the va is taking steps to address the culture that has been identified by several independent sources. these changes will not happen overnight and this committee must provide the oversight to ensure the changes occur and are effective. even with the steps va has taken, there will continue to be reports and allegations regarding va facilities and workers. these reports will not only highlight critical areas of needed reform, but identify the magnitude and breath of the systemic issues facing the va. the ongoing internal evaluation by the va as well as investigations being conducted by inspector general and counselor are essential to rebuilding veteran's trust and stakeholders and employees. the role of the office of special counsel and the inspector general are more crucial now than ever before. both offices are essential in identifying systemic issues facing the va and i would like to highlight a few critical reports that have been released since the last meeting. at the time of may 15th's hearing there were several stakeholders who didn't race to make judgments since the phoenix repo

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'm confident we will succeed at the department of veterans affairs. thank you and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much for your testimony. and in th this sense i think you have answered my first question, but i'm going to ask it again. you don't need this job. i don't think you're at the age in your career when you want to move up the career ladder. you don't need anything more to your resume. you've done pretty well. in the midst of all of these problems and in the midst of a dysfunctional u.s. congress, in the midst of bitter partisanship, why do you want this job? >> thank you, ch

the va has to focus on the patient's first by changing the mindset. this demand strong leadership and whistleblower protections. they also worry that the current bureaucracy overdetermination replacement. since the va acknowledges it can take up to be here to fill the vacancies if they cannot hire the top talent, we cannot expect the va to fire employees. they canno cannot fight your bad employees we cannot expect them to deliver quality care to the veterans who need it. thankfully not everything they hear about the care has been that. nearly 40% who contacted us praised the va. just this week several sort out our professional staff at the national convention to share how the doctors saved their lives. others offered a perspective on how the system had improved over the years. we believe the system can work that they cannot work without the congress taking action. the international convention members also passed to the stern resolution calling to pass the access and accountability act. both chambers already agreed to peace would help the veterans recei

he said congress has taken action to allow big changes that are needed inside the va. >> failing the veterans, the va has done, the va has failed some of the employees, and this system needs to be fix. >> reporter: congressman fitzpatrick is calling for a criminal investigation. he says there is at least evidence of mail tam purring which is a federal crime. spokesperson for u.s. attorney general's office say they cannot confirm or deny existence of an investigation. i'm stephanie stahl, cbs-3 "eyewitness news". >>> on the cbs-3 healthwatch, stress can indeed, make you fat, especially if you are a woman. new research shows stress apparently slows down your metabolism, in the study, women who said they were stressed, burned fewer calories then would the man who were not stressed. the high stressed woman also had higher levels of insulin which affects how your body stores and burns fat month. man who followed this pattern could add an extra 11-a year. >> they say, that is from stress. >> no, we don't want any of that. >> no, no. >> regardless we are all stressed out by this severe weath

the inaction of senior va officials. some veterans even face the burden of being billed for care their service has earned them e. as noted in the office of serve sis counsel report, va leadership has repeatedly failed to the concerns of whistle blowers with with patient care at pa. despite the best efforts of truly committed employees at the veteran health administration who have risked their careers to stand up for veterans. management at all levels have ignored them for simply exposing the truth. some of the critical issues reported by whistle blowers include, mismanaging critical veteran health programs and wasting millions of dollars on an affordable care act. the possibility purging of nearly 10,000 records. a back log of over 200,000 pending health application sz. nearly 40,000 unprocessed applications discovered in january of 2013. these were primary applications from returning service members from afghanistan. the harassment i've experienced from top levels of management include, my whistle blower complaint to white house chief of staff was leaked to my manager sherry williams who stated that she was cont

