the va system and the treatment of va employees. the osc testimony highlights some troubling concerns that the va sometimes investigates the whistle-blowers themselves rather than investigating allegations raised by those whistle-blowers. the osc also references several cases where the medical records of whistle-blowers were improperly and unlawfully accessed in what seems to be attempts to discredit some whistle-blowers. as a "new york times" article last year outlined, there is a, quote, culture of silence and intimidation and a history of retaliation at the va. according to the whistle-blowers testifying before us this afternoon, this is still the case today. they will testify about this environment of intimidation and retaliation and the use of sham peer reviews and investigations in order to silence whistle-blowers. as i stated before, i believe that the va has made some progress in this area. but clearly, more remains to be done. va's culture of retaliation and intimidation did not happen overnight but it's a culmination of pro

there's the judge, the court staff supervising. there's va and community provided delivering treatment simultaneously. there is volunteer vedrine mentors providing moral support camaraderie and training. this is the best in class kind of collaboration we could possibly have. all of us working together synergistically for the benefit of the veterans. and let me remind you that would also working hard in all of this to help families as well. as part of our homelessness effort, of course we have hud vouchers but when my favorite programs is a program that provides support for families so that we shall were not only caring for the better but we're caring for their family as well. take a certain when a veteran joined the service or when a member service number joined the service the family goes with them. and when they deploy the family goes with them as well so we have to care for families. we need more of that kind of innovation. we need more creative solutions that we can use. we end of the are willing to try anything that will work or all we a

hospitals, this is the va trying to do everything for everybody. and i've been saying we need to have that discussion to figure out how do we best leverage both the private sector, the public sector, our promises to our veterans, get quality care and do it in the most cost-effective manner. so we're here, i would ar gushgs dealing with a very important issue. it's very granular. we're discussing inappropriate versus illegal. they do matter. but the bigger issue here is that if i would ask the questions -- and again, i don't think they're fair to you, mr. murray -- is what is the va doing, how can we fix the contracting and we can get back into it, mr. frye pointing out where those holes are in there, this is probably not the forum for that. so, i appreciate you all being here. i don't question that we're all trying to get to the same point, but you heard mr. labonte, this is what happens when you break faith. he doesn't believe anybody's going to get good care. we can tell him countless stories of the highest quality health care delivered in the cou

the va. who invented the first transplantable pacemaker? the va. icotine patch, the shingles vaccine? the va. who knows more about post-traumatic stress ntbi? i could go on, i won't. second training and education. we train over 70% of the doctors in this country. we provide internships. we are the largest employer of nurses in the country. this work is very important to the american medical system. third is the clinical work we do for our veterans and omar bradley set this up in 1946-47 and a line to be the very best medical schools in the country. our veterans of the care they get at the va. we are making it more accessible speed and let's talk about the demographic. who are the patient's? what is the average age and income speak with you raise an excellent point because in 2014 if i asked you what do you think caused the crisis that occurred in the in 2014? most americans would say to me that it was probably the fact we have been fighting wars in afghanistan and iraq for more than a decade. my business analysis says that's not the case but it's in

who did the first liver transplant the va. who invented the nicotine patch? va. who invented the shingles va. we provide internships. this work in training is very important for the american medical system. third leg is, of course, the critical work we do for our veterans and omar set this system up in 1946-47 with aligning the va with the best medical schools in the country. we are making it more accessible to them. >> lets talk about the demographics. >> you raise an excellent point. in 2014, if i asked you what do you think caused the crisis that occurred in va in 2014, most americans would say that it was probably the fact that we have been fighting wars in afghanistan and iraq for more than a decade. that's not the case but it's instructive. the year i graduate from west point in 1975 we had 2 million veterans over the age of 65. 217 we're going to have 10 million veterans over the age 65. that's a five times increase from 1975. what would actually occur with the aging of veteran population, which puts stress on the system. this is happening in u.s. medicine

we are not in favor of privatizing the va. one of my biggest concerns, i met with sylvia burwell on this recently, is how do we inform the doctors we send veterans to in the private sector to always ask the question "have you served in the military?" if i'm sending a veteran to the private sector and that doctor does not know the military culture, that could be dangerous for the veteran. i have to make sure those people are informed. the idea of privatizing the va. it we didn't train 70% of the doctors in the country, who would? that is not in their proposal. you have to look at this rationally from the standpoint of the veteran and those veterans who have rest of their their lives for our country and what we owed them. mike: let me ask you, what is the most legitimate for many criticism of the va? secretary mcdonald: i think the criticism is of me, not the va. i take responsibility. i think the criticism is i'm not moving fast enough. if there is one veteran without a roof over their head tonight, it is my fault. if there is o

