let me turn to the va witnesses. and you're testing my on my bill, s. 277, caring for camp lejeune veterans, you indicated that the number of the veterans and families affected by water contamination to be 1 million. in a preliminary cost estimate provided to me by the cbo, the put the number of affected veterans at 650,000. cbo a right to this number with information provided to them by the department of defense on the number of military personal family members who lived at camp lejeune during the affected period. can you describe the matrix we use to identify 1 million affected veterans and family members? >> sir, i think our testimony reflects we don't have good numbers, we don't have numbers that we could use to estimate the cost. >> the va estimated the cost in the past. that's what drew the conclusion i think that they came to, but can you account for the discrepancy in the two numbers? that's 350,000 people. >> no, sir, i can't. >> mr. mcwilliam, the program is currently undergoing a redesigned issue, as you me

facility, the san francisco va medical center. apacity, i direct the integrated care clinic for oef veterans. the clinic at the san francisco va medical center is novel in that it offers all new oef veterans a one-stop three-part initial visit with a primary care provider, a mental health clinician and a social worker. the integrated care clinic providers are all integrated and colocated within the primary care clinic. and are trained to address post deployment health concerns. i'm also an associate professor of medicine and psychiatry at the university of california san francisco and in this capacity conduct clinical research that is focused on a better understanding on veterans who use va health care. based on my experience as a clinician and researcher, i offer my perspective first on the mental health problems on veterans who use va health care. second, on utilization and barriers to va mental health services and third, current efforts by va to overcome barriers to mental health care for oef/oif and i want to help the several t

we could spend a day with just the va alone. i want to acknowledge the fact that both of you apologize for not having your testimony here on time. i will note i did not hear any -- either one of you say this would not happen again. we have rules and in the committee. i did not even hear you apologize, mr. mcwilliams. this may be a joke to some of you. i do not know. maybe it is the instructions not to have it here where committees can thoroughly go through and dissect what an agency says. on many of the bills, we do not have a views on. it is impossible for me to believe that pieces of legislation that had been introduced in some time you have no views on. you have no cost estimates on. it raises big questions when you take lightly committee rules about when testimony needs to be here. i guess i should not be bewildered, but we cannot hit deadlines that are statutory for claims processing, or for other things when there is no sense of the deadline being anything other than a goal. the chairman raised an issue of was not going to

hanson talk about he thought that the va system was not as personal. he felt that the staff maybe didn't quite care as much as he found in team challenge that he felt there was no accountability. that concerns me. i don't know if we have time to get that question answered, but perhaps if you like to comment on the frequency i would appreciate it. >> again, i can only really comment from my own experience, and i feel like -- i can't speak for every clinician and every nurse and every clerk at va but i think we go the extra mile to try to reach out to veterans that are coming in. we know that every veteran who comes in, we know it wasn't easy for them to get there, that it took a lot of courage to come to va, it's not always a pleasant expensive so we welcome them when they get there. we acknowledged their military service. and we give them contact information that i get to my car. i give them my e-mail. i know i'm technically not supposed to e-mail with my veteran patients because va policy but if that's the only way they can reach me, that's how they re

we need to get the va in here to determine why. one veteran came up in west virginia and said he has been on a fee basis for years. they told him, they did not have the funds to continue to do that. this is the same that said this year, they have a $1.1 billion carry over into they want to split it between 2012 and 2013. things do not make sense. we need to be looking at ways to do this better. i am not comfortable with your bill and what it means to other veterans who may not be in severe situations but still are in need of health care. >> i believe joe stated it very articulate. i do not have a whole lot to add. it is my understanding that veteran affairs is working to try to figure out a single pay method. i like to understand that better. >> i know we are over time, but i want a quick comment. they are driven by our efforts. the one thing we do not want to do is have to worry about how to get a service. individuals had to pass facilities to get it to their base -- [unintelligible] in every single village in alaska, there is a cl