the va. according to the osc, it currently has 67 active investigations into retaliation complaints from va employees and has received 25 new whistle blower retaliation cases from va employees since june 1st of 2014. a recent new york times article stated that within the va there was a culture of silence and intimidati intimidation. acting secretary gibson recently stated that he was deeply disappointed not only in the substantiation of allegations raised by the whistle blowers but also in the failures within the department to take whistle blowers complaints seriously. within vha, the problem of intimidation, retaliation may be magnified by what some consider a protective culture of the medical profession. it is often thought to be against the code to point out colleague's mistakes or where a nurse or a tendant is told it is appropriate to question a physician or surgeon. the natural tendency is to close ranks, to not die that problems exist or mirs stestakes were ma. so after we listen to the testimony before us this evening from the whistle blowers, the office of special counsel and the va will --

others will come to the va for the first time in many years after their service has ended so today i'm hoping to hear about solutions to the systemic problems in smart ways to strengthen the va for the long-term because the va does need to be there for veterans ready to help right away every time. thank you mr. chairman and i yield to senator isakson. >> thank you senator murray. secretary gibson thank you very much for accepting this interim responsibility. you are brave and courageous manner while i'm encouraged by some of the serious steps you have taken i'm still not satisfied. we have tremendous problems. as indicated by a letter from special counsel to the present president of united states from which i want to quote. i remain concerned about the department's willingness to knowledge and address the impact of these problems getting the whistleblower's problems. the health and safety of veterans in the va office of medical inspector has consistently is the term and i quote harmless error as a defense where the department acknowledges problems patients have been affected. this appr

senate and house floors about the legislation is the idea that if you live long distances from a va facility the va will provide that care for you. the va today has the ability to do that. they have the ability to pay for outside services. they are seemingly reluctant and often, unwilling to do so. you need to understand that when the va fails to provide the fee for services to those veterans, most lookly what happens is that veteran gets no service at all. in fact, in my hometown of plainville, my hometown is plain vil but 23 miles away is -- where we were successful in opening a outpatient clinic. the va reported they expect 1100 veterans from northwest kansas to access care because that's 1100 who were somehow making their way to wichita. this would be closer. the end result was we had 2200, double the amount that was said. those other 1100, the doubling amount occurred because prior the that the veterans were receiving no care so i look forward to my opportunity and the time that you're secretary and i remember the united states senate and a member of this kwom to help explain the challenges that we face in a rural state like ours. one of my

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, 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

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

. >> as the phoenix va employee i have suffered retalation for speaking and out section four and five outlies the specific things the va uses to realitate against whistle blowing. the va has routinely intimidated any employee that brings forth information that is contrary to what they would like to submit to the public. ten days after the national va received my report i was placed on administrative leave for a month and investigating for misconduct because i provided limited amounts of patient's information in order to support my allegations of the suicide trend and the facilities inappropriate response. i would receive a written counseling stating i have violated a policy but do this day they will not tell me what i violated. this is minor realitation given the last three years. during that time we were under-staffed and there wasn't staff to wash beds, answer telephones, deliver patients and transport labs. doctors and nurses were pulled away from direct patient care to perform these duties. when the number of patient visits increased to the er the deficiencies became obvious. the number of mistakes skyrocketed. strokes, heart attack, blood issues were missed by inexpe

doctor mitchell, this has kind of been in phoenix, the phoenix facility has been part of this reaction time. one of the things that has floored me is the lack of urgency on the part of the va that there is a five alarm fire and no one is rushing to put it out. i'm thinking that if i was in an among the phoenix va, and if i was responsible for any of this stuff from the minute that this hit the fan nationally i would be trying to get us out doubletime and make sure that my facility is the standard and that we have reset the record and we are an example for the rest of the country. in the three months of this has been part of it, the american people so they will not tolerate this and this committee says that we will not tolerate this either. we will drill this down to where we can provide the best health care of our veterans. but doctor mitchell, have you sent anything in phoenix that says, wow, what a turnaround? people have been fired, there's a ton of accountability and the people demanding accountability. have you seen that in phoenix in a. >> the turnaround that i have seen has to do with scheduling. because the backlogs have been reduced. i put in a consult and we got