. >> scandal brewing in the va. disability flames. >> good news about the morning cup of coffee. how it will help in the fight against cancer. flu ♪ ♪ ♪ if you can't stand the heat, get off the test track. get the mercedes-benz you've been burning for at the summer event, going on now at your authorized mercedes-benz dealer. but hurry, offers end august 31st. share your summer moments in your mercedes-benz with us. thankshow may i help you?s list. i heard i could call angie's list if i needed work done around my house at a fair price. you heard right, just tell us what you need done and we'll find a top rated provider to take care of it. so i could get a faulty light switch fixed? yup! or have a guy refinish my floors? absolutely! or send someone out to groom my pookie? test test test test test. test test test test test. test test test. come see what the new angie's list can do for you. >> welcome back to "fox & friends first". a fox business alert now. new york times released a scathing article accusing the company

. >> he's determined to spend his days in the va offices until they would get the help they need. as they tell us that his journey began 1,500 miles away in texas. >> reporter: with only a backpack, amare williams said good-bye to his family, left his home in texas and started walking to washington, d.c. on july 27. >> i feel like the 10th mile. >> reporter: in hopes of finding help for his ailing body. >> the first ten miles was just me. and i was just an angry vet. >> reporter: that anger softened with each painful step. his journey took a turn that surprised even him. >> you're doing a great job. >> reporter: the support from strangers and the other veterans overwhelmed him. >> like this is for all of us. >> reporter: he reached knoxville, tennessee, thought about giving up. >> my knees have been killing me. >> reporter: but he pushed on and thought about the veterans that feel like the va system failed him. amare spent a year in iraq. >> i kill people for a living. >> reporter: returned home in 2004 a different man. >> we already go to hell and back. >> reporter: for more than

the problem. this is unacceptable. we need to know exactly what va is doing to change this pattern and what is it doing to improve protection of veterans? what is the real way forward? who will be held accountable for mistakes that have already been made and have cost veterans their lives? who will stand up and take responsibility for making a change? it is time for answers. it is time for change. with that i now yield to ranking member kuster for any opening remarks she may have. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and good morning to our panel. thank you for being with us. this morning we are addressing a complex health care policy issue affecting veterans and over 100 million american adults. the statistics on veterans experiencing chronic pain are staggering. over 50% of all veterans enrolled in receiving care at va medical facilities experience chronic pain. with over half a million veterans managing pain with prescribed opioids. as a nation and certainly in my district and throughout the northeast, we face what can only be described as an opioid abuse

the sailor died at the va hospital in late july. e stepped in. joining us now is that owner sean young. he owns ramsey funeral home and organized the funeral for don himself. what prompted you? how did you get a hold of this story? who alerted you to this? >> a gentleman who worked for us. he had been a minister at the church mr. coss attended and quite simply a couple weeks passed. they were not able to have family that claimed him and release his remains. they simply called me and wanted to know what steps they needed to take and what he was entitled to. at the time i didn't know all details and told them i would make phone calls and find out for them. >> so you did. made a few phone calls and said i'll do this. i'll do the right thing. you put it on facebook about his passing and said if anyone wants to show and support, that would be great. what happened? >> it was overwhelming response. we knew that night something special was happening. we put it on about 6:00 that night. by the next morning, it had snow balled into something a

care for veterans and one of the va's major transformational initiatives and to insure care is convenient, accessible and patient centered. telehealth increases access to quality health services using communication technologies to. in physical year 2015 va telehealth occurred in nine hundred sites of care, allowing 717,000 patients, that would be 12.6% of our enrolled veterans to receive care through telehealth. this amounted to over two million telehealth episodes of care. currently, telehealth is available over 45 specialty care areas. at va we use three telehealth modalities to insure excellence in care delivery. clinical telehealth is use of real time interactive videoconferencing sometimes with supportive peripheral technologies to assess, treat and provide care to a patient remotely. home telehealth is a program for veterans that applies care and case management principles to coordinate care using health info mat ticks, disease management protocols and technologies such as in-home and mobile monitoring messaging and video technologies. la

