v.a. system. so you are following in the footsteps of lots of great anyone vai tores in v.a., and one of the things that i don't think people realize, though, coming upon you to let your colleagues around the country know is that with all of the -- responsibilities now that come with -- so many people who work in jobs to increase productivity and to -- , you know, have their use in health care and everything else, that v.a. is actually probably one of the best places to be able to have time and able to innovate so we have to promote and let people understand that this is really a great place to be doing the types of things that all of you are able to do and colleagues and other physicians who work in private sector don't sometimes have the ability to spent the time and energy on innovation is is like we have the ability at the v.a. and so with that is a responsibility to take what you're doing and make sure that is gets spread throughout the country that people know about it. that's really what today is abou

are now experiencing. a bit of a hopeful terrible experience with. funding for the plane itself to the v.a. so to to get you there compensated or to get medical treatment. is going to home. they. are not there to help you no matter what the sunni. most of their employees are angry and surely. they don't like them i don't like going there i always bother to. what is the best care and the reality is totally different. down on that i mean it depends on who you get is it provides that the bureaucracy. for me is what has been a nightmare to deal with getting bills from the lab for a thousand two thousand dollars for blood work and staff call in the v.a. tell them i'm keep getting these bills call in the lab company telling the v.a. supposed to pay these bills and they don't and you're already sick with chemo and radiation all sudden all these bills are coming at you nobody is paying them. i mean it's awful i mean right now or a quarter million dollars in debt from cancer cost more bankrupt. and the v.a. still denies my claim that it's not this is not from exposures. the politicians the congressio

v.a. still denying our cases we have attorneys for sure you have anybody you know there are not going to see were jews were. you know just awful didn't make it to a lot. of time so i can make with a ten year golden rule the v.a. system itself means that about what for ten years or family it's no benefits that's why after ten years i don't get the benefits because or i think the v.a. should take more. be more responsible with these guys because they have already put their lives on the line for us why would we. not give them the proper medical attention that they need why give them an appointment three months out and then. send it you know prolong it even more to maybe eight months nine months a year and then even fighting for their benefits if they don't. then book person twelve months of them coming back and he doesn't get a diagnosis forget it they're screwed because they don't see it act it's service related service connected the burden of proof is on the veteran they have to be able to service connected it doesn't matter whether you have it or not or the condition can happen during the da

are sick. and they have overwhelmed a v.a. system that was not prepare to handle that to compensate every. soldier marine airman and sailor that was on the ground that are complaining about their exposure illnesses from exposure from the burn pits we would bring would bring literally send a v.a. broke and. they don't want to pay it so. the way to the decades a lot of those soldiers will die. and they won't have to pay union. hall grow up and. get the middle finger. to lose. the veterans that i speak to are all for that and they're the welder some of them are so sick that they don't know if they're wake up in the morning and i'm not exaggerating every year is something. something that's taken away from the quality of life that he has and that we have as a family. unit. in that i would can just walk into a restaurant down and he will have a meal. because he's sitting there he's trying to. keep him sound busy on his own. phone call to. the simple things that. we take for granted. that he doesn't have. our heart. what. what would what is our future going to be lead what does that hold. it's jus

we are able to compete our facilities with other hospitals and other v.a. facilities. we'll strike a competitive advantage and i think get people moving even better. we have dramatically increased the number of approvals for veterans to see the doctors. they are going to have many more doctors of their choice. these accomplishments are only the beginning. we will not rest until all of america's great veterans can receive the care they so richly deserve. tremendous progress has been made in a short period of time. i want to ask dr. shulkin to give us a little preview of what is to come. thank you. sec. shulkin: mr. president, thank you so much. what we are announcing today is a big deal for veterans. it is going to expand access for veterans in a way we have not done before. as you may know, v.a. already has the largest telehealth program in the country. last year, we had 700,000 veterans who got telehealth services through the v.a. we can actually do this for 50 different specialties. mr. president, if you take a look at the different specialties on this chart, we can p