the va are outdated and they don't work correctly. so i would rather use a paper folder than use the computer systems that the va has to offer. the va had computer systems like maybe if apple designed the computer systems instead of whoever is, it might work a little better. i can do more on my iphone faster than i can -- >> we have given them money to upgrade. i mean, that is unacceptable. we have discussed it over and over and over again. we have got to take them into the next century. we have got to have the new technology. >> i totally agree with you. but if you came and sat next to one of us for a day and watched us do our job, you would see probably why there's backlog. we have to click on a large amount of documents. there are sometimes hundreds that you need to look at on the computer. when you click to open one, sometimes it doesn't open. sometimes the wrong person's information is in the folder and if you care, you need to take time and put it in the right folder. sometimes the computer systems go down and you're not sure when they're going to go back up again so when everything's computerized, you have thousands of

so it would be my intention that we really tout that innovative capability that the va has had for years, but really bring it out and use that to recruit the very best people who want to make a big difference in others' lives. .. more raisely wrote to -- recently wrote to the deputy or acting secretary of the have. a asking for explanation in apparent tripling in wait times in connecticut and in fact elsewhere around the country. the increase in wait times and, those wait times delayed longer than 30 days that seem to have tripled in connecticut, quadrupled elsewhere. will you commit to me that you will provide a response to that letter? >> if confirmed i will provide a response but knowing sloan gibson the way i do, you will get a response. >> i'm hoping that response will being imminent, not sometime in the indefinite future. >> that's my hope as well. >> thank you. the other area of gave concern to me specifically of connecticut was care for womens veterans. i hope that will be a priority for you that women's care for veterans in the va facility in new haven, whether result of trauma

the va. according to the osc, it currently has 67 active investigations into retaliation complaints from va employees and has received 25 new whistleblower retaliation cases from va employees since june 1st of 2014. a recent "new york times" article stated that within the va, there was a culture of silence and intimidation, end of quote. acting secretary gibson recently stated that he was deeply disappointed, not only in the substantiation of allegations raised by the whistleblower, but also in the failures within the department to take whistleblowers' complaints seriously. within vha, the problem of intimidation and retaliation may be magnified by what some consider a protective culture of the medical profession. it is often thought to be against the code to point out colleagues' mistakes or where a nurse or attendant is told it is not appropriate to question a physician or surgeon. the natural tendency is to close ranks, to deny that problems exist or mistakes were made. so after we listen to the testimony before us this evening from the whistleblowers, the office of special council and the va will

duck said the incident is an indication of just how much fixing the va has left to do. e military, you never leave anybody behind, he said. obviously i was left behind. the va has apologized and says they will make changes to prevent any similar problems. no one was there. >>> finally, traffic is frequently bad in los angeles, everyone knows that. the worst in the nation, according to "time" magazine. when the president is in town, it's a nightmare. well, one woman learned that the hard way yesterday. she was in labor. yes, in labor. and prevented from crossing the street to a medical center because the road was shut down for the motorcade. local reports say a few medical staff made their way to her. critics called it unbelievable, and a bad pr move. but they said it was part of the necessary security. the woman waited about 30 minutes before heading into the clinic in time to have her baby. >>> we've been telling you for some time now about the humanitarian crisis involving a legal immigrant children on the border. presidents from the two countries where most of those c

. >> did you believe the management violated this on purpose or was it a misunderstanding as the va has said publically? >> i believe, and i think it can be proven, that management intentionally violated the fast letter. the management will allege they didn't understand what the first part of the fast letter said however their actions show otherwise. the other paragraph in the fast letter explain that you are supposed to control the memos by placing a flash in a program called map d. that is the way to track how many memos philadelphia was issuing for changing dates of claims. you were supposed to e-mail washington after you processed the claims and explain the circumstances for changing the dates of claims. philadelphia didn't do either of those. it is my belief you have didn't understand the top of the letter i would question why you are charged this if you don't understand the language in the fast letter. and why then did you prohibit any type of control on those claims so that if they were to be looked into at a later date no one could find them. similar to the vha paper waiting lis