the second question is, how would you straighten out the va? gov. christie: first off, i will take it in reverse order. a --raighten out the the the va, we have to a knowledge publicly that we made a promise to veterans. that promise was, if you volunteer for service in our military, if you are drafted for put yourself in service of our country and put your life on the line, we promise you, in return, to care for your medical needs for the rest of your life. not if it was convenient, not our time schedule, but for the rest of our lives we will provide you with that service in return for your service. the first thing i would do is to fire those folks that have been responsible for the incompetent handling. president has only fired one person. there is a lot more people that deserve to lose their jobs over this. second, i would go around the country and look for the finest hospital executive that i could find in the country and ask that man or woman to come in volunteer some of their time to come back and be the new secretary of veterans affairs. becom

what the va has become, in the main, is a provider of health care. why not get the very best hospital executive we can find a -- we can find in the country to look at what we're doing in our va hospitals and other medical service providers, and get that person to come in and task them with the job of straightening out the system. third, because our veterans should not have to wait for that to happen, i would expand what is being done now. every veteran should be able to take his or her card and go to any health care provider in the country and get medical care. we will always need va hospitals because they provide specialized care, but you should be -- but you shouldn't be restricted to just the va hospital. in terms of bringing honor back to our veterans, not only is it about the way the president himself conducted himself in his interaction with veterans and conducts himself as commander-in-chief so americans feel proud of their service because of the commander in chief they have. let me tell you a couple things we have done in new jersey that are

he went right to the va administrative office every day, but he has made little progress. >> i know that up there in this building they could fix my claim if they wanted to. >> and then with our camera present and a handshake and a promise by the va, that they are going to exam their file. williams says that it is a shame that it took a tv crew to cut through the red tape as he still wants other vets to get the care they need. >>> a world war ii pilot was laid to rest today 62 years after he went missing. army air force staff sergeant was laid to rest in arlington national cemetery today. along with his crew members, they were shot down in germany near the border in 1944. his remains were discovered back in 2006 and later identified using dna matching his sister and his niece. >>> still to come at 7:00, helping an area teacher buybooks. details on what you can do to help just ahead. >>> i'm dave owens down here at the sidelines of fedex field as they are ready to kick these things off as they are ready to cheer. >>> a little bit. >>> but next, jimmy carter courageously talks about the ca

country, i should be able to go to the phoenix va. 's called competition. if the va improves their service, i can come back to them. if i don't feel they have improved their service, tiff right to get care where i choose to get care. >> nathan, what do you say about choice as a solution to these problems? >> i don't have a choice. if the choice is between a well-functioning va that we hold accountable -- but that's not what dr. carson proposed. what he proposed was a privatization, the fact we're going to give you a voucher or hsa and send you out into the street. i would say veterans have unique circumstances. if you're someone who has not had your limbs ripped from your body from an ied, if you haven't had your bones crushed by a fully automatic weapon, if you don't suffer from posttraumatic stretch, you can get a voucher and roll down to walgreens and see a nurse. but if you're someone who who has, we need a detailed program fit for you not focused on profit, focused on care. i don't care if that's what routine care, if there's a be

we're about to spend $11 billion on something that the va is not operable with. tell me that i'm absolutely wrong. >> senator, the dod's acquisition of a new electronic health record, you are correct, is one of the most important things that's going to happen on the i.t. landscape. we are intimately involved in that. the department of defense for example has seen that we're communicating and the department of defense has agreed to lead the way in pointing to the standards. the senator asked me earlier what are the steps we should take. if i could for a second -- >> only have three and a half minutes. >> one of the most important things is to move away from proprietary standards which is getting in the way. >> there's an open source bidder, epic is one of them but they are not open source, correct? >> those vendors will have to agree to use the standards that the department of defense wants to use which are the ones that onc has published. so we are very pleased that we're all moving in a direction to have a core set of standards that everyone will agree with. >>

