i basically stopped working with the va because from day one -- one of the problems in the va and againspector general, is that whether you complain as a patient or you complain as an employee problems get pushed down and don't go up. in my case i reported the facility director reported my service line manager, i reported david houlihan and for the first couple of months in the quote/unquote investigation, everything hot potato got handed down to them to investigate themselves. unless something changes, nothing is going to change. even until today i'm being retaliated against. i have a police report that was done five months after i left the facility talking about my instability and how i'm crazy. in a police report black and white, i've got mental health professionals calling me crazy and contracts with multiple people in the tomah facility accessing my medical records after i left and compound that with the fact that i never received care at the tomah va facility. >> in a facility you never received care in but against which you were bringing forward some of these accusations from oth

rather than the outside of va. this is about ensuring every veteran who received the care they have earned and deserves regardless of where they choose to get it from. mr. chairman members of the committee we meet today at an historically important time for va in the nation. march will mark the 150th anniversary of president lincoln solemn promise to those who have fought in the most devastating war in our country's history. he promised that we care for those in the battle and their families and their survivors. that is va's primary mission. it's our only mission. as the noblest mission supporting the gray assist of any agency in the country and we count on your support to uphold that sacred commitment. thank you again for your unwavering support for veterans, for working with us on these budget request and for making things better for all of our great nation's veterans. we look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much mr. secretary for your testimony and as we approach president lincoln's birthday tomorrow

we believe in the va system. we believe the choices are important because we have to get access to care for veterans but we want to make sure the veteran still have access to that system. secretary mcdonald talked about the demand expanding beyond b.a.s capability. we need to make sure the resources are allocated to meet those demands that we can't lose sight of the focus. the va that we want to be the leader in pioneering medicine that is the utmost expert in so many conditions. you look at traumatic brain injury preview look at post-traumatic stress disorder. you look at amputation injuries. there is no reason the va should not be the world's leading authority on that and we need to make that happen. that comes from everybody working together and everyone being on the same page. american legion is devoted to that. the a's request for an additional 770 full-time employees who work on the claims backlog it's important and it's a good point they have been given more staff and were supposed to have been increasing t

we believe in the va system. we believe the choices are important because we have to get access to care for veterans but we want to make sure the veteran still have access to that system. it is there because -- secretary mcdonald talked about the demand expanding beyond v.a.'s capability. the va that we want to be the leader in pioneering medicine that is the utmost expert in so many conditions. you look at traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder. you look at amputation injuries. there is no reason the va should not be the world's leading authority on that and we need to make that happen. that comes from everybody working together and everyone being on the same page. american legion is devoted to that. the va's request for an additional 770 full-time employees who work on the claims backlog it's important and it's a good point they have been given more staff and were supposed to have been increasing their productivity. you can't deny the fact that they have been on mandatory overtime for four years.

bbb that the va system. e that the trace card is important because we have to get access to care for veterans. but we want to make sure the veterans still have access to that system. it's there because secretary mcdonald talked about the demand expanding beyond the va capability to meet that. while, we need to make sure the resources are allocated to meet those demands that we but we also can't lose sight of the focus that the va that we want to be the leader is pioneering medicine and the utmost expert in so many conditions. you will get a true medic brain injury can you look at posttraumatic stress disorder, amputation injuries. there is no reason of the va shouldn't that ea shouldn't be the world's leading authority on that. and we need to make that happen. that comes from everybody working together and everyone being on the same page. the american legion is devoted to that and we need to look at these pieces. i think the request for an additional 770 full-time employees who work on the claims backlog is i

the component to ss va healthcare process. an independent assessment. let us find implementing the findings and assessments. no know when that's supposed to conclude. >> thank you, representative. required a number of assessments which thankfully we think i'm incredible gift. last week and i spoke to blue ribbon panel they have assembled will take a look across all of the assessment working very hard to make sure that that happens in a looking at all aspects of the operation. >> dollars in the budget to implement the recommendations? >> we expect that this will be a core part of management. for the recommendations is actionable and relevant. were very much looking forward to those. >> thank you. >> if a man going to go back to something that was touched on briefly last time that's what we actually spend. that's what i asked him not knowing the of how many rvus per year that the va generates is a common term used both in private sector and in the va. and then with the total cost. but total cost the domain just what the dr. is getting paid. administration,

