it's clear the va must be more efficient and more productive. the department needs to demonstrate that can manage a complex facilities portfolio, that it can create with the department of defense and integrated records system, that it can regularly and accurately produce key data for decision makers and oversight entities. and most importantly provide the veterans the highest quality and cost-effective benefits possible. all of these things are possible. they are possible through some of the steps i've outlined. if confirmed, i will work to transform the department of veterans affairs. i will continue to partner with you at all the departments stakeholders. va has made great strides in serving veterans thanks to the commitment of many dedicated employees, and the hard work with our partners and advocates in the community. but the va is in crisis. the veterans are in need. there is much to do. but i can think of no higher calling, no higher calling than to serve our veterans who have so simply -- so selflessly served all of us. with your support i

when you look at the typical va patient. when you start talking panel sizes, specialty care, you have to take into account the very different patient population that the va is dealing with. the number of primary care patients that a commission sees at va is in all likelihood going to be different than what you see in the private sector. secondly, there are oftentimes factors, for example space. we talked about that earlier. i think the average in the private sector for primary care is to and have treatment runs for a primary care provider. and i do not know that we have good data on what that looks like a cross va but i strongly suspect we do not have those resources. in the case of specialty care, one of the places we are significantly under a leveraged addressed and these numbers in this request is on average one support person for every specialty care provider. that compares to a goal or target of three and a half to one. we are under leveraging specialty care providers and as a result they are not seeing as many patients

the houston va wouldn't fill the prescriptions from the grand junction va because he said they were not transferrable and a new assessment would have to be done before prescribing them. he had two appoints and neither were where a correct doctor. he did see the doctor and after that appointment he called me on his way home and said mom, i cannot go back there. the va is too stressful and not somewhere i can go. two weeks after that appointment clay took his life. after clay's death i went to the va medical center to retrieve his medical records and i encountered a stressful environment. large crowds, no one at the desk and i had to flag down a nurse. i cannot imagine how anyone dealing with mental health injuries could access care in a stressful setting without making their systems worse. he was open about ptsd and surviv survivors guilt. he worked hard to move forward and found healing by helping people including participating in work in haiti and chile after the earthquakes. he served in a public service campaign aimed at helping the wound weariewariers. clay fought for veterans and p

at the va is a disaster. what is the answer to the question of how can we possibly trust you now, even for another billing for i.t. when all of that money has been unaccounted for in the revelation underwrote i think that a shocking than the american taxpayers deserve an answer as to where did the money go and how can they trust you with another 17 million or one alien in i.t. after? either of you. >> i was listening for a questionnaire. >> my question is how can the american people trust you for more money? >> i'd be glad to give you a laydown of the brick i.t. does on an annual basis. the projects undertaken, the system is maintained and developed in the functionality delivered. >> mr. chairman, if i can watch one final question. the information we heard that day from the guy in charge of i.t. was correct. they could not have possibly been correct information where people are taking a nose they were using outdated scheduler software when he simply sat there to the bad boy made no money. were compliant, we ar

the houston va would not refill the prescriptions that clay had received from the grand junction va because they said the prescriptions were not transferrable and a new assessment would have to be done before his medications could be represcribed. clay had only two appointments in january and february of 2011, and neither was with a psychiatrist. it wasn't until march 15 that clay was able to see a psychiatrist at the houston va medical center. but after that appointment, clay called me on his way home and said, mom, i can't go back there. the va is way too stressful and not a place i can go. i'll have to find a vet center or something. just two weeks after his appointment with the psychiatrist at the houston va medical center, clay took his life. after clay's death, i personally went to the houston va medical center to retrieve his medical records, and i encountered an environment that was highly stressful. there were large crowds, no one was at the information desk, and i had to flag down a nurse to ask directions to the medical records area. i cannot imagine how anyone dealing with menta

