they're not set up by v.a. but v.a. participates and now we are part of -- we can now exchange information for 1.2 million veterans that we weren't able to before which allows those community providers and the v.a. to tap into that electronic health exchange and make sure that we know what's been done or what's to be done. so that's a little bit of where we came from, where -- what we've been doing and i want to focus a little bit on tomorrow which is where we want to go. as you can see, we have multiple programs. all of them create a level of confusion, administrative burden and bureaucracy so what does the future look like? i think this is really the opportune time over the next couple months, the department in partnership with congress and our vso colleagues will really be discussing this question of how do we create this high-performing network and consolidate and modernize our community care program while at the same time strengthening v.a. i have a couple, just thoughts here. we want to move from administrative el

the v.a. to share their experience with the v.a. health care system and to find ways to improve care for veterans and their families. we worked closely with howard and jean to develop the sergeant daniel somers classified veterans access to care act, and ensure that veterans with classified experiences can access appropriate v.a. mental health care services. after more than three years of work, i am proud to say that the sergeant daniel somers classified veterans access to care act is now law. but this is just one small step forward and our work with howard and jean doesn't stop here. we have so much work left to do. mr. speaker and members, i'd like to yield such time as he may consume to my good friend, the member of congress from georgia, david scott, who has served veterans bravely in congress and at home in his district for many years. thank you for being here, representative scott. mr. scott: thank you, ms. sinema. i really appreciate that very nice introduction. ladies and gentlemen of

of note, v.a. personnel often do not implement the procedure with sufficient reliability or specificity. researchers from both studies concluded that the results pointed to insufficient training and that additional training could actually change this course. the problem of deficient training is not confined to the v.a., though. tragically, deficient training is endemic across our nation's mental health professional training system. the recent report from the american association of suicidology highlights this issue. the main findings of that report are also summarized in the attachment to my testimony. as you can see, a shockingly low number of mental health training programs provide any education or training about suicide to its students. furthermore, state licensing boards, the very bodies charged with protecting the public's health and safety from unqualified professionals, typically do not require any exams or demonstration of competency in suicide risk assessment or intervention. the implicati

the v.a. as a medical student i worked in the v.a., of course. as a resident, i worked in two other v.a.'s, so that's really where i learned and trained. of course, father, being a psychiatrist in the military, not only talked about his army experience, but also growing up, talked about how he would deal with people that were suicidal, or really struggling with other mental health issues. that is one of the big issues we are dealing with today in the v.a., 20 veterans of the day taking their life through suicide, active care, and mental health priorities and treatment. all of these issues are things that have always been on my mind. >> i want to come back to disk -- will talk about suicide. when talked to family members about people who have taken their lives, what do they tell you? them system that has the and their family down. it has let them down. they lostts, after their son -- and they shared with me and this has now been published publicly -- it is pretty clear that the whole family was

we at the v.a. give president lincoln that credit because his second inaugural address he came said, it's the country's responsibility to care for those that's what we put throughout this building and i start almost every public talk with that. but when you look back goes back to it the pilgrims. soldiers, there were commanders that felt the care for those their levels up for battle. so this is to the beginning of country that theres with a and tment and a need responsibility for those that had put their lives at risk for us. promise today means what? today is even more relevant, when we have a service.y less than 1% of citizens serve in the military. people raise their hand and volunteer to go off and put toir life at risk, they have understand that when they come back, the country will be there for them. and not just on the first 30 days after they're here, but commitment.time when something happens, as a result of conflict and result of service, they have to understand we're there for them no mat

we are still undercapitalized in the v.a. i think realistically, we can expect to take decades of essentially underfunding and fix it all at once. so we are putting more funds. we have requested more funds into the modernization of v.a., i have announced i want to dispose of 1100 facilities that aren't being utilized well by veterans to put back into facilities that are busy like the west haven v.a. i don't have a specific number of where the projects are, but certainly, i am going to support fixing the west haven v.a. and other facilities that aren't modernized, and part of that is we're going to have to redo our matrix on how we make capital decisions because right now, i will tell you, the number one weighted factor and where the money goes is the seismic improvements. while that's really important, i'm not going to say that that's not critical, you're not on a fault line. and it puts facilities like west haven at a disadvantage. we're going to be looking at that. >> i hope i can be generous in pushing west haven to a high