. 900 people fired, that's par for the course as far as turnover at the va. it's unclear how many of those firings were truly related to the aftermath of the scandal. anecdote anecdote anecdotely, in terms of your experience is there a sense that it is getting better? >> i was in active service in 2004 and 2008. problematic would have been an understatement. it was completely uncustomer centric, meaning that the soldiers that these employees were attempting to serve felt the least served in their entire community. the attitudes, the professionalism, all needed vast improvement. and i support what my fellow veteran and prior congressman just reiterated about mr. mcdonald, and that is as a veteran, i feel like he brings the leadership skills and skill necessary to correct and move forward in a better manner with the va and lead from the front as opposed to from the rear. >> i think it is not just that the va is still plagued by problems. there seems to be institutional failure issues but here is the secretary of veterans affairs on the streets of los angeles tal

the component to ss va healthcare process. an independent assessment. let us find implementing the findings and assessments. no know when that's supposed to conclude. >> thank you, representative. required a number of assessments which thankfully we think i'm incredible gift. last week and i spoke to blue ribbon panel they have assembled will take a look across all of the assessment working very hard to make sure that that happens in a looking at all aspects of the operation. >> dollars in the budget to implement the recommendations? >> we expect that this will be a core part of management. for the recommendations is actionable and relevant. were very much looking forward to those. >> thank you. >> if a man going to go back to something that was touched on briefly last time that's what we actually spend. that's what i asked him not knowing the of how many rvus per year that the va generates is a common term used both in private sector and in the va. and then with the total cost. but total cost the domain just what the dr. is getting paid. administration,

wounds are seen by everything but it is those conspicuous wounds that often e the ones we deal with in the va and i thought it was great to be able to raise that to the american public. >> rose: nick burns and the film "american sniper" when we return. funding for charlie rose is provided by the following. >> additional funding provided by. >> and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and information services worldwide. >> > captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. >> rose: we begin with president obama and german chancellor angela merkel, the meeting took place amid renewed fighting between ukrainian rebels and ukrainian troops. >> they said they would continue to exert economic pressure but did not agree on how, despite merkel's objection obama would not rule out the use of lethal weapons. >> it is true that if, in fact, diplomacy fails what i have asked my team to do? looat all options. what other means can we put in place to cnge mr. putin's calculus, and the possibility of lethal defense stiff weapons is one those options

there is a new fly in the honey pot in the game i spy the big fat fly. it's va secretary robert mcdonnell who did a bit of overexaggerating with the homeless veteran, perhaps he misremembered his own military path but got caught up as the two chatted about special forces. take a look. >> you happen to be a veteran? >> yes. >> really? army, navy? >> army. >> army? what unit. >> special forces. >> i was in special forces. kennedy: i was in special forces! he, of course, was not in the special forces, mcdonnell did graduate from west point in 1975. he completed ranger school, did not become a ranger. i cannot fault the guy for his enthusiasm but there are a few vets claiming stolen valor, so mcdonnell promptly returned it and apologized. that was the less egregious lie he told. he blabbed about swinging the ax 60 times at the scandal-plagued va. >> 900 people have been fired since i became secretary. we've got 60 people fired who manipulated wait times. kennedy: actually, no, according to politifact. 20 or fewer have paid with jobs from that incident and an agency

we'll have all the latest. >>> and fixing the va. what the agency's new leader has done. >> 900 people have been fired since i've been secretary. >> and what's still ahead, making sure veterans have the care they deserve. >>> plus one year out, we have brand-new numbers in the race for 2016 from first three states that will start the voting. >>> and 40 years of funny. >> 40th

we 135e7bdspend a lot of time talk about the dod/va collaboration. e of my colleagues by benefit of the having issues. and shared services and we talked about the need to do better standardization, have standardized policies and we've actually had conversations with the secretary of va about that and we talked to people at the department of defense about that. i'm going to ask commissioner boyer to talk a little bit about some of the additional specifics here as we -- as to how we respond to the challenge of that and what we did about it within our recommendations. commissioner boyer. >> thank you. senator, earlier we talked about the real empowerment of the joint executive committee. and it really lies to the heart of ensuring that two departments of government work together seamlessly. so as that solder sailor, and marine transfer into the va they shouldn't feel it. they should feel that medical record is there and the doctor who's just taken other my care that there is true continuity of that care. and that joint executive committee that has author