v.a. supposed to pay these bills and they don't and you're already sick with chemo. also all these bills are coming at you nobody is paying them. i mean i mean right now we're quarter million dollars in debt from cancer. or bankrupt. and the v.a. still denies my claim that it's not all this gone from exposures. the politicians the congressional people that we saw to help us unfortunate drop is like a hot potato since we made senator. so we have no resolution right now the v.a. still do minor cases we have attorneys for sure you have anybody you know there are we're going to see we're jews were we are are you know i'm just hopeful you can make it till. the time so i can make what they call a ten year golden rule in the v.a. system itself means that about for ten years or tell me it's no benefits that's why after ten years i don't get the benefits that they deserve i think the v.a. should take more. be more responsible with these guys because they have already put their lives on the line for us why would we. not give them the proper medical attention that they need why give them an appointment

for them to fully fund the v.a.. we are working with the choice program now. paul: what do you make of the secretary, we heard from him earlier? how do you think the v.a. is doing in terms of access for vets. what advice would you give to the secretary? as iine metcalf-foster: said, i would work with the secretary and our legislative area is working with the v.a. to work out these issues and to work together. you go about doing that? what is the process your organization works from? delphine metcalf-foster: as i said, at our national headquarters we have a legislative staff that works with him and the v.a. on a constant basis as far as changing the laws or implementing different ideas that we have as veterans. paul: we have mike on the line from byron, minnesota. byron, what would you like to ask about our guest? caller: first, let me say thank you for your service. delphine metcalf-foster: thank you. caller: i'm tired of people cutting down the v.a. health care system. i have had nothing but positive results when i go there. use minneapolis hospital and the ro

either the military the v.a. or are supposed to take care of their veterans. and they're supposed to provide good health care and a good transition in the military and the military and v.a. has failed miserably on doing this and not only when the firm put issues but you know a lot of mental health issues and everything else there are many people who are working with the v.a. who feel that studies have either augmented belated have prone to bias in favor of. results that my air. that's having psychosomatic problems instead of physical problems. seems wrong. well we just don't. get to see. just the. ticket and it. equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground. well you can you want to use easy to notice i noted mary and one million people died and died. killed people may be seen in danger. now no one's going to wait a few bodies around it and that's. the office of public health conducts large studies of the health of american veterans covert just a studies produce results that should not support the office of publi

are very proud of it and happy. importantly, this bill authorizes new community-based outpatient clinics and improves the v.a.'s ability to candidates. we are getting candidates of the highest quality into the system now. so that our veterans have more choices and more access to the absolute best possible care. i want to thank congressman phil roe and congressman johnny isaacson, two people working so hard. senator dean heller for their dedicated efforts to get this through congress. it was very, very tough. for reasons i guess i understand, but it was not easy. and i will to you that phil and johnny and dean worked very, very hard to get it through. and by the way, i can also say others, and even some democrats. you want to say their names? go ahead. say their names. >> senator koester and representative walls were key in helping to get this done, mr. president. pres. trump: see, i can do it. but people fought, and they really fought us hard, and now the administration is fighting for you. we are working night and day to ensure our brave veterans are provided with world-class treatment, which is what they are

v.a. fails to -- when these claims are denied v.a. does not communicate to veterans, the reasons for the denial leading to veterans becoming frustrated, losing faith in the v.a. and filing appeals. the g. oochlt report find 90% of medical examiners that the va relies upon have not completed the elected training on gulf war illness so they can better assess veterans's disability levels. i would like to know why this training is not mandatory and when it will become mandatory. and if processers need better training as well. i also wish to hear the way it improves to communicate on claims. when veterans are not provided the reason it was denied they become frustrated and angry and they end up in our appeals process, which is already swamped. if they do not know why the claims are denied, they can spend years attempting to obtain their benefits through an appeals process. finally we know the v.a. continues to conduct and support research on gulf war illness, however the v.a. lacks a single case definition and as i understand it has no pla