and, david, thank you from the v.a. and most importantly the real boss of the family, right? come on up here. this is the real boss. thank you. i just have to say and i was just telling ted, you have a great governor and a great first lady of texas. special people. they have worked so hard, and the coordination between the federal and the state and the local has been terrific. and we're going to keep it going that way. if anything we'll even get it -- i don't know if it gets better, but we're going to try and make it better. but i just have to say this, the cameras are blazing, i have to say it. you have a great, great governor. he's done a fantastic job. so on behalf of melania and myself i want to thank you, governor, for everything you've done, and first lady, thank you very much. so nice, so good. >> thank you for being here. >> well, thank you very much. i appreciate it. and it's really, david, seeing something like has happened here. you know, david's taken the veterans administration, the v.a., and he's done so many things for the veterans. we've only been here eight m

. >> friday night, a conversation with secretary david chilton about the challenges facing the v.a. he also focuses on his childhood and growing up in a military family. here is a preview. saw you in houston, texas with vice president mike pence and we are in the middle of hurricane season in when it comes to natural disasters, was the role of the v.a.? missions. has four the health commission is one people understand. but we also have an educational mission where we train 70% of u.s. trained doctors in the country, a research organization , $1.6 billion dedicated to improving the lives of veterans. our fourth mission, which fewer people know about, is emergency preparedness. in the case of natural disasters like hurricane harvey, or in the case of a military disaster, it really is the v.a. that is prepared to respond in conjunction to other federal agencies. we have the most doctors in the countries, the most nurses in the country, the most mental health professionals in the country, mobile units that can be deployed around the country and we trained with this. our first mission wa

we published on line wait times at every v.a. facility, opened the promised white house v.a. hotline, extended veterans choice. you know what that is? the veterans are our greatest, our bravest, our most wonderful people. and in many cases they get older and things happen. they're waiting on line for seven days, for nine days, for 16 days, and in some cases they die. in some cases they can have a simple procedure, they can have a simple prescription, and it takes eleven or twelve days to get off line to see the doctor. by the time they get to the doctor, they're terminal. so i said, without knowing much but having a lot of common sense and very good up here, always, always, but i said, you know, like you people, i said that doesn't make sense. if they're waiting on line, can you imagine -- we have a lot of people that are very successful people here. can you imagine going to your doctor and having him say you have to wait for eleven days? if i have to wait for two seconds i go crazy. hopefullywo we don't have to se too many doctors, that's even right. let's not even see the d

nd then as a medical student i worked in the v.a. and i worked in two other v.a.s and i learned and trade and that had an impact on me. and my father being a psychiatrist, not only talked about his army experience but talked about how he would deal with people that were suicidal and people that were struggling with mental health issues and access to health care and that is one of the big issues we are dealing with, the issue of 20 veterans a day taking their life through suicide, the issue of access to care and mental health parity in treatment. all of these issues are things that have always been on my mind and thought a lot about. >> just a brief portion of our nversation with secretary of veterans affairs david shull kin. this will weekend on book tv, vermont t 7:30 p.m., sand senator offers his thoughts on how to bring about change in america. >> what is the agenda and what should we be doing as a nation? if you have a middle class that is shrinking and millions of people in poverty and sometimes desperate poverty, the first thin

summer we found p to a period a thousand sick veterans died while waiting to see a doctor that the v.a. spent $20 million on high-end art ortfolio, so 27-foot christmas trees costing the amount like $21,000.ke cars sculptures priced like five edroom homes, two sculptures for $700,000 procured by a v.a. blind that serves veterans, rock sculpture with $1.2 million.r this is the type of waste that is in our government. sunday night 8 eastern on c-span's q&a. >> "washington journal" continues. senior ris meissner, fellow and director at migration policy institute, joins us on the day the trump administration announcing plans for the future of the daca program. meissner, help us understand who these so-called they,rs are, how many are how long have they been in the united states on average? uest: well, they're a group of people who were designated in the last administration by obama as eligible for a program that he created, daca, deferred action for childhood rrival, created in 2012, june of 2012. and it said that young people brought them have here, whose parents are illegally in the coun