we learned of others like how the va treats whistleblowers and the reality of the data va reports, the new ones. the va has good product. veterans get to see aba doctor they like the care that they get. when veterans get an eligibility reading and start receiving va benefits they find those benefits useful and helpful at the business model for producing and delivering and supporting the va product is fundamentally broke in. 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 race in. there are scheduling failures and technology problems. inconsistent office practices lead to a backlog that appear to be tackled at the expense of other services. the department of veterans affairs traced in is an agency that offers critical services to millions of our veterans. it's clear to me that when you have business minded approach to reform the agency. more of the same isn't going to solve the underlying problems. tweaks and band-aids around the margins aren't going to sustain the system. we need a new model, a new approach and a n

who is in the va will get to see the doctor inside or outside of the community health center and we'll deal with the waiting list that way. we're putting $5 million to make sure that the va hasoctors and nurses, medical personnel in space that they need so that in the future when veterans come into the va they'll get quality care and they'll get it in a timely manner. thirdly, if you live a long distance away from the va you'll be able to go to a private doctor within your community and this is a good start and i have the feeling they'll need to do more good work and i think the va will be in pretty good shape. senator, how soon after this is signed by the senate, do you expect this to have an impact? when is it a different ball game? >> as soon as the rules are implemented. right now already, the va has reached out to those veterans on waiting list, getting them into private facilities and they'll be able to do that much better in the coming months. >> senator, does this show that congress can do something? i mean, there's not a whole lot happening. had it not been for you, this would not have unfolded in a positive manner. >>ie, if you have people who are serious about add

as noted in the office of special council report va leadership has failed to respond to the concerns raised by whistle blowers about patient care at va. despite the best efforts of truly committed employees at the hec and 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 to senior va officials by whistle blowers include mismanaging critical program and wasting millions on a direct mail campaign. the possible purging and deletion of 10,000 health record and a backlog of 600,000 pending health applications. nearly 40,000 unprocessed applications discovered in january of 2013. these were applications from returning service members from iraq and afghanistan. the harassment i experienced at the hec from top levels of management include my whistle blower complaint to rob neighbors was leaked to my manager who stated she was contacted me on behalf of mr. gibson and mr. neighbors and neither of them have responded to this fact. m

. >> the va has long struggled and in recent years it has streamlined its system. >>> and berkeley is pushing to be the first city in the country to launch a new program for your cell phone, coming up, the new label they are considering. >>> but coping with the loss of their teenage daughter, the outrage after a social media account is created by somebody pretending to be their daughter. >>> and on highway 4, we we have been checking it, we will tell you more about the concord commute on 680 in walnut creek. >> tropical moisture continues to stream in, muggy conditions in monterey and some good thunderstorm activity and we will take a look at it tuesday on your forecast. . >> welcome back. the robber is described as light skinned and weighing about 175 pounds. police say there was a similar robbery in menlo park sunday evening and the robber may have been the same man. >>> an east bay family is devastated by the reason loss of their teenage daughter and now they are facing another problem. they lost jenna betty after she tried to regrab her cell phone and now somebody is posting infor

the culture that has developed at the va and the lack of management accountability is simply reprehensible. it's becoming increasingly obvious that a cultural problem has taken deep root in va and simply increasing funding will not solve it. in fact, it could prove to only reinforce the culture. reforms are desperately needed within va, and some of these changes can't be fixed through legislation. they must come from within va. but addressing the cultural problems within va won't provide relief for the roughly 100,000 veterans experiencing long waits across our nation today. it's now time for us. 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 mi

expect the va to fire that employee if va cannot fire bad employers would not expect it to deliver timely quality care to the veteran to me. banks and and everything the vfw hears about va care hasbad. nearly 40% of the veterans who contacted us praise the va. just this week several veterans sought out our professional staff to share have va doctors have saved their lives to others offered perspective on how the system has improved. we believe the system can work but it cannot work without congress taking action. this week the fw members also passed a stern resolution going to pass the the access and accountability act. both chambers have agreed these reforms will veterans receive timely care which is what our members insisted congress cannot go into the august recess without passing this bill. when the current scandal broke every legislator in washington agreed that this was a national imperative. however, some of recently backed off hearing more about costs and the veterans are waiting for giving women opportunity. we have an opportunity share veterans and those still serving in harm's way that our nation will live up to its promise to care for those who defend. we have to get