v.a. health care. that's a big deal. now, just think about this. that means we are going to be able to use v.a. ities where there are a lot of doctors and be able to use those doctors to help our veterans in rural areas where there aren't many health care officials. you talked mental health and suicide proinvestigation, this is one of the areas we can use that expertise. today's announcement is going to allow us to do that. what we are going to be rolling out nationally with a rollout across the country is called v.a. video connect. v.a. video connect allows v.a. providers to use mobile devices to connect with veterans on their mobile devices or their home computers. that's a big deal. currently, we use v.a. video connect with over 300 v.a. providers at 67 hospitals or clinics across the country. that's beginning to roll out nationally. there's one more thing, mr. president. we are going to be announcing a new technology called the veterans appointment request. what that is is allowing the veteran on their smartphone to be able to schedule their appointments directly with v.a. providers or chang

we do have places where there are plenty of accountability programs, such as the v.a.. there are 31 different programs there and yet they are scattered. if you put them into one place, you are better serving veterans and taxpayers. finally, because personal has such impact on efficiency and accountability, we recommend abroad package of reform to a prove -- improve accountability and let managers do their jobs. we also want to bring compensation in line with the private sector, so the government is in a more competitive position to retain the best workers. with that, i am going to hand it over to don. don: my name is donald devine. i am the serious part of the program. the first thing i want to say is i very much recommend both of these books. the cost cutting one is just super, one of the best things i ever look that. i am an academic background. in some crazy way after the 1980 election, president reagan called me up and said got a job for you. it was head of the office of personnel management. that's kind of a funny job for a libertarian conservative like me, running

v.a. represents the best, of our country because -- there are a lot of dedicated who work in the v.a.the best this country has to offer, i think it is appropriate for federal government constitutional to take a role in providing for their care and honoring their service. kennedy: a lot of politicians pay lip service to, that but then those promises fall short. >> well the previous administration, with what was going on with the v.a. is the worst. kennedy: and bernie sanders. >> right, and federal government cannot perform, single payer, federal government, forget it thank god that trump administration passed with congress, bipartisan support the v.a. account bill tie bil bill h we needed, they are actually firing peep wh people who are nt performing in the v.a. and they deserve choice, choice and competition will compel those who provide for our veterans to do better there are them they deserve it. kennedy: unfortunately the v.a. has been a laboratory for destruction, we have seen how baue--bureaucracy is under servd destroy people who wear the uniform. i don't always holal hold great

we do have places where there are plenty of accountability programs, such as the v.a.. there are 31 different programs there and yet they are scattered. if you put them into one place, you are better serving veterans and taxpayers. finally, because personal has such impact on efficiency and accountability, we recommend abroad package of reform to a prove -- improve accountability and let managers do their jobs. we also want to bring compensation in line with the private sector, so the government is in a more competitive position to retain the best workers. with that, i am going to hand it over to don. donald devine. i am the serious part of the program. the first thing i want to say is i very much recommend both of these books. the cost cutting one is just super, one of the best things i ever look that. background.emic in some crazy way after the 1980 president reagan called me up and said got a job for you. it was head of the office of personnel management. job for ad of a funny libertarian conservative like me, running the bureaucracy. he said i've got a good sense of

v.a. represents the best, of our country because -- there are a lot of dedicated who work in the v.a.ederal government constitutional to take a role in providing for their care and honoring their service. kennedy: a lot of politicians pay lip service to, that but then those promises fall short. >> well the previous administration, with what was going on with the v.a. is the worst. kennedy: and bernie sanders. >> right, and federal government cannot perform, single payer, federal government, forget it thank god that trump administration passed with congress, bipartisan support the v.a. account bill tie bil bill h we needed, they are actually firing peep wh people who are nt performing in the v.a. and they deserve choice, choice and competition will compel those who provide for our veterans to do better there are them they deserve it. kennedy: unfortunately the v.a. has been a laboratory for destruction, we have seen how baue--bureaucracy is under servd destroy people who wear the uniform. i don't always holal hold great, hopefully this is a new experiment and how the private sector can

