without republicans. they were able to do it on tax reform and can do it on this here and we do not need to go there because there are enough votes right now to get daca and chip passed. why don't we get those two passed on a clean bill? then get the government-funded? that is what republicans promised the american people and what they got put into the majority for, to get things done and do it in a bipartisan way. hat on.t your political are you concerned that notcrats' stance on approving a stopgap spending bill because of the stalling, the impasse, over undocumented so-called dreamers, that that could impact them in 2018 and hurt chances of winning the senate or the house? caller: i don't actually thi

david shulkin. secretary very good to have you. nice to be here, neil. neil: how does this affect veteran's care so far do you know? >> first of all this is not a good thing for veterans. we need the government open and servicing our veterans it's very important. it's our responsibility as a country to do that. about 16,000 of our workers will be immediately furloughed and another 28,000 will come to work but won't receive paychecks. neil: va workers? >> va workers but fortunately the essential services, healthcare services getting our veterans our checks will continue uninterrupted because the last time we had the shutdown, congress has authorized us in a advanced appropriation money ahead of time so that we don't disrupt the essential services to our veterans. neil: all right now mick mulvaney had been saying the budget director that they were preparing for this for his own agency to have requests for additional funds. i don't know whether you pre- requested but you did not? >> well since we have an advanced appropriation for our essential services we

veterans affairs secretary david shulkin testifies at a v.a. oversight hearing. and this year's state of the state addresses by iowa governor cam reynolds and alabama governor kay ivey. at a senate hearing on social media and terrorism, witnesses from facebook, youtube and twitter discussed what their companies are doing to prevent criminal activity by users and the tech sector's cooperation with law enforcement. senator john thune chairs the customers, science and transportation committee. this is 2 1/2 hours. >> well, good morning. i want to thank everyone for being here to examine what social media companies are doing to combat terrorism, including terrorist propaganda and terrorist recruitment efforts online. the positive contributions of social media platforms are well-documented. youtube, facebook and twitter, among others, help to connect people around the world, give voice to those oppressed by totalitarian regimes and provide a forum for discussions of every political, social, scientific and cultural stripe. these services have thrived online because of

. >>> at a senate hearing, veterans affairs secretary david shulkin discussed veterans health care and homelessness as well as staff vacancies at the va. he also talked about the implementation of new federal laws passed in 2017. senator johnny isakson of georgia chairs this hour and 45-minute hearing. >>> call this meeting of the senate veterans affairs committee to order. ap

when i brought this up to david shulkin he was reaccept toif it he started working with this immediatelyforward to advocate for all of our veterans. when you look at what goes on in the v.a., the tens of thousands of veterans that are there that have to get transportation just to go to the v.a. facility and when they get there they have to be pushed around in a wheelchair or they need somebody there to assist them to. give them a one-stop shop where they can see their representative, where they can know that they're being advocated for, that's an important thing. they know when they see us there, hopefully they can see all 435 representatives in v.a.s across the country. they are going to know they are not forgotten. pete: brian, i love that a it's a testament of what you went to washington to do and also a sad testament how many problems still exist at the v.a. the fact you are fighting for it is huge. as a war fighter i have to ask you a question on. so news of the day about north korea. there has been a lot of talk about the president's rhetoric. has his rhetoric around north korea be

between 2009 and 2016 veteran homelessness was reduced by 47% and 2017 secretary shulkin shared his top five priorities for the v.a. and as many may be aware, ending veterans homelessness was not included in that list of priorities. i fear, based on the actions of this administration thus far, that in the coming years we will continue to lose ground in our fight against veteran homelessness. in 2017 hud's annual survey found that veteran homelessness increased by 1.5%. however, when you drill down into these numbers and look at specific communities the picture is much more alarming. los angeles county which i represent a part of saw a 57% increase in the number of homeless veterans just in the past year. i'd like that enter into the record a letter from the l.a. county board of supervisors, the mayor, united way, and the los angeles homeless service authority that outlines the challenges ahead to end veteran homelessness. >> thank you very much. >> these local partners are committed to working together two the v.a. and other federal agencies to ensure all veterans have access to safe an