host: do you use the v.a.? what's your experience? caller: oh, about three months to get an appointment. i have to wait three months. and then i got to wait another three months. yeah. this is going to work out really good, you guys. you want to bring down the cost of health insurance, who's the people that are in congress? 9% of -- host: mary. independent. go ahead. caller: yeah. you talk about medicare for all. i'm on medicare. if i wouldn't pay 20% of my last brain surgery i would have paid $20,000. i have an advantage plan with y medicare and also 20% of $200,000 would have been $20,000. so another thing. old. le jesse is 99 years if we had medicare for all or universal medicare, he wouldn't have had open heart surgery at 99. he has been on a waiting plan probably three years and probably wouldn't be here by now. so no way. host: mary, what's the solution going forward? caller: i don't know. with my medicare i pay over $200 and something a part. $100 for my advantage plan. and the people on medicare that don't make that much from

tonight with a conversation with veteran affairs secretary, he discusses the challenges facing the v.a. and what led to current problems and reflects on his childhood and what it was like growing up in an army family. atch it at 8:00 eastern on c-span. >> we saw you in houston, texas with vice president pence and we e in the middle of hurricane season. >> the v.a. has four missions, the health care mission, but we also have an educational mission where we train 70% of u.s.-trained doctors in this country. we have a research mission where we are the largest organization doing research, $1.6 billion all dedicated to improving the lives veterans but the fourth mission is emergency preparedness and in the case of natural disasters like hurricane harvey or in the case of a military disaster, it is the v.a. that is prepared to respond in con junction with other federal agencies. we have the most doctors and nurses and most mental health professionals. we have mobile units and we train for this. our first mission was to make sure that veterans' health care and benefits continue. our medical c

the long-term, we must have a plan, a strategy for rebuilding the islands ports,bridges, airports, v.a. facilities, much like we do in this country. except there they are in so much more need. security, power, communications, safety, housing, all have been destroyed and the consequences will be deadly. my hope is that general buchanan will expedite the plan, so far it has been lacking and it should be done today and approach, with fema and i hope as well that they will permit visits by members of haveongress who so far, been prevented from going there. to american people deserve have elected representatives there because puerto rico has none here. by extraordinary work done cable tv and reporters and the print media and others who are there, has given us a picture, and often a picture is worth a thousand words, all the devastation that now continues. a man-made disaster that must be stopped before it takes lives and destroys hopes. thank you, mr. president, i yield the floor. on-0 c-span's washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up this mor

they took him to the v.a. and it didn't help. after about a year this guy said one of the guys at the v.a. hospital pulled him aside and said, hey, you want to help your son, see me off campus. they saw him at his office off the v.a. hospital, and the guy said, look, your son needs marijuana. here's the prescription. here's how to use it. go do it. and do you know what the guy said to me in my office? he said, my son hasn't had a seizer since that day -- a seizure since that day. you want to know what i think of you being the point man on medical marijuana, i want to give you a big hug is what he said. i hope my colleagues take this seriously. because there are children on the floor having these seizures. there are veterans waiting there in seizures. there are old folks who have are having arthritis and they can't move their hands or they're out there, they've lost their appetites in these senior citizens homes. yes, there is nothing wrong with us using cannabis to help alleviate their pain. and they've been doing that for three

so when it comes to natural disasters, what's the role of the v.a.? >> the v.a. really has four missions. the health care mission is one that people understand. but we also have an educational mission, where we train 70% of u.s.-trained doctors in this country. we have a research mission, where we're the largest organization doing research. $1.6 billion a year. all dedicated to improving the lives of veterans. but our fourth mission, which even fewer people know about, emergency preparedness. and in the case of natural disasters like hurricane harvey , or in the case of the military disaster, it really is the v.a. that emergency is prep respond in conjunction with other federal agencies. we have the most doctors in the country. we have the most nurses in the country. the most mental health professionals in the country. we have mobile units that can be deployed around the country. and we train for this. so in the case of hurricane harvey or, our first mission was to make sure that veterans' health care and benefits continued. so our medical center in houston staye

where up to 1006 veterans died while waiting to see a doctor, the v.a. spent $20 million on on our portfolio. 27 foot christmas tree costing the amount price like cars. poachers priced like five-bedroom homes. culturesters -- huge like five bedroom homes. for $2 million. this is the type of waste in o government. >> suny night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. yesterday, national education association president discussed education policy,