v.a. and dan caldwell, also a former marine, welcome too you both. thank you for your service, brandon, with you. you areabout the v.a. for a long time. i want to start with the telehealth program. is this what v.a. needs to do. >> it is. we need to meet veterans where they are, i am a counselor in arizona, telehealth has been able to help me get to native american veterans, and many in rural areas. they just need to get to the clinic in one of the outlying areas, i can see them, it is amazing program that lets me see veterans all over arizona. gerri: dan i a couple questions about this. does it work well where broad band doesn't? is it really advise able to be getting medical advice you know by telephone essentially. have you some pictures, but there are limitations to the service. >> of course with telehealth there are limitations, you can't do cancer screenings yet or other types of services. in some area, v.a. is recognizing there is inaccess to probroadband, they have a mobile component. i think what veterans should be most excited about with trump administration and secretary shulkin they could are

of the v.a., disrespectful, not treating our fellow patriots well, we look at them and we say, you're fired. that's it. that's it. [applause] president trump: they don't do a good job, they areut because that's we have great people at the v.a., only one people to do a great job. we were not able to do that before. that was a hard piece of legislation to get passed. we got it done and we are very proud of that. last week i also signed the veteranshomery educational assistance act. that is a big thing. [applause] president trump: this legislation bears the name of one of the first members of the legion, your past commander. a man who wrote the original g ft of the first landmark bill in 1944. and now under this legislation veterans can use their g.i. benefits at any point in a lifetime. some difference. rightt a few moments, here on this stage, i will sign another historic bill that the american legion helps us deliver. improvement appeals and modernization act. you all know what that is. [applause] no longer will: veterans be kept waiting for years to get an answer to their appeals. they will receive timely updates, and they will get decisions much more quickly, in a fraction

v.a. >>> those are just a couple of the morning headlines.al, gasia, i'll send it back to you. >> thank you, dave. >>> a call to remove a statue of christopher columbus from san jose city hall. there is a petition to have city take away the statue. they say it represents the genocide of native-americans and should be moved away from city property. the statue was donated to the city in 1958 by the italian american community. >>> in san francisco, another controversy over a statue at city hall. >> reporter: it sits between the asian art museum and main library near san francisco city hall. you may not have noticed the monument before but it is gaining notoriety in the wake of the removal of controversial statues nationwide. mainly confederate memorials. >> just off the bat it looks degrading into a facebook group of about 200 people calls the statue racist and wants it gone. >> when we have a statue that is depicting the genocide of members of our community, it makes people feel like they're not a respected part of san francisco. >> reporter: s

there are federal providers out v.a. to thethe indian health service. stop the to help prescribing of medication. there are a lot of options out there. from the states perspective, there needs to be more. i think the commission referred to several of the possibilities. the bipartisan policy center put together different recommendations. you talked about some of them. are you able to talk about these issues? guest: thank you for asking that. we have a governor's council made up of five former governors. this is a bipartisan group that felt that their experience with this issue -- they really wanted to weigh in. three of the five are sitting governors, so they really felt a need to address this issue. they came up with for critical fourmendations -- with critical recommendations. they stop heroin deaths increasing by 20% in a year. we need to do a better job curbing this. make sure need to they are not being unnecessarily prescribed. the will need to have and compassion in this country to treat the americans with this addiction. of people with the addictio

we passed account ability with the v.a. we are a lot of great work with the v.a.ot of great work all over. you look at what is happening with the coal industry. i looked at west virginia the other day -- i was in west virginia making a speech, and are doing great as that state. the great governor of west virginia, jim, who you saw, he just became a republican. first time in many, many years that has happened. he just left of the democratic party and became a republican, which was a great moment. hasn't happened in many years. we are very, very happy with what has happened. it has been an incredible six months. we have done a lot of record-setting business. it is incredible. you look at what is going on with the economy. to me, when you look at the enthusiasm of businesses, you look at companies moving back in -- 2 big car companies that are coming in, you saw last week foxconn, they make the apple iphones come all of it, the desktop, the biggest in the world, they are coming in to wisconsin with an unbelievable plant we have never seen before. and actually said to