what are they saying about the head of the va lying about his service? e i mean i can getup set bit, but really it is the veterans what they care matters most. >> frustrated. the american legion came out with very strong statement. you can't set example by lying about service record they used that word, not us. there is general frustration he could be become distraction. they want real solutions and options. that is the first time choice is suggested this report is the second. legislators, they're listening to veterans. we commissioned a poll. 90% of the veterans want choice with health care. they want ability to go out of the system that is not serving them well. thanks for indulging me, ladies. >> great idea, pete. >> republican governor and possible presidential candidate scott walker is appears to walking back remarks about fame and fortune. had nothing to do with any potential rivals. did he mean to take a swipe into jeb bush or is the media reading too much what he said. >>> hillary clinton said time to crack every glass ceiling, giving a hint of wh

we 135e7bdspend a lot of time talk about the dod/va collaboration. it was mentioned earlier by one of my colleagues by benefit of the having issues. and shared services and we talked about the need to do better standardization, have standardized policies and we've actually had conversations with the secretary of va about that and we talked to people at the department of defense about that. i'm going to ask commissioner boyer to talk a little bit about some of the additional specifics here as we -- as to how we respond to the challenge of that and what we did about it within our recommendations. commissioner boyer. >> thank you. senator, earlier we talked about the real empowerment of the joint executive committee. and it really lies to the heart of ensuring that two departments of government work together seamlessly. so as that solder, sailor, and marine transfer into the va they shouldn't feel it. they should feel that medical record is there and the doctor who's just taken other my care that there is true continuity of that care. and that joint exec

he did complete army ranger training, and this afternoon mcdonald said he was sorry. >> we at the va are working hard to restore trust. again, i apologize to those who may have been offended by misstatement. my biggest motivation was to connect with the veteran. >> mcdonald was brought in last year to clean up help rebuild in trust in the va over patient wait times and hospital cover ups. >>> looking at another cold day. did not make it above freezing. looking at snow in southern maryland. we'll come back and let you know if that's a harbinger for more significant snow heading your way on thursday. >>> the feds say there will not be civil rights charges against george zimmerman. their reasoning after the break. i know grandma's house isn't the most exciting, but it's only for a few hours. look what i've got. when you get verizon fios, you get beautiful hd picture quality, super fast internet, and america's most reliable network. so you won't miss a second of that movie, that game they love, or those moments with family. can we sleep over? please! come on! make your house the house whe

we'll get off your back when you clean up the va. he will not resign. lready stated he wouldn't do that. i wouldn't expect him to, in this white house nobody resigns. the white house supports him. guess what? we'll watch you and keep track of every single thing you're doing. as veterans and americans we have complete lack of confidence trusting you we have been nothing but deceived by va for years now. gerri: it is such an upsetting situation because the va is so troubled and so problematic. the another troubling case here the chris kyle court case ruling today on that court case. do you think that veterans generally are satisfied with what happened there? >> oh, i'm sure veterans are thrilled. this man was trying, routh, was trying to play up his veteran status and ptsd status. let me explain to americans out there. there are seven million americans with ptsdps. they're not all veterans. it is anxiety disorder. many on active duty still have that. some most honorable men and women i served with are united states marines. battery tests we have to take ge

mcdonald says he remains "committed to the ongoing effort to reform the va." e the former procter and gamble ceo to take over the va last year after a scandal of false reports and poor treatment of vets. >>> new this morning a man with an alleged connection to the 2011 kidnapping and murder of holly bobo has died. sean austin had an agreement with prosecutors to testify in the killing of the 20-year-old tennessee nursing student but they later rescind they had deal. yesterday his attorney confirmed that austin had killed himself. austin had never been charged but remained a person of inter. two other men are still facing charges. >> philadelphia born comedian bill cosby has scrapped two upcoming shows in upstate new york. his performances this month in pittsburgh and north carolina were also canceled with no explanation. the comedian's tour has been under fire since november as more and more women have come forward making claims of sexual abuse. cosby has not been charged. his attorney denies all accusations. >> it is 4:53 and all new in the next half hour of "