half of the retaliation cases involve the va. the bullying of patients and va employees that report wrongdoing must stop now. i sent a letter to acting secretary gibson last month asking him to remind all va employees as their rights as whistle blowers. it isn't enough they are informed of their rights the va must deliver a culture of zero tolerance for whistle blower retaliation at all levels of its organization. employees shouldn't be afraid of ruining careers or loosing jobs for speaking up when something is wrong. patients shouldn't fear they would be denied care because they feel something is wrong. ... ... whistleblowers are necessary. my question is for all of our witnesses. if you could name one thing that the va could do it immediately to change the culture of silencing whistleblowers, what would it be and we will start with you doctor mathews. >> if i had one wish it would be that data integrity is there. and we have demonstrated over and over again they will make a number that comes up with lies like doctor mitchell sai

as noted in the office of special counsel report va leadership has repeatedly failed to respond to the concerns raised by whistle blowers concerning patient care at va. despite the best efforts of truly committed employees at the hec and the veteran health administration who have risked their careers to stand up for veterans, management at all levels have ignored them or retaliated against them for simply exposing the truth. some of the critical issues reported by whistle blowers at the hec include mismanaging critical veteran health programs and wasting millions of dollars on an affordable care act direct mail campaign. the possible purging and deletion of over 10,000 veteran health records at the health eligibility center. a back log of over 600,000 pending health applications. nearly 40,000 unprocessed applications discovered in january of 2013. these were primarily applications from returning service members from iraq and afghanist afghanistan. the ewrath that i've experience include my whistle-blower complaint to white house deputy chief of staff was leaked to my manager sherry wi

you said the va was great. and a lot of good people tomorrow are going to get up and go to work and take the very best care of patients they can. how can we lose trust anything they say when we have panel after panel explained these agree just things that have occurred and let me give you an example it is almost impossible to make a politician speechless but the va has done that. when you have to severely ill veterans a second veteran was admitted to the facility in 2000 through the chronic mental-health issues yet first comprehensive psychiatric evaluation didn't occur until 2011. how in the world in a healthcarh care system in america could that have been anywhere? and let me go on. no modifications occur until 2011 when another doctor mack came along and reevaluated this veteran. despite these findings, they would not acknowledge the confirmed neglect of residence in the facility had any impact on patient care the typical answer is a harmless era approach completed in the field but in some areas that are in c

that's not who uses the va. erage number of presentations at that time was five to seven presentations, veterans coming into the hospitals, and today among the youngest veterans, it's 14 presentations. it figures in one to three presentation. it doesn't take a rocket scientist, even i can figure out if you're going to fall further and further and further behind if you use that to estimate what it is going to be. we need to jump that and go to a more realistic funding case on the needs of the people. the last thing i want to comment on, and as an appendix to today, people have been saying where are we going to find the medical professionals? .. >> thank you for your testimony, s. now we'll recognize mr. nicholson for fiven minutes. >> vice chair bilirakis and distinguished members of the committee, on behalf of the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america, we appreciate the opportunity to share with you our views and rom

>> my experience in the st. louis va have productivity data for every psychiatrist as to the number of patients being seen. and i know that there is only one who perhaps didn't get the full performance based for what could consider to be the bonus and that's me because actually for their own reasons they were correct. you could accomplish what i set out to do but just do what you want to do it you will not get into trouble for not working. the only reason i think one can get in trouble is by identifying problems and then coming forward. so that has to change. and i think it is a complex issue with the college culture, that the fix can be very simple and demanding the data and holding people accountable. you know, that once that starts to happen and some senior positions, not people that redesigned again, they have high integrity that they re-sign because they have integrity, but the people who don't care, those people need to b be fired be fit it sends a message that this is not -- this cannot be tolerated anymore. so i

i will look forward to asking the va question. i yield back. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. chairman and thank you to all the families being with us today. for many of us sitting here today, the pain is to recognize your commitment to give meaning to your sons' lives. i'm the mother of two sons 22 and 25. i can't fathom what you are going through. i want you to know we will do our part to give meaning to their lives. it makes me feel, personally, i'm becoming more and more anti-war/pro-veteran. i think our country had those priorities misplaced getting us into conflict, but not being focused on the cost, societal cost to our country and to the population. these extraordinary young men and the promise that they held going to haiti and making a difference right here. i want to focus in because i think from your experience you can really help the va and the dod to understand what could make a difference. i want to commend you all with the specificity of your recommendations. in particular, i've been trying to understand bes