v.a. jobs we manufacturing are bringing back to america by the hundreds of thousands.arget keystone pipeline that i immediately approved or the dakota access pipeline -- they don't talk about the keystone pipeline that i immediately approved or the dakota access type line. the russia story is a total fabrication. excuse for the greatest loss in the history of american politics, that's all it is. it just makes them feel better when they have nothing else to talk about. what the prosecutors should be nton'sg at are hillary cli , and theyeted emails should be looking at the paid russian speeches, and the owned companies, or let them look at the uranium she sold that is now in the hands of .very -- of very angry russians most people know there were no russians in our campaign. there never were. we didn't win because of russia. we won because of you. that i can tell you. we won because we totally outworked the other side. we won because millions of patriotic americans voted to take back their country. have you seen any russians in west virginia or ohio or pennsylvania? are

we are reforming the v.a. to ensure our veterans get the care they so richly deserve. ing choice. choice! choice! in other words, if you are sick and you are feeling sick, you don't wait seven days. we won't make you wait for your doctor. you go see your doctor and we will pay for it. isn't that good? we got legislation approved everybody said was impossible. it is called v.a. accountability. if somebody treats our veterans badly, we can fire them. we can say, you are fired. get out of here. everybody said -- everybody said we could not get it. they have been trying to get that passed for 40 years. we got some great legislation. do everything the liars backed her when they say, but trump hasn't got legislation? i think we have got more in a short in time, seven months, i think we got more than anybody. including harry truman, who was number one. but they will tell you we got none. so, we got v.a. accountabilities so that you can fire people who are treating our veterans badly or who are not doing their job. isn't that great? we have also obtained historic increases in d

v.a. secretary to remove corrupt and incompetent employees and then make sure that they are fired. hington, d.c. now hawkins was fired on july 28th after he failed to provide effective leadership to his almost 100,000 veterans patients at the d.c. clinic. so what power did the v.a. actually have to protect our veterans? joining us now is the secretary of veterans affairs david shulkin. mr. secretary, thank you very much for joining us. this is a story that has shocked a lot of people. this is someone who running a failed clinic unfortunately right there in our nation's capital. dirty equipment, delays and equipment unaccounted for. he was removed and now reinstated. how did that happen and how are you going to make sure stuff like this doesn't happen in the future? >> well, pete, this is exactly why we needed the accountability act and why the president signed new authorities for me to be able to remove people. in this case the medical center director was removed prior to that law being passed and we see what happens. the judge brought them back. and i'm not going to allow us to bri

sharyl: white coat waste and the members of congress are still pressuring the other v.a. involved to cancel their animal testing, too. next week on "full measure." we let you win on a dirty little washington secret. some of the most influential positions in congress come with a pricetag. nick penniman leads the group "issue one." its new report, "the price of power," exposes how members of congress serve as cash cows for their party's political machinery. nick: it is borderline extortion. sharyl: the price of power, next week on "full measure." until then, we will be searching for more stories that hold powers accountable. >> coming up on "government matters," it has been months in the makes, the split, the plan for the extreme makeover in the pentagon acquisition shop. >> gsa's innovation hub tries to overhaul the way the government buys software. nick explains why that could be critical. >> president donald trump's choice to lead the human resources office drops out as they hand down new execute hand new marching orders. >> "government matters" starts right now. from wa

v.a.'s ability to hire quality job candidates. we're getting candidates that are of the highest quality into the v.a. system now so that our veterans have more choices and more access to the absolute best possible care. i want to thank congressman phil row, senator johnny isaacson, two people have been working so hard, senator dean heller, for their dedicated efforts to get this bill through congress was very, very tough for reasons that, i guess i understand, but it was not easy. and i will tell you that phil and johnny and dean worked very, very hard to get it through. and by the way, i can also say others and even some democrats. do you want to say their names? >> sure. >> go ahead, say their names. >> senator tester and representative walls were key in helping us get this done, mr. president. >> good. see. i can do it. but people fought, and they really fought us hard, and now the administration is fighting for you. we're working night and day to ensure our brave veterans are provided with world class treatment, which is what they're getting, world class treat