>> this is a big moment for the va. t of fears about this silent killer of veterans. kristen welker at the white house, thank you. >> a programming reminder, we've been hard at work on our inside the va series. this is a joint effort between our team and the nbc news investigative unit. we have some very significant stories we're going to be bringing you in the coming days and weeks. stay tuned for those. >>> that wraps up today's "rf daily." thank you for joining me. now it's time for joy reid and "the reid report." stick around. be asked is "what is it that we can do that is impactful?" what the cloud enables is computing to empower cancer researchers. it used to take two weeks to sequence and analyze a genome; with the microsoft cloud we can analyze 100 per day. whatever i can do to help compute a cure for cancer, that's what i'd like to do. toenail fungus? don't hide it... tackle it with new fda-approved jublia! jublia is a prescription medicine proven to treat toenail fungus. use jublia as instructed by your doctor.

>> jenna, one whistleblower says the va in wisconsin is indicative of the problems with the entire vam. problems get lost in the bureaucracy and veterans ultimately pay the price. now this former secretary at the toma va says it was common knowledge that hospital overprescribed meds. the place he says was nicknamed candy land but anyone who raised issues never got anywhere and usually ended up the target of retaliation. >> it was well known within the toma facility if you raise issues, you are going to -- you will find your way out of the facility. >> reporter: the office of the inspector general issued a report concluding an unusually high amount of owe pe oidss were described. while this and other problems were discussed a marine died. an autopsy determined that jason died from a combination of 15 drugs he was prescribed. his father had seen him that day and complained to the staff that he was overmedicated and incoherent and nothing happened. now the office of democratic senator from wisconsin tammy baldwin, had access had received a copy of that oig report. baldwin is now the subj

now, the secretary of the va is taking a new proactive approach in dealing with the issue. tom brokaw has that story for us tonight from southern california. >> reporter: every two years an army of volunteers fan across greater los angeles. >> we're out doing the count tonight. >> reporter: to count the homeless. and more than one in ten is a veteran. los angeles long has had the largest population of homeless veterans in the country, even though many get a cool reception. it wasn't always that way. in 1888, 300 acres of land were given to the federal government to be permanently maintained as a national home for disabled volunteer soldiers. the va facility was established, but much of what became 387 acres released to outside interests, having nothing to do with the veterans. the land became some of the priciest and most coveted in california, neighborhoods such as brentwood and westwood closed in. veterans like james carr see a raw deal. >> they don't care about any of this. they want to take this property and turn it into what they want. >> reporter: in 2011 a class acti

clay received care through the va. but his struggle towas consistent and by the time the severity was recognized it was too late. clay had taken his life just weeks before and he was 28 years old. amid unimaginable grief. clay's family jake and his fellow veterans made it their mission the pain they endure. they reached out far and wide. they made personal appeals to congress. and thanks to their tireless efforts, and we are particularly grateful to clay's family being able to transform grief into action action. today i will sign the clay hunt save act into law. save stands for suicide prevention for american veterans. it helps in political gaps. it provides clear support and helps veterans trans porting to civilian life. it makes it easier for veterans to find the care they need when they need it. and it includes strict accountability measures so we can track and continually improve these efforts as we learn more. now, this law is not a complete solution. we still have a lot of work to do. our secretary of veterans aff

the culture at the va has not yet changed. mpse of what it's like to be a whistle-blower. they don't engage with you. they retaliate. the secretary attacked a two-tour veteran and he should apologize for it. >> unfortunately we're still talking about the same thing we thought we would be further along. a column yesterday in "wall street journal" about how the va is a system ripe for fraud and abuse. does that play into why you're doing the sum you the you're putting together? >> the government accountability office deemed the veteran healthcare system at risk because of lack of accountable and corrupt culture and that's why concerned vets for american is launching a summit in two weeks in washington, d.c. releasing over a 100-page report to bring accountability to the department of veteran affairs. it's not enough to say you care. you have to create a system that does care and concerned vets of america will do it. a lot of senators will come out to talk about how to fix the system. >> hopefully you walk out with some principles