the va. according to the osc, it currently has 67 active investigations in return for a complaint from the va employees and has the cases from the va employees as of june 12014. a recent "new york times" article stated that within the va. they recently stated that he was the way disappointed not only in the substantiation of the allegation by the whistleblowe whistleblowers, but also in the failure within the department to take the whistleblower complaints seriously. the problem of the intimidation and retaliation may be magnified by what some consider a protected culture of the medical profession. it is often thought to be against the code to point out colleagues mistakes or where a nurse is told that it is not appropriate to question a physician or a surgeon. the natural tendency is to close the ranks where the mistakes were made. after we listened to the testimony from the whistleblowers. we worked to address those problems. changing the culture is not easy and it cannot be done legislatively permit additional resources at it. real solutions are hard to find. it is clear that they are stru

>> you mentioned that in response to a question when the ig has findings from embracing those findings. since the problems and challenges that the va has a longstanding, i wonder whether you have a process or someone in that va who provides a response to the ig findings. should you be providing a report to congress to respond to the ig finding so that we also can provide the kind of oversight that we should provide as to what is happening at va? >> there are responses. unless i am mistaken, i believe those responses are shared. is that correct? >> yes. >> so there are responses. what i would tell you is that i don't believe that those have always done the visibility and detention. some of the examples surrounding the office of the medical inspector in those reports, quite frankly, i don't think those are getting the attention they deserve. as we look at overhauling processes, part of what we have to do is make sure the issues that need to be elevated of the way to the office of the secretary are, in fact, being elevated. where someone says we have taken care of this issue, we know what has been done and confirm that. >> mr. chairma

. >> reporter: the va has been plagued for scandal, a major black log of veterans waiting for care. >you can't do veterans like this! >> reporter: this deal is designed to drive down patient wait times and hold vsa leaders accountable. another $5 billion would be used to be beef up its own hospitals by hiring more doctors and nurses, and $1.5 billion would help open up more community-based clinics. but if the private doctor part of this deal that could make the biggest difference to veterans who need care. >> this is something that going to immediately alleviate the access crisis. >> the clock is ticking since congress breaks on friday. >>> and coming up on al jazeera america, when you think of neighborhoods that thrive off of technology, you think about silicon valley among others, but there is a new neighborhood catering to startups. >>> and we'll tell you the extent of the massive wildfire in yosemite national park. >>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. talk of a ceasefire by the plo, the palestinian liberation organization,

the va? >> i think so. >> is my time up? okay. with their current fee basis system, has a lack of interoperable of the between the electronic of record at the va and on va providers been a barrier to providing high-quality, noting of care to our veterans? >> one of the things that separates us is the requirement that we have, the responsibility to maintain continuity and coordination of care. i think in some of our contract options we have the ability to exchange electronic data. he is the thing. to many of us support the idea of non va access. giving our emerging situation, corporation public and private support that. but our concern about the solution that is the focal point of the funding is this potential lack of continuity. is that part of your plan going for? >> it is a part of it. we're looking at one of our major contracts we have in place today to look further making the data that we share back-and-forth. today it is not compatible. individual authorization will come and sometimes as paper. in contracts we get a pds, but when the test did the data. many more in

liberia.ia >> the va has been rocked by reports of patient's dying while awaiting care and falsification of records. the chairman of the house and chairman of veteran's affairs committee said they made snivr captain progress to reform the va. the bill is expected to authorize billson in emergency spending. >> anyone planing a road trip gas prices are going down. prices at the pump have dropped 9 cents in the past two weeks. drivers filling up with regular grade with paying on average $3.58 per gallon. the largest drop this year so far. analysts say u.s. refinery have far. analysts say u.s. refinery have plenty of supply and a what's with the suit? far. analysts say u.s. refinery have ploh, i had to go to the bank. if you look legit they give you special treatment. seriously? seriously, yeah. the banker dude set up my checking account so if i make one deposit a month, no monthly maintenance fee. special treatment! citizens bank, right? yep. you know they do that one deposit checking thing for everyone, right? and...you got mustard on your suit. actually, it's your suit. one deposit checki