last week, the va announced a master plan to rehab buildings here for veterans suffering ptsd. e plan has no timetable, and no budget. while the courts decide the best use of this property, freddy cordova will do the best he can helping one vet at a time. bill whitaker, cbs news, los angeles. >>> coming up a little bit later on "the early show," republican presidential candidate michele bachmann on how sarah palin could affect her run for the white house. >>> plus the latest on mob boss whitey bulger's bizarre life on the lam. >>> and the bird men who jumped to fame after being profiled by "60 minutes" talk about their incredible death-defying stunts. >>> that's the "cbs morning news" for this tuesday. thanks for watching, everybody. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. everybody. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. ,,,,,, denny's new tour of america menu. 50 star cuisine. the new tour of america menu. starting at $4.99. only at denny's. america's diner is always open.

there were unions that came to an agreement with the va, afg which is the largest union and va did not come to an agreement. with the results of what the final product and the secretary offered. there was consensus in the workgroup from the va officials that came to the workgroup and everyone agreed, then went back to the secretary and he pared down on what the workgroup had consensus on. and afge could not agree to those things. so i believe the legislation, is very important. it's nothing more than the va gets to decide that they, all the rules, all the regulations. if they write them they should be willing to live by them. and all afge is asking is for them to live by their own rules and for a way to enforce that. >> okay, thank you very much. i do have more questions. i will submit to all of you for answers in writing but i will turn it over to senator burr for any questions you may have. >> thank you, madam chairman. i will give all of you an easy one. i mentioned earlier that i'm committed to providing veterans and families with the benefits they need and they deserve. what i wan

the va's keith wilson oversees the gi bill. taken action against any school for over-aggressive pursuit of veterans? >> we do. it's... it's not... it doesn't happen a lot, i guess, is what i would say. but there are situations where that does occur, and we do have the authority to do that and we've done it. >> smith: the va couldn't tell us how often; we could only find one recent example. are you worried that veterans are not fully informed about what choice they're making? >> no, i believe veterans are informed about the decisions they're making. and we're always working to get them better information. >> smith: but if a veteran goes to your site, will they find rankings and comparisons and the kind of information that the fda publishes, for instance, on food packaging about content? >> not on the gi bill site. yeah, we're working in that direction, but right now we don't have that, no. >> smith: this interview was conducted in late january. do you think there's some urgency here about getting more information out there to ve

part of it could be to learn from the va. i am reminded of the fact that you have an imperative to meet the needs of the least of these. you are often held out as an agency that does a good job in these areas. senator coburn and i are not going away on this issue. this is something i would like to resolve during this congress. i am determined to do that. i am grateful to my colleagues and our staffs in preparing for this. i am grateful to you for the work that you have done and that is being done. let's continue to work together. we have to figure out how to deal with this. we need to stop spending that kind of money and to save it instead. this hearing in is a-include- -- this hearing is concluded. we are adjourned. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> during the hearing today, you heard a lot of references b.r.a.c., the base realignment commission. we have covered a lot of those commissions. senate is the only body in session this week. the senate

part of it, to learn from the va, the work that you have done. i'm reminded of the fact of those two imperatives i talked about, to meet the need of the least of these and also in a fiscally responsible way, that's really your charge at the va. and you oftentimes are held up as an agency that does a pretty good job in this area. senator coburn and i and our other colleagues are not going away on this issue. this is what i want is to result in this congress. and i am determined to do that. and i am grateful to my colleagues. i am grateful to our stats for the work they've done preparing for this. and i'm grateful to you for the work that is being done, has been done come is being done on this front. let's just work together. we're all in this together, all in this together and we have to deal with this, realize the savings that mr. werfel has spoken up. we need to stop spending that kind of money. all right, thank you very much. and with that this hearing is concluded again, my colleagues will have to weeks to submit questions and we would ask you

listeners, people who are interested in supporting the honor roll event will get in touch with myself or the va marshall. i would like to see that continue strongly. >> thank you. >> i just came back from memphis and i wanted to highlight two sessions that are germane to the sessions we're doing. it is important information for us to have. i have the background information. the first was a great presentation on labor law development in wisconsin and in new jersey, which was very interesting to me. i think that it was really great information. second was a wonderful session that was called, diversity, dead or different? about student responses in seattle and louisville and other member districts and that was really good. so in our ongoing discussions and interest in educating ourselves about this which is on our plate every minute, i hope that others will be interested in the information and materials are brought back. thank you. >> thank you. i want to make two announcements. congratulations to the students who participated in pride. there was a strong focus around bullying to the lgbt communit