v.a. facilities. kristine: these are changes that are long overdue. >> we have to make sure this is a customer service environment so we can earn back the trust of the veterans. kristine: in washington, kristine frazao. nancy: the police have arrested a man and accused him of inappropriately touching children at the in-home daycare. an 11-year-old made accusations and in the investigation they found a 9-year-old who made the same claims. now to the u.s. economy. the good news here. nations jobs report finding employers added 209,000 jobs last month. this is above what was expected. labor department added the national unemployment rate flipped to 4.3% matching a 16-year low first reached in may. jonathan: yelp setting up shop in the district. bringing jobs with it. muriel bowser made the announce. today. yelp will be at terrell place in northwest. construction set to start later this summer. hiring will begin later this year. teaming up to build what is called a monster manufacturing plant in the united states. it will be a $1.6 billion venture that should be up and running by the year 2021. i know are

we are reforming the v.a. to ensure our veterans get the care they so richly deserve. . choice! choice! in other words, if you are sick and you are feeling sick, you don't wait seven days. we won't make you wait for your doctor. you go see your doctor and we will pay for it. isn't that good? we got legislation approved everybody said was impossible. it is called be a accountability. if somebody treats our veterans badly, we can fire them. we can say, you are fired. get out of here. everybody said -- everybody said we could not get it. they have been trying to get that passed for 40 years. we got some great legislation. do everything the liars backed her when they say, but trump hasn't got legislation? i think we have got more in a short in time, seven months, i think we got more than anybody. including harry truman, who was number one. but they will tell you we got none. so, we got v.a. accountabilities so that you can fire people who are treating our veterans badly or who are not doing their job. isn't that great? we have also obtained historic increases in defense spe

ainsley: do you know what i also said steve that i liked if you are disrespected and you are a veteran at the v.ang to fire people. you are fired if you disrespect and treat them poorly. i thought that was greats. veterans fighting for country and putting their lives on the line for all of us. they need to be treated with respect when they come home. brian: legislation they have got to work through. a lot of great people that work at the v.a. that could make more money elsewhere. make sure, everyone, if you are watching out there we know you don't belong lumped in with the problems they had. ainsley: people of south carolina wonderful. the one in charleston is great. it has good ratings. steve: all about your home state. you are lucky, brian, we are in new york. brian: where everything runs like a top. steve: kentucky senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is. he has trouble with the voters back there. we will talk about that in a minute. he also has some trouble with the president of the united states. there was a story we told you about that came out a couple days ago about how mitch mcconnell

if both the appeals reforms and the budget requests are adopted, with the v.a. e able to accelerate the decisions for those pending appeals? >> the appeals that are in the -- the board of appeals were the ones we are most concerned about. if the senate votes to move the appeals modernization forward, as i think you are saying, mr. chairman, we will have a process to expedite those from the time that law passes moving forward. you are asking about the legacy claims and appeals. we do not have a plan to make significant progress on those. we are going to have to whittle away on them. the budget this year will add 142 more staff to the board. that will allow us to make incremental progress, but a thing to deal with the backlog we would be looking at 2026 before we dealt with the backlog. the one hope that i have, mr. chairman, rather than adding a l arge number of staff to deal with the backlog is the look at current veterans in the appeals process the option of opting in to the new process. if they choose to opt in, but it will have to be their choice, they would h

fumes pouring out of these pits are toxic and dangerous so while troops may survive the battle they may also be poisoned. in september two thousand and four. i know it is. the v.a. clinic instead of seeing caucasian men with meal chairs and oxygen who are in their eighty's. the entire composition of the waiting room change was full of young women and men of lawlessness and these and they were all in their twenty's back from their first year long deployment in iraq. the typical service member came in with an inability to complete a two mile run within regulation time. most of them had already had a traditional work up for pulmonary disease including x. rays c.t. scans plenty function testing all of these studies returned normal or near normal in almost every case. it was subtle because these service members complained of shortness of breath with exertion but their x. rays and pomery function tests indicated that they shouldn't have any disability at all and that doctors were brought. up their hands and saying what would cause a twenty seven year all man to have the one push. along charities or a respiratory condition of a eighty five year old man and they starte