sloan gibson acting secretary of the va. thank you very much for joining us to get a set update on the department of veterans affairs and we look forward to hearing your testimony. secretary gibson is accompanied by mr. philip matkovsky the assistant deputy undersecretary for administrative operations. in your prepared remarks will be submitted for the record. secretary gibson, senator tester you have 40 major statement. secretary gibson please begin. >> mr. chairman forgive me if i dispense with the traditional niceties and get straight to business. as has been recounted this morning we have serious problems. here's how i see the issues. first and foremost veterans have waited too long for care. second, scheduling improprieties were widespread including deliberate acts to falsify scheduling data. third, environment it has forced many staff members are free to raise concerns or offer suggestions for fear of retaliation. fourth, an attempt to manage performance at a number of metrics have become the focal point for staff inste

it's not all the claims at the va. so that promise is only made to someone who is filing an original claim or a claim that needs to go to the rating board. if you have a different kind of claim it may not be included in the definition of the backlog. so it depends what you file and what end product is on it to determine if you are included in the backlog or not. >> and what i have heard also is that the problem that we have, and i haven't heard anybody say we don't have enough money going at the problem. unrealistic goals and then basically accountability. no one is acountable. and i think those are the things -- and basically just leadership at the local level. and so i would assume that in the various regions around the country, the outcomes could be very different. if my claims are sent to one region, i may get adjudicated fairly rapidly. in another reason, maybe not so

get in the door. va scheduling technology is outdated, i believe 30 years old. it is secondary to the need for additional resources such as doctors, nurses, other health care professionals. physical space, inappropriately trained administrative support personnel. since our last hearing the senate also passed a comprehensive bipartisan pill that would address some major issues impacting access to timely medical care at the va. it passed by an overwhelming 93 votes. we seldom get 93 votes for anything in the united states senate. right now we're in the fourth week. there isn't much to show for it. those questions would be good to get answered today too. because some members of this body, i think, of the conference committee, are balking at the cost. look, we just shipped 800 folks off to iraq. i didn't hear one person talk about cost. back in 2003 when we invaded iraq, i was not here, but i certainly never heard anybody talk about the cost. and making sure that there were offsets for that cost. look, these

acting secretary of the va, sloan gibson, to assess the needs of the va. we said, sloan, you're in there, tell us. what are the needs of the va? what he has told my committee, and i understand today has told the house committee, is that, in fact, the va needs more doctors, more nurses, more medical personnel and more space so that we do not, two years from now, find ourselves in the exact same place that we are today. but it's not just sloan gibson. yesterday 16 major veterans organizations, these are the people who in many ways know the va better than anybody else, because these are the folks going into the va. 16 major veterans organizations, including the vfw, the disabled american veterans, the vietnam veterans, the paralyzed veterans of america, the iraq-afghanistan veterans of america and many others, they made the same exact point. and the point that they made is, yes, we have to provide

i do however have concerns in the va oig shares the concern that the resources needed to achieve va'sbacklogged goals are being directed and applied disproportionately ultimately harming other veteran services. i refer in particular to nonreading workload benefits delivery at discharge independent disability of valuation system and appeals to name a few. we have heard over and over again of the dangers and failures of a system geared towards defining success based on narrow fixed metrics. then as now -- not how good customer services deliver. that is not our veterans perceive success and why should they? what good is it for a veteran if vba process his or her rating in an unacceptable period of time that then takes years to add a dependent? from july 2010 to july 2014 the number of backlogged dependency claims cases has gone from 9367 to 192,322. this represents a nearly 2000% increase. since march of last year the number of pending appeals has gone up 12% and continues to increase. there are personnel issues as well. we have heard reports of an unacceptable practices and challenges t