as opposed to what's it going to take to actually fix the va hospital system. once shinseki was out, we in the white house briefing room kind of lost interest in the story, and maybe to that extent maybe the administration lost a little focus on it, too. i would -- i do think there's something to what you're saying about the combative tone of the washington centric news media. i also think when you talk about the challenges of the baeshgts my colleague alex chad wick used to say, if you get to a story and there's a whole bunch of reporters already there, go find a different story. which i think is very good advice generally, but not terribly applicable to what we do. i mean, it's pretty rare, unless you get a good scoop on cuba, it's pretty rare that you're going to really be in a whole different playing field than your dozens of very talented colleagues on this beat. >> but imph you do, those are some of the most important moments. i think we're all intimately and painfully aware that we're no longer the only game in town. you know, there's nobody up here sitti

another outrageous failure by the va, employees at the los angeles office caught shredding paperworkand fox news contributor lieutenant pete hegseth. tell me right now how you found out about this and what were they doing. >> yeah, it was a surprise inspection by the office of the inspector general at the va. they popped into this facility and found out what was going on. what they found were nine letters, eight of which unopened, these were letters by veterans making adjustments. eight of the nine would have affected the nature of the claims. the disability benefits that veterans have earned, rather than opening it and looking inside, these letters were put in a bin headed for the shredder intentionally. there's gross -- not just gross negligence but criminality i believe and this is a snap surprise inspection. imagine where things like this could have been happening across the country. >> because some of these incentives are so backwards, even if their intent is pure to get rid of the backlog, you are supposed to do it by addressing the case instead of shredding that shows me a lac

contacts you, and they have been waiting a few years for their appeal for their disability rating from the va to get approved. you know, that really becomes very high on the priority list as far as that staffer and that constituent. but, yeah, no, some of the more national issues that are important to the district i would say is certainly fighting for veteran, trying to create more good paying private sector jobs, strengthening our -- making our foreign policy more consistent, improving our health care. we'll see what the -- how the supreme court and congress reacts from changes here as 2015 moves along. some of the national issues that are of importance to our district and there are many others as well. >> you're a fairly young member of congress what is the average age of people in the first district? >> well, the average age is a little bit older than i am. i'm 35 years old. a lot of people don't realize that congress, there is 31 members under the age of 40. there are 20 in house republican conference, 11 in the house democratic conference. a lot of people, they say, they talk about term

we'll take them to the va and get their paperwork done. >> they set up in front of the grocery storeext to an american nothing and box for donations. >> the majority of the funds that go into this box provides outreach it get to veterans living outdoors to the va. >> i think it's a scam. >> i don't understand how it can be anything but. >> the retired major served for 20 years and began questioning after his wife, also a veteran gave them some cash. >> the first guy said that almost 100% of the donations went to veterans. but when i asked the second guy how much he got to keep and he admitted that they keep 40% of the donations. >> he said the more he asked, the more flags popped up about the legitimacy of the group. >> while you are pretending or implying you are a veteran. >> i worked for the dod. >> not according to the dod. they e-mailed the unit saying they don't have a record of his name on file. type in gift a vet and it goes to a blog site. >> they handout this document saying it is called veteran direct. we found a business address in san jose, but the office was vacant. a s

of raising risk-management awareness and it doesn't matter if you're an agency of five people or the va, but you are aware that this is turning and you should be doing something about it. so that does make that part of this task force. [inaudible] and that includes the interaction. there's much more going on regarding the cios. and what is going on there. and on a monthly basis, they ought to be aware. the point is we will be going forward to the agencies. and so they wouldn't be really happy about that. [inaudible] and so we will be you finding out about how it enforces awareness. so if we had any additional stuff regarding impact and things of that nature, that dialogue is opening up. and that includes the cio and when you put this in place, often times they are exhibiting this to the key element of another activity that we are involved with because it's everyone's responsibility. especially when we talk about this. and we will think about how many interactions there are between state and local government. i was the cio and technology's and that includes between the state and federal

the man was worried about catching a connecting bus to get to the va hospital. rtin stopped the bus and walked with the passenger to his next bus stop. 15 other riders witnessed the good deed and didn't mind the extra two minutes for the stop. >>> there are good people left in the world. lionville, no extra restrictions the on going stuff as they continue the widening project mercer county overnight construction along 295 by sloan avenue and route 1 is blocking the left lane until 6:00. i950 and eastbound 295. west trenton rails are running between woodbourn that's the first time in five days. >> reporter: it's good to have good news. we have good news in the weather department. lots of sunshine, low humidity. if you're traveling out of town, philadelphia, boston, orlando, newark, new york city, no weather-related issues that will plague you just yet. the exclusive accuweather seven-day forecast, beautiful sunshine 83 degrees is the high. it feels cooler this morning it will again tonight. 65 in in the city. mid 50s in the suburbs. friday, dry, # 5. saturday, hig