it is one of the reasons i still practice medicine in the v.a. because there is no better way to connect to your staff and customer base that you serve than to let them know that you are committed to it and you understand the situation that they are going through. >> oregon senator came to the floor to talk of the ongoing wildfires in his state. his remarks were about 10 minutes. >> senator from oregon? senator what -- senator senator -- senator wyden: i'm going to listen to oregonians who have been clobbered by several mega-fires unlike anything we have seen in my home state of oregon. addition toat, in mega-fires, there are numerous other fires just up the road from my hometown of portland, the eagle creek fire has merged with the indian creek fire and spread over an area of more than 31,000 acres. , again just seen staggering and its implications, and fire jumps the columbia river into washington state. it is a ravaging our iconic columbia river gorge. this is a treasure, beloved by the millions of people who visit it every year. it is burning

two sculptures for $00,000 procured by a v.a. center that serves blind veterans. it was a rock sculpture with landscaping for $1.2 million many this is the type of waste that's in our government. >> sunday night at :00 eastern on c-span's "q&a." >> c-span, where history unfoles daily many -- unfoles daily. in 1979 c-span was create as a public service by america's cable television companies and brought to you at this by your cable or satellite provider. >> the u.s. house is if recess so members can attend a closed door meeting on north korea. earlier approved $7.85 million rereef. ane harvey also for removal of degree. $450 million has been setaside for the small business administration for that agency's disaster loan program to assist small businesses and homeowners.

have to interconnection in between so many participants in that traffic that it's in principle the v.a. to have autonomous driving initiatives autonomous driving on the motorway is already technologically possible laser scanners radar sensors cameras ultrasonic sensors and g.p.s. technology allow self driving cars to monitor their surroundings. but city traffic poses a much greater challenge drivers have to react to a wide variety of situations like cyclists cutting into a lane and suddenly stepping onto the road. that swiss artificial intelligence expert matches us man is working to solve. that reson our algorithms are able to detect objects and differentiate between a vehicle and a pedestrian. but that alone doesn't guarantee traffic safety. it's also important for the technology to recognize what pedestrians or vehicles intend to do. for example if a pedestrian stops at the curb and autonomous vehicle i need to be able to react differently than if that person wants to cross the street. so far this technology is still in the testing phase and come makers have agreed that only one hun

similarly, the v.a. choice program which allows veterans access to health care in local communities rather than waiting for a v.a. appointment or traveling to a v.a. facility is available to those whose residence is more than 40 miles driving distance from the closest v.a. facility. my amendment would also set a deadline of 60 days after the enactment of this legislation for the department of defense to report on the financial impact of the co-pay increases of military retirees and their families. with the information provided by the department of defense, congress can then rationally assess the impact of the co-pay increases on beneficiaries who live distant from military treatment facilities, incorporate appropriate provisions in future legislation. i appreciate the opportunity to discuss my amendment which would rectify this unintended effect on military retirees and their families who live in rural parts of our country. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator f

the correction will help v.a. implement the law correctly and all sides agree it must become law as quickly as possible. in short, this bill that both the majority and minority support, we all agree it must be signed into law as soon as possible and with that i urge my fellow members to support its passage. i reserve the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i'd like to give two minutes to the gentleman from florida, a true american ero, a combat veteran, mr. brian mast. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. mast: i want to thank my colleague from florida for the time. mr. speaker, without action from congress, the authority for the v.a. secretary to carry out many essential activity that are critical to helping our veterans will expire. i get my health care from the v.a. i get alongside a great number of my best friends in life and i c

a new v.a. report shows the risk for suicide is 22% higher among veterans than civilians and 250% higher amongst female veterans than female civilians. this is unacceptable. 20 veterans a day lost to suicide should be a call to action for our country and for this congress. we must take action and we must do it now. typically, the time in this chamber is split, republicans have one hour, and democrats have one hour. but we believe this issue is too important to be overshadowed by partisan politics. that's why tonight, congressman timur fi and i have brought together members from both sides of the aisle to show our commitment to solving this problem together and finding real solutions for our veterans. this is the fifth year that we've assembled this team to raise awareness and send a clear message that the epidemic of veteran suicide must end. we have so much work left to do. so tonight, we demonstrate or ongoing support for individuals, organizations, and agencies devoted to preventing the ep de

the government what does what does it have now that tells you it runs things efficiently i mean the v.a.'s rooms to hire i said that it needs to be fixed absolutely it's not perfect by any means but i don't think we need to put a price tag on people's lives i have family and friends that would not be living today unless they had benefits from the affordable care act that allowed them to get treatment for serious life threatening illnesses because without the ac a they wouldn't have been able to afford the insurance premiums to cover such preexisting illnesses so i believe that it can be improved upon believe health care is a right or whether it is with us to it if you go if you don't believe it's a right to know why ours is some americans die and some americans live with the price of a prescription. well of course that i don't believe that that message has to happen even if you do not take over the economy i mean take over one sixth of the economy by the federal government you know believe it or not people did exist people did survive and i don't know i really don't know i don't believe