in partnership with the va. to begin to repair the damage that has resulted from systemic failures, that have undermined the trust veterans have always placed in the veterans administration. to begin to change the culture at va, there are several reforms we must pursue to ensure veterans have access to timely, quality health care. now, the start of an effective congress, and a conference, comes with accurate numbers. and since ranking member michaud mentioned cbo, let me talk numbers for just a minute. va is basically broken down in two sides. the veterans benefit administration and the veterans health administration. last year, this congress for this year appropriated $55 billion for vha. the veterans health administration. of that $55 billion, most members would be shocked to know that 48% goes to direct patient care. we're talking about $27 billion of appropriated money goes to the delivery of health care to our nation's veterans. 52% goes to administration and other programs that emanate out of the vha budget

fifth, the va has failed to hold people accountable. and last we lack physicians, space, staff, information technology and perchase care funding to meet the current demand for timely health care. furthermore we don't have the capacity to quantify the staffing because we have not built resources from the bottom up. we have instead managed to a budget number. as a consequence of all of the failures the trust that is the foundation of all we do, the trust of the veterans we serve and the trust of the american people and their elected representatives has eroded. we will have to earn that trust back through deliberate and decisive action and by creating an open, transparent approach to deal with veterans. to begin restoring trust we focused on six key priorities. get veterans off the wait list and into clinics. fix systemic scheduling problems, address cultural issues, hold people accountable, establish regular and ongoing disclosures of information, and finally quantify the resources needed to consistently deliver timely, high quality health

the va. ten years ago, decade or so ago, we went to war, the government didn't really envision the number or the severity of injuries that would come out of the afghan and iraq war. i think we probably also undercounted the number of agent orange men and women, men and women exposed to agent orange that would be under presumptive eligibility to be coming into the va system with illnesses that were serious and took a high level of care. that's the importance of the va. we know that those who are in the va system get good care. it's access to the system that both senator burr and chairman sanders underscored that is so very, very important. the three issues that i know when mr. mcdonald came to my office, we've had two face to face lengthy conversations and one over the phone since he was selected for this job. he understands reexamining the va employee evaluations, how important that is, restoring accountability among the va senior managers and then ensuring that the focus of the entire departm

the person is still in the supervisory role at the va. no apology, nothing. i somehow survived that. the retaliation. the problem they have is the va and the veterans deserve better than matter what happens to me to focus should be on the veterans of the country. i somehow survived that process. and again i was retaliated when i gave my opinion on the investigation of the physician that was wrongly terminated. i was asked to change my testimony and i stopped getting paid for two weeks. i didn't lose my house, but the harm that it causes the family members of federal workers who are being retaliated against cannot be measured. two young girls i would be proud if they decided to join the armed forces or work for the va. i think the va has the potential to be one of the finest institutions in the world. we have seen certain aspects of pharmacy cannot be matched. it's one of the best in the world. a very efficient. but there are those that are efficient within the system. but what we should ask of assaults when someone came up with the idea of seeing a veteran in

we learned of others like how the va treats whistleblowers and the reality of the va report, the new appeared the va is a good product. when veterans get to see a va doctor they like the care that they get. when veterans get the eligibility rating, start receiving the benefits, they find those to be useful and helpful. but the business model for producing delivering and supporting the va product is fundamentally broken. we have heard this time and again over the course of these hearings. there is a clear cultural problem at the department of veterans affairs to asian. there are scheduling failures and technology problems, inconsistent office practices lead to a backlog that appears to be tackled at the expense of other services. the department of veterans affairs station is a sprawling agency that offers critical services to millions of our veterans. it's clear to me that we need a business minded approach to reform the agency. more of the same isn't going to solve the underlying problem. tweaks and band-aids around the margins are not going to sustain the system. we need a new model

is the va managing a? are we keeping track of what's going on so all of the aspects of that veteran as he is being treated are being properly managed. >> great feedback. thanks again. >> mr. walz did you have an additional question? >> if anyone wanted to follow-up and we are going to nick a decision next week what are we going to come out with? >> mr. walz i would say this. i've resigned myself that something would pass in a particular had concerns with the choice act. the great irony of this is both of the committees went into conference with probably the most difficult part of legislation virtually marrying each other and other provisions the senate bill. you went into conference close to one another and somehow they are going further and further part on your own. i need that happens. it's just amazing. i assume the choice act or whatever the final name is going to be is going to pass. my concern is not that bill. my concern is what happens next. i don't want this to become the into the debate. mr. chair