to drop that service -- it makes it accessible to come to our other programs, which are funded by the va and parts of the federal government. it is one program that is not just -- it is an access point that also informs our ability to find out what is going on. it helps us with policy. it also serves the most vulnerable population who we serve. it is not a medical model. it is a social model. it is pure-based. we primarily serve veterans who are over 55, a majority african- american, combat benefits, but veterans elder than their years. they just need our help. it is really crucial for an organization to have that kind of access to your community, the people you are supposed to help. i also want to vote strongly for the homeless outreach team. we are located at 1060 howard street. we were together. the homeless outreach team -- it is hard for me to believe that would be considered for a cut. it is so crucial and cost effective. it helps the folks who are most vulnerable, and that is what i thought this was about. the cuts are going to increase suffering. thank you. >> excuse me. hello. m

constitutional rights, having due process and a right to have lawyers represent their claims before the va. it is very significant and happen in our backyard, but i want to again thank the city of san francisco for being so progressive in recognizing the needs of veterans. thanks. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning. i am here to speak on behalf of the children and youth and families and small businesses that we represent. your funding was not recommended this year, although it has been since 1984. we are over performers, and most of our goals and needs -- we're working actively with families to help develop businesses in the community and support our children. the work that we do is prevent it in terms of what is going to happen -- preventive in terms of what is going to happen to our children in the future. we hope you will reconsider your decision. last year, we supported 20 different small businesses in their opening and becoming viable support to our economy and our city and our community. we are doing that same work now. with your funding, we have been able to do this work, an

something that the va would not do. they push you aside. something with the other agencies do not have funding. central agency hospitality health is local, friendly. it is a community, a family of people that support each other. if there's obstacles, they work around them, and these people will not remain homeless. there will always move to their best and -- [bell rings] supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. i would like to express the importance of community-based programs and the funding. i have been in san francisco for five years now. most of my time here, i could not gain employment or housing. within one week, hospitality house help regain housing and employment. they provided me with stable housing so i can go to school and finish my education. if you cut funding for programs like this, it will be harder for people like me to become contributing members of society, and we have to turn to - alternatives. that is pretty much all i want to say. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. i am th

there will be one in the sunny va le. they do an assessment of the out reach they need to target. what i mentioned was a mission related incident. some of the out reach that has taken place in the bay view western edition is working with those. there's out reach calendars. we produce as individual neighborhood based. >> crn program that needs to be expanded? is it? do you think, anybody does it? >> we have a hand over there. >> i am pretty sure, there's still people on the streets. obviously, you haven't done enough to focus on everybody. everybody isn't off the streets. where my mother lives. they started a program and everybody got involved in it. we have a garden. they have jobs. you got $100 a week. they got people off the street and every summer we do i basketball tournament. everybody likes sports. >> yrer. who here. why can't we have more programs? jenay. >> you got it. you go girl. >> some people don't go to these programs. i am in up. i tell all my friends, you don't have to sing. you don't have to rap, and for leadership. we go out in the community and talk to people. in

i go to the va. while in the military, it was basically a socialized medical program.61 years old. they take care of me and show me dignity and respect. you know, everybody is required to have automobile insurance. why not everybody have medical insurance? take the insurance companies and limit the amounts they can charge these people. if they are taxed, the immediately raised their rates. they make a profit. all of these ceo's and corporations make a profit, but it is not trickling down to small businesses and the people. guest: let me thank you for the service that you have provided our country. i would hope that all veterans do not believe that they are getting good medical treatment get in touch with your congressperson because we owe them, especially those who fought for our country. let me make it abundantly clear. a social security, medicaid, and medicare expenses have nothing to do with the deficit we are facing today. it is true that we will be reducing expenditures, but that is not why wwe have this deficit. it is the fact that we went into a war that in my o