sculptures priced like five-bedroom homes, sculptures for $700,000 procured by a v.a.enter that serves blind veterans. worth $1.2 million, this is the type of waste that is in our government. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. monday, marks the 16th anniversary of september 11 and our live coverage of the remembrances begins at 8 a.m. eastern on c-span two, live from new york city for the ceremony of the september 11 memorial. at 9:30 a.m., live coverage of the september 11th sermon at the pentagon and at 9:45 a.m., on his band three, live from shanksville, pennsylvania for the commemoration of flight 93, national memorial. watch live on c-span.org, on any of our c-span networks or listen live on our c-span radio app.

v.a. . kiddo. if i want to treat his first american meal. in the parking lot. after lunchtime finally clear. we've got a real. emotion. to . get him on the. eve. yet i did a little. myth the day you eat. ok to hate. going. yeah yeah. yeah because i'm. going to. be hey you know. in addition to the twenty seven million hispanic nationals million latinos. begin to u.s.a. . throw them out of the country and what would happen. economic collapse. go to prep of course. who will clean the hotel rooms. and who would screw trophies together. ok i'll be a. little birdie. birdie you want to. hear. the. other side. all the time it was a little no. big deal. you know. mom. mom ah. ah . oh we're in mexico or in the states the united states houston texas yes texas seems like we're home on the second. and you feel more thaksin or mexican. texan definitely could you say you are a generation of immigrants that are living the american dream absolutely yes yeah living. we my parents you know my parents worked hard to educate my sister than myself you know they worked in the fields

it was two sculptures for $700,000 procured by a v.a. center that serves blind veterans. it was a cube rock sculpture all in with landscaping for $1.2 million. this is the type of waste that's in our government. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's "q and a." >>> on "lectures in history," westfield state university criminal justice professor george michael teaches a class on white supremacist groups in the mid to late 20th century. he describes the difference between white supremacists and white separatist groups. and looks at events that have attracted media attention. he also discusses the relationship between the extreme right subculture and current politics. his class is about 50 minutes. >> okay. good evening. today we are going to take a look at the history of the white separatist movement in the united states. now, at the present time white separati

we have v.a. worker accountability. for 40 years they have been trying to get it passed.hey couldn't. i will not blame the unions and i will not blame civil-service. that was the problem. you have the unions. for 40 years, they cannot get passed. you would have people working in the v.a., who were sadists, who would abuse our great veterans. by the way, 20 years before, they would have had their ass kicked by the same person they were abusing. they would have been in trouble. they would have been in trouble. 25 years earlier, they wouldn't be doing it area that is the way it is. they are sadists, or they are doing a bad job. you could not fire them. i passed the va accountability act. we have a great man running the va. he has done more in eight months than they have done at the va for years. it is really getting good over there. i am very proud of him because i made that promise. in the best tradition of america's greatest leaders, we're standing up for american workers and defending american jobs and american industry. [cheers and applause] we're building our future wit

that's a fee that all v.a. borrowers are charged at closing. monica had to wait until the approval was figures. well, she was later approved but couldn't get her money. $9,300. she tried for nearly six months and got nowhere so she finally reached out to us. we contacted them and they applied to the principal balance of monica's loan. monica's refund was delayed because its loan center had been unusually busy. in a statement it said as soon as it became aware it took immediate action to assist monica. you might qualify for a funding fee refund. if you have a consumer complaint call us 888-996-tips or logon to nbcbayarea.com/responds. >> thanks, chris. 6:25. among the most popular ways to celebrate a labor day week a trip to the beach. this year that also meant more than normal share of garbage. crews worked to make sure that extra trash was picked up. couldn't help but notice what others left behind. >> there's trash all around and people don't clean up what they bring in. it's such a shame. along with other bay area beaches two saturdays from

washington post points out he took the taxpayer shaw other stuff at the v.a. telling them to please review their planned travel to determine if it was really truly necessarily. quote, i expect this will result in decreased employee travel and generate savings with the department. signed secretary shulkin. he signs that and then on his way out the door bye, got to go. i'm going to four different palaces. i'm going to wimbledon. you get the travel costs under control. i got to go. my wife is waiting. so trump's health secretary is gone. as of tonight, his a.r secretary, secretary and epa have done the same stuff. as the health secretary. so i guess theoretically, if the administration says tom price's behavior was a problem, we should be watching to see if those other four officials from the trump cabinet are going to go now, too. to encourage you not to hold your breath on that after tom price resigned today, the president chose to display his personal disapproval of tom price's terrible taxpayer funded conspeckous waste flying to his golf resort in new jersey.