i will look forward to asking the va question. i yield back. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. chairman and thank you to all the families being with us today. for many of us sitting here today, the pain is to recognize your commitment to give meaning to your sons' lives. i'm the mother of two sons 22 and 25. i can't fathom what you are going through. i want you to know we will do our part to give meaning to their lives. it makes me feel, personally, i'm becoming more and more anti-war/pro-veteran. i think our country had those priorities misplaced getting us into conflict, but not being focused on the cost, societal cost to our country and to the population. these extraordinary young men and the promise that they held going to haiti and making a difference right here. i want to focus in because i think from your experience you can really help the va and the dod to understand what could make a difference. i want to commend you all with the specificity of your recommendations. in particular, i've been trying to understand bes

can the acting va secretary succeed with this leadership? >> my answer would have to be i don't know. they have been in office for some time now. if the problems are still persisting it is time for a change. that is my opinion. >> no. >> ma'am, would you like to respond? >> i think the people under the secretary are letting the under secretary down. i don't think they are being truthful to the under secretary about the regional offices. i feel someone is responsible for the va and all of the problems but in my office there are far too many people to hold accountab accountable. >> thank you for your testimony. >> mr. soto, i understand you worked at this office for four years, is that correct? >> yes, sir. >> had you served the va in this capacity prior to other offices? >> yes, but i prefer not to discuss that. >> i want to get a sense of how long your served the va? >> 15 year i have been a government employee. >> all at the va? >> no. >> how long at the va? >> ten years. >> and mr. robinson, you have been at the office nine years, did you s

the va audits on the front and. so the taxpayers are given more credibility we should not be overpaying. no veteran should read see they claim that does not deserve it. if they're is a group that has the benefit of the doubt on their side it would be this group so here is my dilemma, and i ask this of you. we have resources to the va to an obscene amount to. we have done nothing for it. that definition of insanity -- and this is from congress, from the administration, the va, how do i go back to my taxpayers and tell them we don't have enough? county you respond? is it so bonn will -- when i hear you cannot find a copier, it is just atrocious, the amount we have put. can we comment? >> that general tools you need to do your job or not there. we start out by having enough printers and copiers. every time i walk to pick up the print, that is wasting time. you're not allowed to have a printer at your desk. i have no idea why. if you leave your paper in the printer you can get in trouble. you run the risk of chatting wi

the dallas va where mitchell had his surgery tells cnn this meets the standard of care at the va and that mitchell didn't have a typical type of skin cancer and therefore did not have a typical treatment plan. we talked to cancer surgeons outside the va and they say they don't wait two and a half months to operate on their patients. more like a few weeks at the most. >> the patients here wait months to get their cancer removed? >> no. certainly not. dr. carl is a cancer surgeon. he did a study of cancer surgery wait times at the va compared to other hospitals. >> the waits were roughly twice that of community hospitals. >> reporter: waits to remove liver cancers or colon cancers were more than twice as long at the va. his team first reported their findings three years ago. >> reporter: do you think

even though i am not there yet we want the va to get there. of course that is going to take training, working with the employees, and what would you recommend? because, you know, you cannot process the number of cases and caseloads that need to be processed by hand. >> i totally agree. the problem is the computer system that the va uses are outdated and they don't work correctly so i would rather use the paper folder system than the computer system. the va had computer systems like maybe if apple designed them it might work better. i can do more on my i-phone faster. >> we have given them money to upgrade. we have discussed it over and over and over again. that is not acceptable. we have to take them into the next century. we have to have the new technology. >> i totally agree with you. but if you sat down next to us you would see why there is a backlog. we have to click on a large amount of documents and sometimes hundreds you need to look at in the computer. when you click to open it and sometimes it doesn't open, sometimes it is the wrong pe