visitors will get to see the va veil, tiara and shoes she wore on that special day. its part of the annual tour of state rooms that the palace offers to visitors during the summer months. >>> >> there is also word today that the newlyweds will use a small apartment in kensington palace as their official london home. however, a house in wales will still be considered their primary residence. that's where prince william serves as a royal air force chopper pilot. >>> a bridal company in missouri held a contest with some pretty nice prizes for prospective brides, but the women really had to be willing to work for the winnings. welcome to the sixth annual cake dive contest. no hands here. ten contestant his to eat their way for gift vouchers buried inside the cakes. the prizes included gift certificates for bridal wear, and the brand prize was a honeymoon vacation. one prospective bride refused to give up. she came up for air with a face full of cake as well as the prize. >> no hands, but they needed a hair net. the hair was all over it. >> messy way to win one. >>> the pr

trauma in the military and have severe ptsd had to intervene to help keep alive a veteran because the vaphoenix would not stop the abuse of her through counseling and other things. host: we will have to leave it there. if you could respond. guest: i could not really respond on behalf of the veterans administration, because that is a separate secretariat, but i will tell you there are important lessons we're learning. we're learning more and more about posttraumatic stress disorder. we're learning about more and more traumas that do occur in theater. the surgeon general's office has put together several study groups that have gone into theater and look at the operations and interviewed folks. this is a work in progress. it is an ongoing thing. we have created some additional programs and really put a lot of effort into enhancing and enlarging the borough hall capabilities to handling a lot of these issues at the front end. so often a lot of these issues do not materialize until six, nine months, 18 months down the line come in so often they're not in the care of the military system. we're

the youngest was six-month-old isis vas. >> i fed the kids breakfast. i had them on the kitchen table, and i had isis in her swing. she had her bottle but she wasn't eating it. so i got her out of the swing, and i went to go put her in the crib. and i went to the kitchen. i left her in the crib, and when i went back in there, i noticed that isis-- she was limp. she was just there, and her lips were blue. >> is she breathing right now? >> okay, i need you to keep doing cpr. >> thompson: ernie lopez' mother, rosa lopez, lived across the street. >> we started hearing sirens. that sticks in my mind, you know, that that was the beginning of the nightmare-- the sirens, the fire trucks, and then later on, the ambulance. ( sirens wailing ) >> i hit her on her thigh, on her leg, trying to get her attention. and i shook her a little bit. i jiggled her a little bit. i put my ear to her chest, and i heard her heart, just beating, just racing. >> thompson: ernie's brother eddie was called in. >> my mom came over, talked to me, and told me, "hey, could you go up to t

the railway will va seismic sensors installed at 31 points along the route so trains can slow down in the event of an earthquake. the train and the railway operation system were developed with the technological support from other countries including japan and germany. the vice minister of railway hu jp syadong stressed at a news conference in beijing on monday. >> translator: the railway is a compilation of chinese railway technologies, our technology in this field has reached the highest level in the world. >> the line was initially said to open in october of this year. china is using the railway opening to play up the country's achievements in technology before the anniversary of the ruling communist party on july 1st. >>> japan's unmanned space probe has been listed in the "guinness book of world records" as the world's first probe to bring back samples of an asteroid. hayabusa completed its 300 million kilometer round trip to the itokawa asteroid on june 13th, 2010. it brought back a canister of particles from the asteroid's surface. last july the japan aerospace exploration agenc

in law in lebanon the leader of has vas says the group has captured three spies among its low level members its claims two of them who were recruited by the cia although the agents were not considered a serious threat to the movement the u.s. embassy in the country has dismissed the militant group's claims as empty accusations. new york lawmakers have voted to legalize same sex marriage the decision to send hundreds of people to the streets to celebrate what they described as a victory for civil rights new york has become the sixth american state where gay couples are officially allowed to marry and have families comes after president obama encourage lawmakers to support the rights of sexual minorities. to greece now where people are facing tax rises and fresh cuts to services as e.u. leaders call on politicians to support slashing spending if they want more rescue cash to be handed over the government will vote on a proposed to twenty billion euro budget cut over five years next week if approved it will mean a second bailout of twelve billion euro the money will save the country from defau