kathryn mitchell who claims she has been retaliated against. >> the va in my opinion has routinely intimidatedrary to what the va wants to project. >> reporter: the agency says identifying problems, quote, is the first step towards fixing them. and then they go on to say we look forward to working closely with whistle blowers, the committee, and va leadership in the coming months to find solutions. hopefully they can. >> kelly wright live for us. thanks. >>> now another fox news alert. rockets fired at tel aviv. israel's defenses intercepted border attacks. some of which left citizens fleeing for bomb shelters. israel's military quickly striking back bombing more than 150 sites in gaza killing five alleged members of hamas. >>> isis militants have taken control of a former chemical weapons facility in iraq. remnants of 2500 degraded chemical rockets filled with the deadly nerve agent sarin are stored in that facility. the bunker was bombed back in 1991 destroying most of those rockets. the u.s. state department says that it would be nearly impossible to use that material for military purposes.

the va? >> we'd like to restore the va. >> thank you. we absolutely want to restore trust and a va and build a system that has the capacity to care. >> we want to save the va but fix it. >> absolutely. where are all in favor. >> let's turn the other way. >> does your organization support the 17 billion supplemental requested by the va ? >> the service support giving the two for more resources and believes that it does need more whether or not they have an exact number, i don't believe we know. our concern with the number is just making sure that it is well justified. but making sure the resources. >> that number we're not going to defend because we have no idea how it came here. how much additional is appropriated? at the specific appropriations. a year later they could not show you what happened to the money. >> i can send a share with the appropriate numbers. i think the idea of strengthening the va three more doctors and more nurses is a key point. >> the dollar enough, but we do support is providing the data resources and the news they could demonstrate that they need it. like i mentioned before, just as end users of the va it seems

i'm going to come to you and allege affairs and going to ask for an explanation and i hope that the va has found to be in the right. i'll be honest. i don't sit up here hoping the va is found to be in the wrong. i hope it's in the right. >> tlahank you. >> but i need an answer. i can tell you every member of local 1594 is going to call my office, not the va, and they're going to ask what i'm doing in my capacity so i'm sharing that were you on the record tonight simply to let you know how serious it is and not that i would expect you to have an answer tonight about if case but to tell you i'll be bringing that to you and to allege affairs very soon and i need an answer. >> and congressman, i'll provide it with the documentation that you told me you will provide. >> if it's not timely provided i'll continue to come each week. >> i'll work to make sure it's provided timely, congressman. >> otherwise, i'll come to your office way i recently have done with another agency and it's very effective when a member of congress sits in the lobby of an administration office. so i appreciate your unders

waiting list are about to get help. >> the va has caused this problem. the ways we can help solve it is to give veterans a choice. >> the va reform bill will allow vets who live 40 miles away from a va facility to see a private physician. open up to 27 new va facilities and give them for power to fire agencies. the bill has a $17.5 billion price tag. >> take chair another men and use those weapons and fight orientation battles, it is worth it. >> reporter: veterans groups say if congress passes the w it will make a difference. >> for those veterans who are waiting and have been reached out to, coming out of the shad dose now, immediate access to care is the most important thing for them. >> alex nicholson is with the iraq and afghanistan veterans affairs. >> there is a lot left to be done. this is basically a starting point. >> the house and senate are expected to vote before leaving on recess the end of this week. mark albert for cbs news washington. >> two other provisions deal with education. the first would expand a scholarship program to include sur