and a scandal not just about veterans' access to care about the va, but the va covering up the problemterans were not getting access to care. today president obama announced he was tapping a new choice for va secretary. his name is robert mcdonald. he's a man with a limited military background, but a very robust and polished big business background. >> what especially makes bob the right choice to lead the va right now is his three decades of experience in building and managing one of the world's most recognized companies, procter & gamble. at ceo of procter & gamble, bob oversaw more than 120,000 employees with operations around the world selling products in more than 180 countries, in more than 2 million stores reaching some 5 billion customers. in his career he's taken over struggling business units, he knows how to roll up his sleeves and gets to work putting an end to what doesn't work, adopting best practices that do, restructuring, making operations more efficient and effective. in short, he's about delivering better results. >> the new choice to run the va, robert mcdonald, he

i mean, the va has had three nobel prize winners. that's the kind of thing that i would think health care professionals want to be a part of. so it would be my intention we really tout that innovate five capability that the va has had for years but bring it out and use that to recruit the very best people who want to make a big difference in other's lives. >> in the west haven facility as i believe i told you when we met, i asked for site specific information relate to the audit that was done. in fact, a letter from our delegation asking general shinseki for that site-specific audit data relating to all the locations in connecticut. and i'm referring to the audit that was done during the spring not the wait-time data. i'd like a kit i commitment to you that i'll commitment to you that i'll receive i response to that letter. >> we'll respond to the letter, senator blumenthal. >> i'd like your commitment also that you'll respond to a letter i recently more recently wrote to the deputy or acting secretary of the va, asking for an explana

the va has become this orthodox. ey have become a zen masters at ptsd and so they eventually dictate their research agenda. they dictate the public agenda and in my mind they have become a little bit fixed in their ways on how ptsd can be looked at in how it's going to be treated as a public subject is largely dominated by the va. international organizations and the u.n. communicates and looks to the va in large measure for leadership in ptsd research. we found ptsd research around the world in the netherlands and in london and in south africa and australia. we pay for their ptsd research because we have money. >> anyone else care to comment about the golf? >> i would like to say the obvious thing which there is no va for the contractors although many of the contractors are like my son, recent veterans who go into the war sounds for the same reasons they went into the war to begin with. rumsfeld's idea was that in the privatization they would pay them very well and then they could cut them loose. so there was no brief

i'm strong defender of the va system. to be perfectly honest i wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for the help i received from the va system when i returned from iraq. that being said as patient of va system i had appointments canceled. i showed up to clinics where they said we can't see you today. i had months long waiting periods for appointments. i'm just one example. we need to balance it correctly. outside care can be appropriate but we can't use it as catch-all as i outlined in the testimony. or supplement for the competencies va has especially on issues like combat related mental health care or prosthetics or specialty services as my colleague rick weidman related to toxic exposures in the war zone. >> you know, you're exactly right about private care. i have a secretary in my office who went into a doctor almost four weeks ago now. she need surgery. the doctor recommended she have two appointments she needed to make before she could have the surgery. one was scheduled at that time for this past tuesday. the

to the public image that the va wishes to project. in 2013 i submitted a confidential oig complaint regarding a life threatening issues within the phoenix va system. approximately ten days after the national va received my report i was placed on administrative leave. i was placed on probation because of my information provided to the oig. eventually i would receive a written counseling stated that i violated the specific patient policy but to this day my human resources department refuses to tell me the name of the policy i violated. this is relatively minor retaliation considering what happened during my last three years as medical director in the emergency department. during that time we were grossly understaffed in physicians and nurses. there was insufficient staffing to wash beds, answer the phones, wash beds, and doctors and nurses got pulled away. when the number of patient visits increased, the number of mistakes as well as near misses in our nursing triage skyrocketed. symptoms such as stroke, heart attack, pneumonia, blood in