the report found even that the va simply has not taken the proper precautions to prevent these cases sexual assault. >> kyra? >> that's pretty unbelievable to hear this. now, barbara, of course, the v.a. will respond or has it responded? have you been able to talk with your sources there? two things to point out. the veterans commission on the house side is going to have a hearing on this. expect to see more on what's transpired and what needs to be done. the v.a. has issued a statement saying, quote, patient and employee safety and security are paramount to the v.a. we take all alsgalegations seriously and investigate them thoroughly. according to this report, perhaps not everything was investigated as thoroughly as it should be been. >> we will stay on the story. >>> in arizona, strong winds fan fears that the second largest wild fire in state history will likely spread. the national weather service has issued a red flag alert for much of the state in neighboring new mexico. >>> woon sock rhode island, still on the scene of a massive firefighter. it ignited before 8:00 last night.

william hamilton was reportedly turned away from the va medical hospital. three days later, he walked in front of a train and was killed. hamilton suffered from mental preps. records show that he was turned away by it because it was late in the day. >> you are looking at earl clang. saturday, he walked into a bank and demanded money from a teller. she gave him $1,000 and he left the bank. the neck morning, a police officer recognized him from witness descriptions, arrested on suspicion of robbery and attempted robbery from a previous incident. >> 7:32, oak lapd residents are taking on the world's oldest profession. fed up with men soliciting women on international boulevard, they are launching a "dear john" letter writing campaign and coming up in 15 minutes, pam cook will have a live report to explain how the program works and who is being targeted. >> a marine reservist has been linked to the shootings of several military buildings in the washington, d.c. area last year. arrested last friday after he was spotted in arlington national cemetery in the early

or just try this. [ chuckles ] foto be theres a calling for the veterans who protect our freedoms working with today's va i can use my license anywhere in the u.s. in the city or the wide open spaces it's amazing how you can grow as a doctor a nurse a pharmacist you grow as a person it's the quality of care our veterans deserve this is what i'm called to do. >>> here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, sunny, 88, miami, sunny, 88, chicago, sunny, 99, dallas, a whopping 100 degrees today. and in l.a., a sunny 71. >>> time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture showed a few storm clouds forming in the southeast, while clear skies stretched from the northeast to the southwest. >>> later today, record-breaking heat is possible across 2/3 of the nation from texas to wisconsin and across the deep south. thunderstorms are possible along the gulf coast and a few lingering showers out west. >>> in sports, milwaukee completed a four-game sweep of florida. the brewers prince fielder field hit a three-run homer to the right field in the fourth inning a

. >>> still ahead here at six, the family va dra ma involving swans impacting a popular bay area attraction. >>> i'm scotted b budman, a sil valley man is given one of the highest honors by the monarchy. she cut herself on a fish tank and now a southern california teen is fighting a rare infection that could force doctors to amputate her hand. >>> and why facebook could have ipad lovers liking their devices even more. >>> and good evening. i'm chief meteorologist jeff -- 20 degrees cooler from the hot weather we have had. and as we head throughout the night, cooling fog wl be returning to the south bay. i will tell you about the smpb day and how hot it will get in minutes. [ female announcer ] celebrate dad at the jcpenney dad's day sale this friday & saturday! find neverending options with 9.99 men's tees... and sportshirts... and 9.99 polos and shorts! or surprise him with a new watch -- they're up to 50% off! plus, with jcp cash earn 10, 15 or $20 off. no exclusions! unlike other stores, we don't make you come back to save. get in at 9am for 9.99 gifts for dad! and so much more. go to jc