also the va has been keeping this close. hey haven't been opening up the process, haven't been meeting with veterans' groups. it's good they finally got a nominee because the acting secretary's been there almost a month now. we needed a nominee, we need the senate and congress to push it through quickly, and he needs to get to work because he might have the hardest job in washington right now. >> they were so quiet about the selection process, that i assumed, selection prois that i assumed wrongfully sloan gibson the acting secretary was going to be tapped to take over on a permanent basis. how did he do? >> he's done a good job, been very aggressive, been transparent, reached out to veterans groups, went down to phoenix, classmate of bob mcdonald. they have a working history together. i think a lot of folks hoped sloan would stay there. there are six or seven senior level positions open at the va. mcdonald has got to fill all those. he has got to restore confidence. his experience at p and g may prove helpful because nobody

the va care must be veteran centered. that has to mean recognizing each veteran's unique situation and individual treatments and flexible systems to meet the needs and preferences. when the text books say they should but most don't come into treatment until they have reached a crisis point in their lives. a veteran who asks for help on a mental health condition needs to get into treatment immediately. we will not solve that problem by establishing a requirement like a 14-day rule. it doesn't help a warrior who is at the end of the rope to get assessed but not begin treatment within three months. this is the way the va has implemented policies. their added additional steps to get in so you can see someone in 14 day and now you can intake to intake to finally get the treatment you need. some believe the way to solve the veteran problem is expand the access to non-va care. i doubt that is any solution. the concerns are detailed in my statement showing many studies point fto a shortage of mental health care providers. and there is qua

>> i worked at the va for seven years this august 20th. >> let's just start with you ms. ruell. hasthe situation with these metrics and management measurement, which is focused on concern outcomes in which could only be described as preverse incentives, have they existed for the last seven years? >> yes. >> so there wasn't a time that was better? >> no, our office used to ha have -- we started doing original claims a few years after i got there so philadelphia didn't have as much jurisdiction. we had a lower volume of claims and i believe we were able to give more times to the claims. we didn't have to know how to do so many different types of claims because each claims has so many rules and laws that go with it. if you have 15-20 types of claims it is like being a lawyer with 15-20 specialties. so the more claims that philadelphia has i have noticed it is much harded to know more laws for all of these types of claims. >> they grew in complexity and variety since you got there. is that what you are saying? >> i believe you can never figure out how complex a claim is. sometimes peopl

. >> the va has caused this problem and one of the ways that we can help solve it is to get veterans a choice. >> the reform will would let vets see a private doctor if three waited more than 30 days for va hospital care or live at least 40 miles from the facility. the bill calls for opening up 28 more facilities. the house and senate are expected to vote on the bill before leaving for recess the end of this week. >>> tonight we are getting a lot of new information about the crash of malaysia airlines flight over ukraine. ukrainian investigators say data retrieved from the black boxes showed that that plane was destroyed by a massive explosive caused by shrapnel from a missile. at the crash site today international investigator planning to inspect the wreckage were forced to turn back because there was more rocket fire in the area. >>> tonight hamas and israel accuse each other of causing an explosion that killed nine children playing in a gaza park. meanwhile israeli prime minister telling the israelis be ready for a pro longed war. >>> southwest airlines facing a $12 million fine f

rather than using the valuable information provided as an early warning system, the va often minimizes problems. his approach has allowed issues to fester and grow. the numerous cases before the agency we see a pattern where the va has an office of medical inspector that admits to serious deficiencies in patient care yet implausibly denies any impact veterans health. the impact of this denial has been to hide many issues that have recently come to light. my written testimony provides several examples of this approach and i want to highlight one egregious example of outpatient neglect and a long-term health care facility in massachusetts. specifically the report substantiated allegations that two veterans with severe psychiatric conditions waited seven and eight years to get mental health treatment. despite the findings, they denied that this had any negative impact on patient care. this conclusion is indicative of many other cases we have reported on. turning now, we have received scores of complaints for this and we currently have 67 active investigations into complaints from those who reported health and safet