the va still has a major image problem and a delivery problem on its services. that's what needs to be investigated at this point. >> it's boiled to the point he had to come to the microphone or he made the decision to come to the microphone. he said he misspoke, then misstated. he certainly misrepresented. this was first reported by the cbs evening news at the tail of last year. i want to say it was the beginning of this year, january 30th on the cbs evening news. then "huffington post" asked him about it. e he said, as i thought about it later, i knew this was wrong, he said of his false statement. as he thought about it later, juan williams is with us. he didn't have to think about it later. how could you not know this was wrong? you either were or weren't. >> i think it's obvious that it he's in a situation where he was fabricating a lie, making stuff up. he says trying to develop common ground, some relationship with a homeless veteran. i think lots of credit is being given to him for making the effort. what you have heard today picking up on jeff miller the

president obama picked mcdonald last year to straighten out the scandal-ridden va hospitals. and today, the white house stood behind him saying we take him at his word. but on "meet the press" two weeks ago, he embellished his record at the va. >> we've got 60 people we have fired who manipulated wait times. >> reporter: turns out only 20 were dismissed. of course all this intense scrutiny follows recent controversies over claims made by brian williams and fox news host bill o'reilly about their own war reporting, lester. >> jim, thank you. >>> one more note from washington as he said he would, president obama today vetoed legislation that would have given the green light to extend construction of the keystone xl oil pipeline from canada all the way to the gulf coast. it's just the third veto of his presidency. congressional republicans may try to override the veto, but they appear to be just short of a two-thirds majority in the house and senate that they would need. >>> the mystery in the sky over paris. who is flying drones over major landmarks in the dark of night, and why

away from the facility the ability to get a veterans choice card and seek medical care outside of the va system. as we were putting together projections for the budget, you could imagine that it is quite uncertain how many veterans will ultimately exercise that choice and use that program. so what we have done is to post flexibility that would allow the va to draw from some of the $10 billion that was set aside for that program is needed if it is not fully utilized and in case, for example more veterans than we expect seek healthcare within the va system so what we were trying to deal with is to give flexibility in the resources to deal with some of the uncertainty that we have given that this is a new program and we are not sure how many veterans would choose either to remain in the va system or to seek healthcare using their choice card. ..

now you're also asking them to navigate another system outside of the va. there's just a lot of issues around non-va care. other issue is that wait times for non-va care does not really tracked. so no one really knows how long people are waiting to get care in the community. there's just a lot of issues. it is something we'll be looking at. and the choice act does have several mandates for gao to look at non-va care. >> thank you. obviously, the concern is if these payments are slow and being received, i'm fearful our veterans will receive diminished health care across the board. that is the concern. i thank you. i yield my time. >> i'm concerned too, congressman. we'll stay on top of it. >> thank you, sir. >> we'll resume live coverage of this hearing in a few minutes. we take you live to the white house and a statement from the president. >> good afternoon. today as part of an international coalition of some 60 nations including arab countries, our men and women in uniform continue to fight against isil in iraq and in syria. more than 2,000 coalition air s

here you also have the fact not just of the movie, but of the va scandals that have been going on overonths, where a jury might be predisposed to say, you know, the va really screwed up here. they're the ones who should have kept this guy medicated, locked up, protecting society. >> the va failed to admit him in this situation is one of the allegations. then again, you can have pts and not be insane. most people who struggle with pts don't kill people, or do things violent. most of the anger is inward. >> i think this will come down to the battle of the experts. i think that if the defense does its job, which is to educate this jury on pts, and have the appropriate experts to discuss these issues, maybe you don't have to have seen combat to suffer from this. i really think they have a good chance at this insanity defense. and i rarely say that, because it's so rarely successful. but if ever there was a case it could work, i think this is the one. >> sunny, jeffrey, thank you for your expertise. >>> the battle our military continues to fight when they get home. we'll discuss the problem