. >> he can't get more money from the va. >> there is nothing. there is no retraining money left. it's done. >> in june following a high profile campaign by student debt activists the department of education launched a program that led students to believe they werif they were part of a defrauded college that they would get help with student loans. >> at the department of student loan website they have instructions of how to get your loans forgiven. there is nothing for veterans. nothing. >> his experience exposes some gaps in the department of education's plan. who is responsible for reinstating veteran's benefits that were exhausted obtaining degrees from corinthian which turned out to be worstless. a spokesperson told al jazeera that v.a. oversees those benefits. >> that's actually laughable. that's very laughable. that's basically one federal agency passing the buck to another. >> the va told al jazeera they don't have the authority to reinstate souther land's entitlement. we asked the department of education for an interview but it declined. the third time since march it has re

> majority of the funds go into the box provide outreach money to get veterans living outdoors to the va i think it is a scam. >> bill hamshier isn't buying it. he served the air force 20 years, and began questioning after his wife gave the men cash. >> the first guy had said almost 100% of donations went to veterans. then when i asked the second guy how much he got to keep, he admitted they keep 40% of all donations. >> he said the more he asked, the more flags popped up about legitimacy of the group. >> why are you basically pretending or implying you're a veteran and tricking people into donating money to you. >> i worked for the pentagon six years. >> i got this injured from dod. >> they e-mailed saying they don't have a record of his name on file. type in gift a vet.org and it goes to an outdated blog site. >> it is down now. >> they hand out this irs document saying it is also called veteran direct. we found a business address, but the office vacant. a search for their tax id number didn't return results for a nonprofit or charity. still, collectors told our hidden cameras this. >>

and telehealth has a decrease cost of the va and has been shown by $2,000 those of the receiving home telehealth. most important between 80 and 94 percent approval for these types but in conclusion the veterans administration is changing services for many veterans and loved ones it can be complicated and sometimes arduous task. natalie that travel time is time away from family. the telehealth is services program revolutionizes challenge by changing the rotation to split access to care and help them take a more active role in the management of their health and well-being. this concludes my testimony. i will answer any questions you may have. >> dr. skubic. >> thank you for the opportunity to be here on this panel and visitors. i want to tell you a story about even of whom lived a life and aging in place in colombia and misery residents can stay there through the end of life if they need extra help for services delivered a private corporation to operate the housing and dining and clinical operations are handled through the nursing school and university of missouri. a nursing professor w

the va is transforming to being veteran centric. for many veterans, travel to the centers can be complicated and argerous. travel time is time away from the veteran's work or family. va's telehealth care revolutionize the travel challenges by changing the locations where health care service is provided, improving access and helping the veterans take a more active role in the management of their health and wellbeing. this concludes my testimony and i am please today answer questions you or other members of the committee may have. >> thank you. dr. skubic. >> thank you for allowing me to be here between the senators and visitors. i want to tell you about eva who lived at tiger place. the aging in place senior housing facility in columbia, missouri with 54 independent apartments. residents can stay there through the end of life. if they need extra help services are delivered to them. a private corporation, ameri-care built tiger place and clinical operations are handled through the nursing school at the university of missouri. a nursing

if you think back to the crisis that occurred for the va in 2014, most americans would think that that was because we had been fighting a war in afghanistan and iraq for over 14 years. the reality is that aging of the veteran population was one of the primary if not the primary reasons for that crisis. the year i graduated from west point in 1975 we had about 2 million veterans harp over the age of 65. in 2017 we are going to have 10 million veterans over the anyone of 65. a quint it upling of the number of veterans over the age of 65 means our number of disability claims has gone up by 50% if a very short period of time and it also means the number of items per claim, in other words, the number of chronic illnesses occurring can has more than doubled. so this has put tremendous stress on our system and a system in which we have to build capacity. obviously as veterans' age the need for caregivers dramatic increases. so what are we doing for caregivers? first, we're providing support and education. we have things like webinars, workshops, face-to-face training, telephone training. sinc