. $7 billion worth of additional money to deal with the va and the medical costs of the war which a team that with time with the wounded. and other people who are eligible. are we ever going to sustain even a fraction of that beyond 2014 if we do it even that long? and if so, what is our reach in this region? what kind of aid would actually work with pakistan? and what is our policy towards south asia and towards central asia at a time when yes, we have interest in pakistan, we have interest in latin america. we have interest in japan, and we're headed toward a period in time when we have to be much more careful about how we allocate these resources and we have been in the past. these are all very hard choices, but what they all warn you against is focusing only on the present in pakistan as one country of particular interest. we've spent the last decade without a regional strategy towards anybody. we can't afford to have a pakistan centric strategy or an afghan centric strategy in the future. >> first, bruce, what make you think pakistan can become a jihadists country? yes, they do not

i received great benefit from the va system. my partner received social security, the upper end of social security which is around $1,500. due to the fact that he received the upper end, his cost of his medication are almost like 1000 to $1,200, which is practically impossible for him to pay. is there any political thing where they're trying to cover this up for people? he is not eligible for medicare advantage. unfortunately it has forced him and me both to come up with a solution ourselves. one calller earlier started -- stated about starting and stopping medication. two years ago we stopped and started medications. i take a very extreme regiment, and i would take it for four months in stop and give it to my partner. i know this is practicing medicine without a license, but we do what we do to survive. we have both stayed undetectable for over two years by the grace of god. we do not want to do this. we are not active physically in the gay community. we are in texas basically to other people. -- we are basically infectious to o

i go to the va. while in the military, it was basically a socialized medical program. in 61 years old. they take care of me and show me dignity and respect. you know, everybody is required to have automobile insurance. why not everybody have medical insurance? take the insurance companies and limit the amounts they can charge these people. if they are taxed, the immediately raised their rates. they make a profit. all of these ceo's and corporations make a profit, but it is not trickling down to small businesses and the people. guest: let me thank you for the service that you have provided our country. i would hope that all veterans do not believe that they are getting good medical treatment get in touch with your congressperson because we owe them, especially those who fought for our country. let me make it abundantly clear. a social security, medicaid, and medicare expenses have nothing to do with the deficit we are facing today. it is true that we will be reducing expenditures, but that is not why wwe have this deficit. it is the fact that we went into a war that in

we have a performance lined up today from the students from back va ck. they are going to go 3 songs for you. we have performance, nunu, t-mack, sticky and smt. give them a round of applause. >> okay. >> hey. check him out. >> i tray to break away. >> people always see what that want to see, i see you. but they don't know how hard it is to be me. >> to be me. i only got so much to give. caught in this lonely live i live. but it ain't going to get me down. cause it's my business don't make it true of you don't want to bring me round. >> from this space that i portray. >> i can only take it one step day-by-day. people only see what they want to see. >> yeah. i see you. >> they don't know how hard it is to be me. >> i keep on putting the clothes from my kicks. i keep on, i really don't care. that's not going to make me mean. i have some dreams, i need to achieve. >> i don't believe. >> i will be down on my knees. >> i only take it day-by-day. >> people always see what they want to see. but they don't know how hard it is to be me. >> check it out. >> on my ga

they haven't played the bar mits vas and gotten dressed in a men's room. >> they haven't done the hard yards. >> i was in a dressing room and there was a nice young girl i saw on tv and they were putting more lip gloss on her. she had her hair up and she was wearing armani. i thought, whoa, how's she going to handle this? >> despite that you mentored acts on "american idol" a couple of times. >> i did. they are sponges. >> why do you do it if you're concerned? >> i would do it every day if i could. i learned so much over the past million years. i loved to pass it down. i would. i'm really good at it. i'm good at putting big shows together, small shows, making records, performing. i really know how to do it. i would love the opportunity to pass it down. i would. i loved doing "american idol." >> do you like being famous or is it a pain in the backside? >> i don't think of myself as being famous. >> barry, you are one of the most famous people in the world. [ cheers and applause ] >> seriously, it's the queen, the pope, barry manilow. >> no, no. i don't consider myself a famous person. i