when you have the leader now caught in a lie of his own, i think that's very unsettling to all of us who want this va administration to work to tell us the truth about how good or bad the treatment is for veterans and to work to improve that. that's where i think he really had a big hiccup here in terms of his daily work. >> i want to make sure our viewers are with us in terms of what we're talking about. robert mcdonald the other day was caught on video talking to another homeless veteran. in the exchange with this homeless veteran, the homeless veteran said i served in the special forces. and that's when va secretary mcdonald said, hey, i served in the special forces too, even though he didn't. now, he just came out and said the reason for that misstatement as he called it was simply he was trying to connect with that veteran because he ultimately wanted to serve that person. is that a fair thing for him to make a mistake like that when he's having kind of an off-the-cuff conversation? >> you know certainly he probably didn't think it would come back to haunt him. i don't think there was anything d

the va putting them on those secret waiting lists and deceiving congress and spying on investigators o are trying to get to the bottom of it. don't be fooled into thinking that the problems resolved simply because the media doesn't cover lame duck scandals any more. just because one guy at the top resigned, the problems didn't resign. the reason that you don't hear about them is because our vets don't whine. they are not wired to complain. that's why this ran under the radar for so long. [ applause ] well, our debt of gratitude it starts payment with three simple solutions that government can and should do right now. because it is time to demand solutions. first with health care. give vouchers for treatment outside the va. [ applause ] give our vets the same freedom that they gave us and instead of illegal aliens cutting in line and being rewarded with a handout of u.s. benefits, we demand that u.s. vets are first in line. [ cheers and applause ] second allow vets who are re-entering the civilian workforce let them use the skills they learned in the military. today say a vet with supe

mcdonald made the claim on camera while he was in los angeles as part of the va's effort to locate andveterans. he says he remains committed to their ongoing effort to reform the va president obama chose the former procter and gamble ceo to take over the scandal plagued administration last year. >> it's now 5:52. and we continue to follow breaking news. that urgent search for a little girl snatched out of her home. >> police just seized a char delaware, you see there it, but they're still looking for the child who they say was taken by a dangerous man her father. we'll get a live update at 6:00 a.m. >> ♪♪ hey, i lost my debit card. do you guys do instant replacement? (snap!) what just happened? check your wallet. no. ...no way. your debit card should arrive in 7-10 business days. it's time to bank human again. get debit cards on the spot, and no monthly fee checking with just a $100 minimum balance at td bank. america's most convenient bank. . >> ♪♪ >> welcome back. you're taking a live look here out across center city. it's beautiful to look at. not too much fun to go out into this mo

she begged the va hospital not to release him in the final visit two years ago, but doctors did.d chad littlefield. the jury saw video of routh in a parked patrol car after his arrest seen lying down squirming. when an officer asks if he is okay he says he is nervous what is going to happen to him. i have been so paranoid and schizophrenic all day, i don't know what to think of the world now, i don't know if i am insane or sane. lisa green joins me. you pointed out in the past he can't diagnose himself. >> you can't diagnose himself, when you say in a patrol car, i don't know if i am paranoid or schizophrenic, there's something a little neat about that diagnosis. a cynic may say he is laying foundation for insanity defense. that said powerful testimony from his mother of a condition that seemed to occur when he returned from service, hospital stays, those are powerful medications, and he had an array of them to take every day. begging va hospital to keep him with nowhere else to turn, she turns to kyle for help with tragic consequences, so sad. >> how does the prosecution handle

we're making progress. >> we're working on our latest story and investigative stories inside the va. ep you posted on when the next one airs. >> up next they've reportedly killed over 10,000 people just in the past year in night yeareria alone. there's hope that satellite images could help track and even predict boko haram's activities. we'll take a look after this. hey, girl. is it crazy that your soccer trophy is talking to you right now? it kinda is. it's as crazy as you not rolling over your old 401k. cue the horns... just harness the confidence it took you to win me and call td ameritrade's rollover consultants. they'll help with the hassle by guiding you through the whole process step by step. and they'll even call your old provider. it's easy. even she could do it. whatever, janet. for all the confidence you need td ameritrade. you got this. ♪ at kraft we start with eggs oil, and our own crafted vinegar. all expertly blended to make our mayo. so you can take whatever you're making from good to amazing. get inspired at kraftrecipes.com meet the world's newest energy superpower.