. >> he did get high marks on the issue of reforming the va.oll that tape. >> veterans died while waiting for care at the va hospital last year. only two people were fired for lying about the wait times. two people. we trust veterans. we trusted them to fight for us. we should trust them to be able to choose their own doctor and reforming va will be a high priority. >> strong ratings, not off the charts but solid. >> he's got to stop reading speeches. whoever is work ing with him has to get in front of him and say i'm sorry, governor, no more reading, you're going to speak from the heart and be a better communicator for it. >> i did one teleprompter speech, and it was the worst speech i ever talk from the heart, very important. you had the focus group comparing and contrasting donald trump and jeb bush. i thought this was pretty interesting. let's roll this tape. >> who is more conservative, jeb bush or donald trump? >> donald trump. >> jeb bush. >> who thinks jeb bush? who thinks donald trump? seriously? >> seriously. >> that's significant. >>

the va had introduced entirely intact and one of the reason johnson is able to get to the congress soquickly was because some of the most stringent requirement like you had to get your voting changes approved for temporary. the fact they are temporary about them to get passage quick weight that number to the courts were able to save lives and there's a this. congress has looked at it and they will decide when it ends. if interested what was drafted in a way and the supreme court overruled its discretion. basically what john roberts said was the congress couldn't be trusted anymore. antonin scalia said most notably the voting rights act, if not great. who's going to vote against that and suggested that has led to a perpetuation of racial entitlement to such an extent that congress never not vote to reauthorize it. the strong bipartisan consensus in congress became a reason for the supreme court to god it because they thought only they were brave enough to step in and anthony kennedy famously said the marshall plan was good, too at times changes at the voting rights act had rebuilt berl

the va making veterans wait for more than medical help now. rker at the south dakota va hospital through the personal data 1100 patients into a dumpster and they were not notified for two months. information including social security numbers and addresses were among the documents thrown out. the hospital fished the papers out of the trash and is offering free credit reports to those patients. sunny south florida is known for the beautiful beaches and dream vacations. but it is the top destination for organized fraud in the u.s. irs officials say most identity theft and false income tax return cases originate from that state. 46 times higher than the national average. it is unclear why fraud is so high there. >>> 52,000 dollars raised in a rifle auction now going it to help a sick little girl in kansas. a 5-year-old grace son sutton was diagnosed with a rare heart disease last year. when a friend heard about the mounting medical bills he decided to approach the gun shop and they created 100 custom made 22 caliber rifles to auction off. each has

with your companies in the university of maine, partners with the university of missouri and i know the va has a lot of commercial partners, the more quickly we can get the technology to the point that you don't have to have -- most of us don't have a trusted tech advisor. most americans don't even know where to find a trusted tech advisor. if you look up on line for a trusted tech advisor you're -- [laughs] >> and so the more quickly we can do that, the more quickly we can do some progress in this area. i really appreciate the hearing. i learned a lot of. all of us are motivated and i think all of you if your work and thank you for a good hearing. >> thank you very much, i think your comments are very well taken. this commission has held meetings on scams. i want to thank all of your witnesses for being here today. dr. kim, i love the fact that you have involved the students at the university of maine and taking them. it is incredible that it came up with 50 different ideas. that should keep them busy for quite sometime. each of our witnesses has contributed to our understanding of this i

there is a whole list of things that is wrong with the va. is one of the stories that sent like a culture that needs to be revamped. host: john in florida on the line for republicans. caller: good morning. one quick comment. then i will listen to your reaction. as we all know, the irs is involved in the aca. i was totally amazed when i filled out my tax form -- only one line that asked to you have health insurance? yes or no and then you move on. they do not ask for any validation at all. you get your registration and they asked for your insurance company and number. they don't ask for anything. what is stopping someone from lying and moving on. thank you. caller:guest: going forward, there will be a matching of the income. there is the initial part of that was whether your employer provides your help and for -- insurance that shows on your w-2. now you have the obligation to be insured. that is an individual mandate. there will be more checking to make sure subsidies and incomes are right. we know that. host: a couple minutes left with ameri