i received great benefit from the va system. artner received social security, the upper end of social security which is around $1,500. due to the fact that he received the upper end, his cost of his medication are almost like 1000 to $1,200, which is practically impossible for him to pay. is there any political thing where they're trying to cover this up for people? he is not eligible for medicare advantage. unfortunately it has forced him and me both to come up with a solution ourselves. one calller earlier started -- stated about starting and stopping medication. two years ago we stopped and started medications. i take a very extreme regiment, and i would take it for four months in stop and give it to my partner. i know this is practicing medicine without a license, but we do what we do to survive. we have both stayed undetectable for over two years by the grace of god. we do not want to do this. we are not active physically in the gay community. we are in texas basically to other people. -- we are basically infectious to other

the text of his first-ever tweet read in part -- dear friends, i just launched news dot va. praise be the lord with my prayers and blessings. that means i'll have to find something else for my first tweet. by the way, there an estimated 200 million twitter users worldwide. >>> a lot of talk here in new york among the yankees' fans. what to do when it's time for mo to go? when mariano rivera retires? consensus hall of famer and greatest closer of all time. the rumor on the sports wire says the yankees are talking to this guy. this was before a padres game. they asked members of the cirque du soleil troupe from vegas to show off their stuff on the mound. scouting report on this guy is better than average delivery, needs to work on his cutter. >>> a little bit of legitimate news value but not much. we wanted to show you the pictures of the new baby koala boonda, born at the park. a second generation urban koala, the first baby born to a mother koala born in captivity. population of koalas living in the wild is now down to 43,000 of them across the vast stretches of australia. >>

i go to the va. while in the military, it was basically a socialized medical program. i in 61 years old. they take care of me and show me dignity and respect. you know, everybody is required to have automobile insurance. why not everybody have medical insurance? take the insurance companies and limit the amounts they can charge these people. if they are taxed, the immediately raised their rates. they make a profit. all of these ceo's and corporations make a profit, but it is not trickling down to small businesses and the people. guest: let me thank you for the service that you have provided our country. i would hope that all veterans do not believe that they are getting good medical treatment get in touch with your congressperson because we owe them, especially those who fought for our country. let me make it abundantly clear. a social security, medicaid, and medicare expenses have nothing to do with the deficit we are facing today. it is true that we will be reducing expenditures, but that is not why wwe have this deficit. it is the fact that we went into a war that i

but in addition to that -- and that is a lot of money -- if we did the same thing as va did and medicaidid, through medicare, we would save many, many tens of billions. but we would have to get ahold of the fee-for-service system. we are paying not by results, but by volume. by volume. and so if you go in and you see five doctors in the hospital, you could see five of the same specialty, and you will get a bill from five of them. so i am not blaming the physicians, but more more, as i talk to them, i think they realize that we need to move away from fee for service. and the only way to do that, the main way to do that is through reforms through medicare, where we begin to control the hospitial costs, and i remember the first couple of years, what a hullabaloo that caused, but it helped. >> but should there be a more concrete plan? one of the criticisms of the republicans is that that democrats do not have a budget proposal that would include these -- >> we did pass it in the house budget. they did not like it. i will bet you that regardless of what they say, if you could turn out the lig

trauma in the military and have severe ptsd had to intervene to help keep alive a veteran because the va in phoenix would not stop the abuse of her through counseling and other things. host: we will have to leave it there. if you could respond. guest: i could not really respond on behalf of the veterans administration, because that is a separate secretariat, but i will tell you there are important lessons we're learning. we're learning more and more about posttraumatic stress disorder. we're learning about more and more traumas that do occur in theater. the surgeon general's office has put together several study groups that have gone into theater and look at the operations and interviewed folks. this is a work in progress. it is an ongoing thing. we have created some additional programs and really put a lot of effort into enhancing and enlarging the borough hall capabilities to handling a lot of these issues at the front end. so often a lot of these issues do not materialize until six, nine months, 18 months down the line come in so often they're not in the care of the military system. w