they bring it over to the va to be able to put it on our website. right now we are in discussions about what is the mechanism. it means to be high and the organization. i yield back the balance of my time mr. chairman. with the whistleblower case load whistleblowers can you tell us what the congres congress can dp alleviate the amount of time on the activities that you can continue to take care of the needs of the va whistleblowers? i want to start by noting that the committee has been particularly supportive as the staff and the oversight investigation subcommittee for their work on this issue and their work with our agency we consider it to be a real partnership and we are very grateful for this committee's support. we have received a number of referrals from this committee and we appreciate your confidence and ability to work with the employees that your office refers. so that's one thing. it's already happening. we are doing everything that we possibly can. we've set up a priority system and we free allocated staff to handle the va employee claim

the va is set up for fraud for every gi that volunteers to pay into the va. make it mandatory because it's a thing about agreed that all contractors that makes anything for the military is 100% made in the united states also, we instituted a draft. any time we talk about sending troops to a foreign country, we put the draft back in. also, to send a gi over there match that funneled and put it into settle all of that. make the contractors pay for it. >> again, there are competing va proposals out there. the house has passed its. the senate passed its version, the senate version $25,000,000,000 and the house 2 years, 2 billion drear proposal. the two committees are likely to meet sometime early next week, probably monday. we haven't got a confirmed word on that caleb, what's on your to do list for congress. >> my on to do list as a student is to first make sure they pass the va bill for healthcare and then they need to pass a bill that talks about the border and protects us because we don't want illegal children and illegal migrants come into our country. them,

acting head of the va. maybe with the permanent head coming in, things will change. hope springs eternal. a reminder for you folks back home, mr. davis suffered financially for speaking out as he did. so he got no financial gabe gain from coming out and coming forward like he did, including maybe his own. >>> massachusetts is a long way from the mexican border, so what got these protesters gothe floog whether they're a long way from that border or not. u.s.a.! u.s.a.! u.s.a.! i'd get a deal for tonight with deals for tonight from hotels.com. and you might want to get that pipe fixed. say "hi" rudy. [ barks ] [ chuckles ] i'd do anything to keep this guy happy and healthy. that's why i'm so excited about these new milk-bone brushing chews. whoa, i'm not the only one. it's a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. clinically proven as effective as brushing. ok, here you go. have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth? the twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line, even reaching the bac

i will look forward to asking the va question. i yield back. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. chairman and thank you to all the families being with us today. for many of us sitting here today, the pain is to recognize your commitment to give meaning to your sons' lives. i'm the mother of two sons 22 and 25. i can't fathom what you are going through. i want you to know we will do our part to give meaning to their lives. it makes me feel, personally, i'm becoming more and more anti-war/pro-veteran. i think our country had those priorities misplaced getting us into conflict, but not

i froze the va central office harry. the ag has dispatched direct assistance to facilities requiring the most improvement including a large team on the ground and phoenix right now. in addition, we have taken action on of the recommendations made in the ig may interim report. senior executive awards have been suspended. additionally, i have directed a fundamental revision of all medical center and visitor performance objectives to ensure they are aligned with suspicion -- patient outflows. i have repeatedly taken a firm stand on the subject of possible retaliation. in messages to the entire work force and numerous face-to-face meetings with employees and leaders i have made it clear that we will not tolerate retaliation against whistle-blowers. furthermore, i committed that we will achieve compliance. she and i have agreed to streamline the process by which we work together to insure proper was a blower protection. we have also established internal processes to ensure appropriate personnel actions are taken where retaliat

the va has led the way in the effort that the va is doing this internally so this is happening within the walls of the va and the concepts we are pushing are actually to go beyond the walls. if we want to promote recovery and integration we need veterans working with each other and the committee day. >> some of those things i read out of the act of the va is doing this could be applied the same white? >> absolutely. >> nrd are. >> that's right. >> thank you members for being here. under the threat of subpoena we finally got from va the 2013 mental health employee survey and if i can i want to read just a few excerpts and ask if you will comment. leadership is disrespectful autocratic and uncaring. they are clear that they are getting bonuses as the top priority if we want to keep our jobs this is leadership from the center director on down that i ever heard of. an excellent poor leadership administrative skills causing more confusion and disorganization in times when my superior does not fully find out all aspects of the issues before issuing a decree in the third one no effective lea