best, but throwing money at the department into a system that has never been denied a dime will not automatically fix the perverse culture that has encompassed the department. va can no longer consider itself a sacred cow that is not subject to rules of good government and ethical behavior. veterans are sacred. va is not. ultimately we're talking about a system that has a long road ahead of it before it can get back to an organization deserving of our veterans and the sacrifices that they have made. i hope that today we received the needed insight from our veterans service organization. they and their members are on the ground. they need to be partners when the va try to rebuild the trust that is lost her i hope that together we can bring about true change to this broken system and a change, and a change that will fix the corrosive culture that has encompassed the department of veterans affairs for far too long. with that ideal to the ranking member for his opening statement. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. good morning. i want to thank you, thank you are holding today's hearing and for leading a rigorous oversight over these past few months. it's been a

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

we're hoping to get some kind after response from the va, which since then has come. you and your organization stepped in to if i the gap literally, set up a command center and saw hundreds and thousands of veterans there, connected them with benefits. connected them with care. i can not thank you enough for doing that. so, really, really appreciate what you're doing. let me follow up on, on one of the achievements that the secretary cited and, that i'm very grateful for, which is, removing that 14-day deadline and moving it back to 30. accelerating access to care. putting money in into local vas to make sure we access that. by that same model, thinking about el paso where i mentioned earlier if you were here we had 20 full-time vacancies in mental health. we had 20-full time say canses. commitment from our va director and dr. jessie, that we had those filled by end of this month. we checked this morning. they will not be filled. ptsd, mental health care, being able to help somebody who is in need who may be a danger to him or herself to spouse or loved one or communit

the va is the answer. in fact, we know it's not the only answer because since 2000, the va's budget has about tripled, tripled. however, we continue to uncover new problems. in my judgment, the va needs what you've experienced in your lifetime. your competitors took your business away from you. i personally believe that the va needs competition. only then will the va see that it needs to get its act together. and only then will we start to see the va get back to its core mission of serving veterans. without serious changes at the va, the reports of mismanagement, fraud, whistle-blower retaliation and more will continue. your job will be to root this out and do everything you can to turn the va in a different direction. i look forward to hearing from you. i think your confirmation assured. i do believe you're the right person for the job. and i wish you the very best. our veterans depend upon you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator johanns. senator hirono? >> thank you, mr. chairman. and ranking member burr, for this hearing and aloha, mr. mcdonald. it was a pleasure to meet with you yesterday. and

veterans. >> when the inspector general visited philadelphia last month, inspectors found a roomful of va claims and still containing documents not scanned into the system. the va has promised veterans immediate action. >>> off the italian coast this morning. >> the costa concordia is one more step closer to its final resting place. the cruise ship ran aground more than two years ago killing 32 people. >> reporter: well they've rolled her over now they've refloated her. but the job is not over. in the little part town they can finally see the day when they'll look out to sea and not have the view spoiled by a hulking reminder of tragedy. the costa concordia now sits a little further offshore. she's floating now supporting by the steel chambers attached to her side. speeded up imagery shows she's shifting around as preparations are made to get her out of here entirely. there's still a lot of work to be done making sure it's secure and in the right place and that this damaged ship will hold together. >> you wouldn't want to take her today. >> reporter: when would you want to? >> when i have everything available. >> reporter: what's your time? >> i think we should fin

the bonding agent is different. maybe he's on a medication he only has to take once or twice a day, but the va gets a better price, so now he has to take it three or four times a day. and the change in the medication changes everything. so i mean the issues, the issues are just huge. it is not only that -- and the other thing that we have heard, and from unimpeachable sources, is that vas vary as we heard with their pharmacy policies. there are some vas where you can go and get a brand name medication with no problem, other vas that essentially it is impossible to get a brand name medication. so, i mean, that brings up this huge issue that we have is why there is so much variation in the entire system. why we can't have more uniformity within the va system as a whole. >> thank you. thank you, dr. somers. my time is up, thank you. >> sorry. >> let me just conclude by saying your testimony is heart breaking. and i can barely hold back my tears and i thank you for being here. i yield back. >> thank you, mr. runyan, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and i thank all of you for sharing your st