i received great benefit from the va system. my partner received social security, the upper end of social security which is around $1,500. due to the fact that he received the upper end, his cost of his medication are almost like 1000 to $1,200, which is practically impossible for him to pay. is there any political thing where they're trying to cover this up for people? he is not eligible for medicare advantage. unfortunately it has forced him and me both to come up with a solution ourselves. one calller earlier started -- stated about starting and stopping medication. two years ago we stopped and started medications. i take a very extreme regiment, and i would take it for four months in stop and give it to my partner. i know this is practicing medicine without a license, but we do what we do to survive. we have both stayed undetectable for over two years by the grace of god. we do not want to do this. we are not active physically in the gay community. we are in texas basically to other people. -- we are basically infectious to o

up to the va ig, secretary of the current the day, on the torturous of use of veterans. i have witnessed it and had it, sir. this includes veterans who are 100% disabled

that paves the way for prime minister george pop droe to put his radical program before lawmakers next week, knowing he should va the numbers to get it approved. the significance of the confidence vote wasn't lost on the protesters. they had been fighting the consults. they were angry. these were the scenes outside parliament when the result came out. in just over a week from now, the measures could go into law in exchange for a second bailout from the european union and the international monetary fund. the european finance minister said -- we're following developments from athens. diana, what is greece's next move? >> reporter: zain, there's a big difference between winning a vote of confidence in the new cabinet and winning the vote of the entire parliament on this new austerity program, there have already been some members of george papandreou's party who said i will back this new government. whether i put my name so this package of extremely unpopular austerity measures is another question. this vote this time next week is critical, they've made it contingent on -- they've said they will only give extra mone

for me, it was a calling to be there for the veterans who protect our freedoms working with today's vai can use my license anywhere in the u.s. in the city or the wide open spaces it's amazing how you can grow as a doctor a nurse a pharmacist you grow as a person it's the quality of care our veterans deserve this is what i'm called to do. >>> it's going to be a hot and humid afternoon let's look at the numbers. they tell the total story. check out the dinner time numbers. still 94 degrees. lunch and dinner on the way to 98. right now, we're in the low 70s. >>> here's what the news room will be followed for you today. an insurance agent in louisiana shoots into investgaters. >>> jay rule will be sentenced today. adrian is the first named storm of the season. >>> also, the heat is closing schools early this day. >>> key testimony in the case of a city police officer accused of killing an unarmed former marine. what the dead man's sister said in court. >> it's anonymous, the person that called it in last night -- >> the police scramble to a home in texas expecting to find dozens of dead i

for me, it was a calling to be there for the veterans who protect our freedoms working with today's vai can use my license anywhere in the u.s. in the city or the wide open spaces it's amazing how you can grow as a doctor a nurse a pharmacist you grow as a person it's the quality of care our veterans deserve this is what i'm called to do. >>> good morning! it's wednesday. i'm andrea roane. >> we're almost there, sort of. angie will have traffic in just a moment. mr. howard bernstein has your weather first. >> we're almost there. >> heat is building big time today. >> yesterday, we got to 90. the heat wave will become official tomorrow. today we're going to be well in the 90s. we'll flirt with 100 degrees today and tomorrow in spots. the humidity also. so, serious heat. kind of like we had at the beginning of last week. we start in the 60s and 70s near 80 by 9:00. mid-90s at 5:00 5:00. a few thunderstorms have been moving like yesterday, we saw the thunderstorms. this is weaker than yesterday. still a severe thunderstorm watch box across northwestern pennsylvania and generally clear ski

the house did voice and approval over the role for military construction and the va bill, but they have not finished up on homeland security. we expect more work on both bills when they returned. they are in recess as house democrats are meeting with president obama at this hour. live coverage here on c-span when the gavel back in. >> today marks the first time when our legislative branch in its entirety will appear on that medium of communication through which most americans get their information about what our government and our country does. >> several times today this has been referred to as an historic occasion. whether or not it will be an historic occasion is, i think, a subject for the judgment of history. >> this week marks 25 years of televised coverage of the u.s. senate. on the first day in 1986, c- span2 was carried in a little more than 6.5 million homes. now it is in over 89 million homes. watch all of our coverage online at the c-span library. it is all searchable, cheryl and free. -- shareable and free. this weekend, authors on native americans, sexual politics, the tal