now, i wouldn't use the word get rid of the va. rned vets for america has put fourthly the plan where you can overhaul it, turn it into a government charter nonprofit organization so it runs like the health care facilities like dr. carson is familiar with, and then you give a veteran a real choice. that's where you do give them a premium support amount of money where they can go to a va facility or private provider. it's got to happen. stuart: you could do it so quickly; right? just give them a voucher and say here's a $20,000 voucher, go spend it where you want. what's wrong with that? >> i'm attracted to that idea it's just not exactly that simple. you've got to make sure that some of the specialized care that the va does well like ptsd or you've got to make sure that va can excel and follow through on that maybe we don't have the amount of care in the civilian sector on and then you've got to give the majority of veterans the choice to where you want to go. i shouldn't be talking about throwing it all away because he's going to i

majority of the funds will provide outreach money to get the veterans who are living outdoors to the va. >> i think it's a scam. >> reporter: but bill hampshire isn't buying it. >> i don't understand how it can be anything but. >> reporter: the retired major served in the air force for 20 years and began questioning m t mintz after his wife gave the guy some cash. >> the first guy said almost 100% of donations went to veterans. when i asked the second guy, he admitted they keep 40% of all the donations. >> reporter: hampshire said the more he asked the more flags popped up. >> why are you basically pretending or implying that you're a veteran and tricking these people into donating money to you? >> i work for the dod. i was at the pentagon for six years. >> i did get this injury on a deployment from the dod. >> reporter: not according to the dod. the agency maimed the investigative unit saying it doesn't have any record of his name on file. >> check out other website. >> reporter: type in gift a vet.org and it goes to an outdated blog site. >> it's down right now. >> reporter: the men a

request for my yard to be tested for heavy metal, chemical or biological contamination i was told the va deq could not use the money to test for those materials. my complaint was in an area they had no authority to investigate, another did end. i reported naval station, naval air station military jets for dumping fuel over my neighborhood and spoke of the least 30 individuals at the base. i spoke with herod chamberlain, head of the environmental office that and she and a. he bluntly informed me the military regulates itself. needless to say they continue to dump under fuel over residents living close to the base. for several years i electronically reported on airplane pollution using the in mind -- environmental violations form on epa's website, it was referred to me by a federal contractor working for the epa. i have always included my contact information and identified specific aircraft that can easily be traced. no one from the epa has investigated many of my formally filed complaints. since i became interested in the possible dangers of chemical spraying and the environment i have co

the va is on the case. plus a special concert with tobey mac all coming up on "fox & friends."lease get dressed unless you choose not to. ♪ i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪ and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet? >> welcome back. it is the video that has everybody talking. a dad nearly plunges over the barrier with a child in his arms all to catch a ball. parents going to dangerous lengths for a souvenir. >> we have the story and a lot of reaction. >> the play became the catch of the night on tmonday but for al of the wrong reasons. take a look. >> there was a fan that wanted the baseball had the glove and child in hand almost going over the railing. watch the girl holding on to dear life as the father loses his lals and almost falls on top of her. he throws it away to another fan.

until we can assure these women are not medically discharged and right now the va can't keep up with n, it is medical that is their biggest issue they have to deal with. >> thank you very much, both of you. >> it's incredible that some other women -- >> thank you for taking a deeper look tonight. >> thank you. >>> still ahead, topless women, not a great combination. why the times square plaza spent so much to build could be torn up. and there is no stopping uber. just how much the taxi app plans to make this year. straight ahead. >> a superintendent got a raw deal. he killed a security guard and then himself. he was a labor department employee who had been fired. downing was a former economist who believed he was fire in 1999 for blowing the whistle on corruption and waste. >>> they work for tips, some in costume, others topless. they are allowed to accept tips when they pose for pictures. officials are looking for ways to reign them in, trying to keep the tourists from being turned off. >> reporter: martin is a taxi driver captured this in the 1970s, a no go area. the red light distr

consider the va scandal. that acknowledged negligence contributed to the deaths of veterans and look at obamacare, the promise you can keep your health plan and it turns out to be the lie of the year. the irs targeting organizations out of political vendetta, and hud using taxpayer dollars on the social experiment and it is wrong. it's why i called for the investigation, i believe we should end the program now. lou: congressman david jolly, thanks for being with us, and we wish you luck. >> thank you, lou, appreciate it. lou: police releasing surveillance video of a dramatic explosion in bremerton washington. a gas leak led to the explosion that, and there you've -- that's extraordinary. it ripped off a 16-room section of a motel 6 tuesday. a gas company worker was critically injured suffering second- and third-degree burns, no one else reported injured. >>> up next, a bad day in the market. we take up what's behind the sell-off talking with legendary investor wilbur ross here next. stay with us. at ally bank