priced like cars it was sculptures priced like five bedroom homes, $700,000 ures for procured by a v.aillion. this is the type of waste that is in our government. >> tonight 8 eastern on c-span's q&a. >> this weekend on american istory t.v., historian spencer crew discusss great migration, when more than six million moved after cans world war i from the rural south to urban areas in the north and west. is az preview. happened in washington as that there was a lot of resentment emerging from former cityers who came up to the and couldn't find work. they were resentful of seeing frican americans who had work, they were doing things like panhandle nothing their uniform on the streets of washington, they resented the black invasion into washington, d.c. capitolhborhoods around hill in soggy bottom and around the town, this to them was unacceptable. the violence began when white a itary individuals heard rumor that the wife of one of had been -- african american and had escaped. and began going to the streets and attacking african americans, wherever they them, no matter what. the riot last

and last summer we found in a period up to 1000 veterans died while waiting to see a doctor that the v.a. $20 million on high-end art portfolio, so was 27-foot trees costing the amount like priced like cars sculptures priced like five bedroom homes, it was two $700,000 for a serves blind at veterans, a cubed rock sculpture 1.2 millionaping for dollars. this is the type of waste that government. >> sunday night 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. >> "washington journal" continues. host: and as congress returns to on capitol hill after the play for the, full next couple days, weeks and to hs, as house gets back work today at 2:00 and senate back to work at 3:00. the front page of the new orleans advocate focuses on two major issues dealing with.be the lead story position, congress likely to renew flood the flood insurance program needs to be addressed before the end of the month and the program. on the other side of the page, republicans split on trump's is deferred at action for childhood arrival plan we've been talking about this morning. two of the many issues that congress is going to be dea

all extra people in the v.a., that is all because of george bush, thank you, republicans bye. host: president trump highlighting via tweet senate runoff election in alabama between luther strange and roy moore. his tweet saying he's been shooting up in the alabama polls since my endorsement, finish the job, vote today for big luther. joining us on the phone to highlight the status of the election the montgomery advisor state government reporter. thank you for joining us. bring viewers up to date on what polling suggests might happen today? guest: the polling since the beginning of the runoff has generally suggested suggested that moore has a lead. the numbers have been all over the place, alabama is a difficult place to poll add special election and it makes things more uncertain. generally like my district, more and more, has a very dedicated following among republican voters, but strange and his allies have spent heavily trying to drive up turnout. host: what is the closing arguments for both of men? guest: strange's argument has been the same as he made since may, he suppor

v.a. center in a that serves blind veterans. this is the type of waste that is in our government. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q and a. and johnjohn kasich hickenlooper outline their proposal to fix the nation's system.are this event was cohosted by the american enterprise institute and center for american progress. it also includes policy experts who talk about ways to stabilize the individual health insurance

we've had government programs such as v.a. and we've had major gaps in the v.a. plans. so we want to make sure that whatever system we have, that it carries out the first three points that you just said, that health care is a right. that there's full not only coverage but access to all necessary health care that people can afford. that's what we want to make sure is accomplished. are there better ways of doing it? yes. is single-payer a reasonable way of getting there? yes. but we have to make sure there are protections in whatever we do so the concerns you raised do not become a problem. the next question? >> senator -- senator -- senator, i was asked to address -- [ crowd shouting ]. >> you can get in line just like i had to. >> i know i'm going to get into trouble with the audience. can i ask this person ask his question? go ahead -- this -- you'll go next. you'll go next. let him ask his question. let him ask it. >> thank you. >> thank you, senator. this is a weird situation in part for me because i am half the way with you in fighting against the republicans and i