we are reforming the v.a. to ensure our veterans get the care there's so richly deserve. choice. twice! choice! in other words, if you've got to wait several days to see a doctor, we won't make you wait for your doctor. isn't that good question mark and, we got legislation approved everybody said was impossible. a is called be accountability. if somebody treats our veterans badly, we can fire them. we can say, you are fired. get out of here. saidbody said -- everybody we could not get it. they have been trying to get that passed for 40 years. legislation.reat do everything the liars backed her when they say, but trump hasn't got legislation? more in a have got short in time, seven months, think we got more than anybody. who wasg harry truman, number one. but they will tell you we got none. so, we got v.a. accountabilities of that you can fire people who are treating our veterans badly who are not doing their job. isn't that great? obtained historic increases in defense spending to prevent and deter conflict. we believe in peace through strength. we're building up our mili

secondly, in regard to the v.a., i'm sorry you had that experience. thank you for your service. there are way too many people who fall through the cracks. people in the area of mental health, our servicemen and women who return for multiple deployments, we do not have the professionals to take care of them. all of us in kansas have access to community mental health services. why can't the va contract with them to provide services in barton county kansas for veterans who live here who need mental health? finally, your point about buying across state lines. i'm supportive of that. the broader point i would make is i have thought from the very beginning when the affordable care act was passed and when we we were involved in the efforts that are going on in congress today, we are missing something. they should be a debate and a discussion that occurs little bit later, not seven years later. but why does health care cost as much as it does? >> because healthcare insurance companies spend nearly $1 trillion every election cycle to reelect people. that is how come health care is so high. >> >> w

we are allowing the v.a. to provide collective support for veterans who are at a higher risk for suicide. we also launched a initiative this summer to help prevent veterans suicide, it is my top 30. to keep moving forward -- top topp priority. with your help we can do that. we need congress to fund our , and replaceation all patient data in one system. we also need congress to overhaul our broken appeals process. we worked closely to draft a proposal to modernize the system and where pleased to see the house unite mind the bill last month. now we just need the senate to act. most of all, we need congress to ensure the continued success of choice for veterans. veterans are responding to our modernization efforts by choosing the a more than before -- va more than before. the veterans care program will coordinate cares of veterans get the right care at the right time with the right provider whether communitycility or provider. we need your help to make it happen including funding to keep up with veterans as they

v.a. and deliver our veterans the care they so richly deserve. >> and you've seen what's happening. you have a true reformer now in david schelka. we arelishing wait times online for every v.a. facility so you know what the wade is we have delivered same-day emergency mental health services at every v.a. medical center we've opened the promised white house v.a. hotline that's a big deal. that's a big deal. we're dramatically increased the number of veterans approved to see the doctor of their choice, and signal legislation to continue that very important choice program that i spoke to you about last year. and i want to thank the american legion for your help in getting this done. you have been so helpful thank you very much. something that they've been trying to pass for 40 years, and we've passed v.a. accountability legislation. so if somebody that works at the v.a. is bad to the people, disrespectful, not treating our fellow patriots well, we look at them and we say, you're fired. that's it. sass that's it they don't do a good job, they're out. we have great people at the v.a., but we want people that do a great job. that was a hard

v.a. secretary tells news 4 they are making changes in the meantime nationwide. >> we have reinstituted regular checks of our parking lots to make sure that all of our property is policed appropriately to make sure that if this does happen where somebody is in ill health situation in the parking lot that we find them in a timely fashion. >> the cause of the man's death is yet to be released. according to congressional records there was no evidence of a crime in the case. during the break open up the nbc washington app to see our investigation that helped prompt these changes. >>> a call for action after two brothers were deported to el salvador. why their mother fears f future. >>> new revelations in the death of the tourist in ocean city. what we know about her final moments and the lingering questions from police. >>> something all of us can relate to, sitting in traffic waiting >>> a construction worker is recovering after falling 2 it happened this morning on rhode island avenue between 14th and 15th northwest. d.c. fire and ems teams pulled the worker out of the hole. we are told the perso