where the va is investigating what is making marines very sick. >> why this isn't as rare as you mighthink. ♪ i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪ and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet? >> it is tuesday august 4th. decision day. hours from learning which gop candidates will make a main debate stage. most get a practice run. messages on why donald trump decided to stip okip out. >> shackled in school. children happenndcuffed in a classroom. the charges just filed. gone in 60 seconds. the major airport swallowed up by a sand storm. "fox & friends first" continues right now. >> good morning. welcome to "fox and friend first. i am ainsley earhardt. >> i am heather childers thank you for staying with us or joining us. what should have been a fun summer night at the circus turns into chaos. 60 mile

he talks about the vetd rans issue and how the va scandals they have had to wait hours and hours for ntion and days and weeks. that's the way that he atlanta situations between the two. >> last night before nashville, he met people in massachusetts. this group is called the remembrance project. you caught up with donald trump after the event. what was that conversation like? >> reporter: the event was festive and rowdy. the one moment that was serious is before trump got back into the motorcade, he had a brief meeting from the families and victims that were killed by illegal immigrants. i did get to ask trump after wards to get the reaction to the meeting. take a listen at what he said. >> they're in credible people who have been devastated by the crime waive of the illegal immigrants. these are in credible people, the lives that are lost are going to certain an important fact. what's happened to these people is a shame. these are great great people. we're not going allow it to continue. there's a crime wave like nobody has seen before. we're going take care of it. thank you. >> repor

than the bureaucrats who work at the va. >> doctor carson. u about god and his role but also one of the issues that the public was very interested in and we touched on it earlier is race relations in this country and how divided we seem right now. what if anything we can do you would do as the next president to help heal that divide. >> i think the pulpit is a wonderful place to start healing that divide. we have the purveyors of hatred who take every single incident between people of two rateses and try to make a race for it and drive wedges into people. this does not need to be done. i was asked by an npr reporter once why don't i talk about race that often? because i am a neurosurgeon. she thought that was a strange nse. when i take someone to the operating room i am operating on the thing that makes them who they are. the skin doesn't make them who they are. the hair doesn't make them who they are. it is time for us to move beyond that. that, because -- (cheers) >> -- our strength as a nation comes in our unity. we are the united states of

. >> but they don't understand the fundamental problem of the va. i work to be a hospital's. wonderful peoples, doctors, nurses, therapist, great people. wonderful patients, love them to death. huge amount of proxy between this group in this group. that's that's the problem, get rid of that problem. honestly, there are some things that the veteran hospitals do very well post from access,. >> and you think they should be specialized. >> and i think everybody else. >> i want to end a little more political. which is you used ac c word and i don't use conservative words very often's and that's compromise, 50% of of what you want side and common ground which is a tiny 10% that you both agree on right what's better. in this case this case your advocate katie for comparable lies you want more 5050 here. >> when i talk about compromise i'm talking about compromise in methods, not necessarily in a compromise in values and principles. >> this is in chapter ten. >> so when i look at democrat and i look at republicans, except for the fringes we all pretty much want the same thing and we'v

the first thing he says needs to go is va. does he have a point?o sit alone unattended for hours. one decorated vietnam veteran had to wait one year for medicine to arrive because someone changed his address to coo coo lane. wow. welcome to you both. you both have standing to talk about this issue. you both served, go to va. carl, you were wounded during is service. you've been in va. what's your experience been? does it leave you to agree or disagree with carson? >> i wasn't injured. i had some injuries. they diagnosed me with the wrong injury. veterans administration diagnosed a lot of people improperly. they're sending out letters now trying to compensate guns. the entire administration is upside down beyond repair. >> we learned in the intro this week, 21% of slots for psychiatrists at the va are vacant. more than half of returning veterans claim ptsd. is there an excuse for that? >> there's no excuse for that. no one has been more critical. it's unacceptable. we have veterans waiting too long. we need to not make the problem worse when we talk