procuredo sculptures by a v.a. center that serves blind veterans. sculpture all in with landscaping for $1.2 million. this is the type of waste that is in our government. >> tonight at 8:00 on c-span's q&a. a teacher of social studies and civics to middle and high school students, try our classroom resources at the classroom website. there is ready to go resources including current events videos, lesson plans, and handouts, also teaching tools doing engage your students and discussions. many teachers use these resources, so you should try it, too. go to c-span.org/classroom to sign up. >> up next, an emory university law professor delivers the keynote address at the society for historians of american foreign relations. talk, she looks at how americans have experienced war country'sduring the history through journalism, soldiers letters, and photography. this is just over 50 minutes. >> good afternoon. i am privileged to serve as your vice president for 2017. and in that capacity i have the distinct honor of introducing mary dudziak on behalf of her

checkbook r the last four years and we found dung a period where veterans died while waiting , the v.a. spend $20 million on a high-end art for leo. amount price like cars. it was sculptures for 700 thousand dollars by ava center that serves blind terans. this is the type of waste in our government. >> tonight at eight eastern on c-span's q and a. >> david schuelke anhabeen with the trumpdministration since february after being unanimously confirmed by the senate. we set down to talk about his childhood and what it was like in an army family. this is 25 mines. >> secretaryavid shulkin, you oversee the second largest government agency department. what is your management style, approach to this job? >> might approach is getting a mandate from the psint and the untry to get this organization back on track. what it really is, is to make sure ts -- can take care of our countries vetera. the rricane, when i look back through the history, the and decades of problems that hen't been dealt with -- the

what is the role of the v.a. has four missions. we have an educational mission of u.s.train 70% trained doctors in this country. we have a research mission where the largest organization during research come all dedicated to improving the lives of veterans our fourth mission is emergency preparedness. in the case of natural disasters like hurricane harvey or in the case of a military disaster, it really is the v.a. that is prepared to respond. we have the most doctors in the country, we have the most nurses , the most mental health professionals in the country. we have mobile units that can be deployed and be trained for this. in the case of hurricane, our first mission was to make sure that veterans health care and benefits continued. our medical center in houston state open. we have staff there from friday evening all the way through now making sure that our 400 inpatients were able to get the care they needed and our emergency rooms did open people also deployed mobile units throughout houston. i was out there with the vice pres

we have medicare, which is going to be out of money in the next 15 years, and we have the v.a., that is also a federal health care system. nobody would argue that those systems are just doing fantastic. financially, they are going to have a big problem. i don't understand why they don't point to that and say, let's try to handle that on a state basis to see if we can do better than the government. thank you. ofst: i mean, that is kind the arguments that the republicans make. the do want the states to be handling and more. ishink the pushback we hear that if you move for work or you are a person with pre-existing conditions, it creates instability and inequality from state to state, so somebody who has fewer resources and as may less concerned about some aspects of health care or had more people who need to use state resources, they deplete those more quickly. york could bew receiving better health care than somebody in alabama and that is what they were trying to avoid with the affordable care act and the have not had very much success, republicans have not had much success in convin

he's using his v.a.ability benefits to help two vietnamese brothers severely crippled by those presumed agent orange illnesses. toan, age 25, has been in intensive care for the past two years, no longer able to move or swallow on his own. >> by the age of eight, he was seriously showing symptoms, stumbling, not having the strength to pull himself up. they saw some american doctors. the american doctors told them that they thought it was likely a disease caused by agent orange. >> reporter: the family larry is helping camps outside on the hospital's walkway, because vietnamese families are responsible for feeding and bathing their hospitalized relatives. >> the mother, hoa, works very hard trying to hold the family together. her husband is paraplegic and two boys quadriplegic. i also feel a little bit of national guilt for what we did here in vietnam to so many people. i need to, in my own little way, try to help. >> reporter: the agent orange problem has also drawn dick hughes back to vietnam, where some

. $58,000, you could hire a v.a. spinal cord specialist for one year and secretary price spent over $400,000 of your money and that is a lot of spinal cord specialists and we are talking about raiding the public funds and raiding the public trust. that's why i have introduced the swampfire act. and what it will do is stop this from happening in the future. this will prohibit senior cabinet officials from using noncommercial flights unless they certify under penalty of perjury that no commercial floits were available. in this case, you have secretary price flying from here to nashville. i guarantee you there are lots of commercial flights and no reason he had to take a noncommercial flight. in addition to what we are seeing with these three cabinet officials, we have this culture of corruption that really needs to stop because this flows from the top. with the president, what we have now is the president staying at all these private properties that are his or owned by his family and comes with his secret service and o