it recruits talented psychiatry students to work at the va after graduation. it makes it easier for veterans to find the care they need when they need it. and it includes strict accountability measures so we can track and continually improve these efforts as we learn more. now, this law is not a complete solution. we've still got a lot more work to do. our secretary of veterans affairs, bob mcdonald, is here and is doing a terrific job pushing reforms to get our veterans the care that they deserve. but one of the messages i want to make sure to deliver today, and i know the first lady and joe biden and others have been delivering this continually through their joining forces effort, this is not just a job for government. every community, every american can reach out and do more with and for our veterans. this has to be a national mission. as a nation we should not be satisfied, will not be satisfied until every man and woman in uniform, every veteran, gets the help they need to stay strong and healthy. and this law will not bring clay back as much as we wish it

it isn't that big of a truth stretching. 60 people he claims were fired from the va and that is a verysmall number considering the size of the scandal and really only a third of that. >> i wonder if the word lie is no longer in the dictionary. i would love to hear him and brian williams talk about war stories. it would be quite a conversation. >> the difference is bob mcdonald knew how to fly the helicopt helicopter. >> i think he got excited >> but your not in battle. >> i do agree. it isn't like he said i was formally a military instructor or make a mean dish. he lied about his service. do you think he should be fired? no. but we have become the fake it until you make it society. everybody is lying, no one cares, no fact checking. can this be a lesson between this and brian williams? can people stop lying. there is google. there is cameras and there is that thing called dignity. >> the agency supposed to keep the company safe is at a showdown over funding tied to president obama's executive action on immigration. with the growing threats around the world is now the time for congress

the va is reeling from one of the worst medical scandals in history.essman hoffman was expressing concerns about a denver hospital. that's when the va chief went after the congressman in a very personal way. take a look at the exchange in congress yesterday. voice: hospital in my district that has hundreds of millions of dollars overbudget and years behind schedule. >> if there's a problem in denver, you own it on more than i do. i'll give you my cell phone tonight and you can answer some of the calls and see if i'm making a difference for veterans and see what they say. >> i run a large company, sir. the fundamental challenge -- >> what have you done? gerri: what has he done? he's served two tours of duty in iraq, both as a marine. joining me now mike hoffman. congressman, thank you for being on the show tonight. i have to ask you, what was that like being on the other end of that buzz saw? >> i think it was pretty surprising. (?) >> you know, instead of responding to the important issues i raised about just a lack of competence in va leadership speci

we sent squesquestions over to the va. u for being here this morning. >>> the little league champs stripped to have their title for cheating. but now jesse jackson says it's not about cheating. it's about bigotry somehow. >> six months after the team played the championship game, determined eligibility to play the game in the first place. is this about boundaries or race. >> is that over the line? what does jesse jack so do for a living anyway. >>> more than half of people make this valentine's day mistake. we're going to help you. we're going to tell you what it is so you won't make it. stay tuned for that. my name is daniel i have diabetic nerve pain. the pain felt like my feet were on fire. i had these very burning ... needle-like sensations. i knew i needed to see a doctor. my doctor said "let's try lyrica." lyrica has helped relieve my pain. it's known that... diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is fda-approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal tho

according to routh's attorney, the dallas va hospital released routh just two days before the crime wascommitted against the family's wishes. >> all right heidi, thank you. andrew o'brien is a u.s. army veteran, and he helps veterans with ptsd through his organization and it's called the welcoming home soldier project. and what do you think of this plea by routh? >> i completely disagree with it. i don't feel as though ptsd should be used as an insanity plea. because people with ptsd are not insane. >> >> so obviously, it's an attempt to save his life, and to stay out of jail, i guess but if more than that? when veterans watch this trial what are they going to say about this plea? >> we, i mean me myself, i completely disagree with it. i don't believe -- i've heard about the things that he said to the police, about taking souls, and about all of these things that he was saying, they had nothing to do with ptsd, and i speak around the world about this, and i've never heard anyone talk this way. i feel like he's using ptsd as a scapegoat to stay out of trouble, and that's going to frustra

health system and the va? looking down the road, there have to be economies to scale on the cost side but there also has to be improvements in the quality of care on both ends of the spectrum if we do additional collaboration. did you get into that at all or what thoughts would you have for us? >> senator kaine thank you for the question. we spent a lot of time talking about va/d.o.d. collaboration. it was mentioned here by one of my colleagues that as we talked about the formulary issues, we talked about shared services we talked about a need to do better standardization, helped standardize policies, and we've actually had conversations with the secretary of va about that and we talked to the department of defense about that. i'm going to ask commissioner boyer to talk a little bit about some of the additional specifics here as to how we respond to the challenge of that, and then what we did about it within our recommendations. commissioner boyer. >> senator, earlier we talked about the real empowerment of the

it also offers financial incentives to mental health professionals who agree to work for the va. >>> former navy seal kristen beck is planning a challenge to democrat steny hoyer. the state board of elections website showed beck filed the paperwork monday. beck's website highlights her military service and says hoyer has been too busy helping wall street since 2008 to even notice main street. beck gained national prominence in 2013 when she came out as a transgender woman. hoyer has represented maryland's 5th congressional district since 1981. he is the second ranking member of the house democratic leadership. >>> if you don't have a snuggle buddy on a night like this, you need to step up your game. >> better find one. >> you need to boo up for the winter. topper has got the cold hard [ female announcer ] business travel isn't just about the going. it's also about the going home. and being connected all along the way. whether you're working or recharging do business travel on your terms. acela. take off. you guys can just leave your coats right over here. wow. your bedroom is amazing.

. >>> and fixing the va. what the agency's new leader has done. >> 900 people have been fired since i've been secretary. >> and what's still ahead, making sure veterans have the care they deserve. >>> plus one year out, we have brand-new numbers in the race for 2016 from first three states that will start the voting. >>> and 40 years of funny.

. >>> and fixing the va. what the agency's new leader has done. >> 900 people have been fired since i've been secretary. >> and what's still ahead, making sure veterans have the care they deserve. >>> plus one year out, we have brand-new numbers in the race for 2016 from first three states that will start the voting. >>> and 40 years of funny. >> 40th anniversary. >> dana carvey and the "snl" effect on politics. i'm chuck todd. and joining me to provide insight and analysis this morning are nbc's joe scarborough, white house correspondent april ryan, the washington post's kathleen parker and former senior adviser to president obama david axelrod. welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >>> from nbc news in washington this is "meet the press," with chuck todd. >> good morning. for the second time this year a european capital is recovering from an apparent terrorist attack, linked to islamic extremism. this time it is copenhagen, denmark. police shot dead a gunman they believe was responsible for a pair of att

on "meet the press" february 15th claimed 60 va department workers had been fired in recent months for problems related to the wait time scandal at va hospitals. it turned out to be 20 had been dismissed. a va official told nbc news mcdonald misspoke. joining me patrick murphy of pennsylvania, first iraq war vet to serve in congress now msnbc contributor. thanks for joining us. >> thanks tamron. >> let me get your initial gut reaction to this. >> it is unfortunate, tamron. listen, he misspoke. i know bob mcdonald. this guy was an army ranger. he went to ranger school did arctic training jungle training, he trained with special forces. he was connecting to a homeless veteran in the streets of l.a. it was late at night. he is like i was special forces army, yeah and he was connecting with him. he was wrong. he's apologized for it. he came forward. he was the one, secretary mcdonald called himself huffington post said i misspoke i apologize. i think that is important because he is taking accountability for a misstatement late at night on a one on one interaction, a human interaction, and

it recruits talented psychiatry students to the va of graduation it encourages veterans to find the care when they need it. and we can track and continually improve these efforts as we learn more. now this law is not a complete solution, we have tell got a lot more work to do. our secretary of veterans affairs bob mcdonnell is here and he's doing a terrific job pushing reforms to get our veterans the care they deserve. but one of the messages i want to make sure to deliver today and i flowknow that the first lady and joe biden have been delivering this continually through their armed forces effort. every community, every american can reach out and do more with and for our veterans. this has to be a national mission. as a nation we should not be satisfied, will not be satisfied until every man and woman in uniform, every veteran gets the help that they need to stay strong and healthy. and this law will not bring clay back, as much as we wish it would. but the reforms that are put in place would have helped and they'll help others who are going through the same challenging process that he