department of veterans affairs.mr. murray is the deputy assistant secretary for finance at the u.s. department of veterans affairs as we said since 2005. the honorable john is with human resources and administration at the u.s. department of veterans affairs. the honorable richard griffin is the deputy inspector general for the u.s. department of veterans affairs. and his chief deputy, mr. garrey abby is the inspector general for audits and evaluations of the u.s. department of veterans affairs and i & the chief person responsible for this work. pursuant to the committee rules, would you please rise, raise your right hand to take the oath. do you solemnly swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? please be seated. let the record indicate all witnesses answered in the affirmative. when we began i understand that we will have farrisee, ms. farrisee and mr. griffin will be giving their opening statements. as the ranking member said, mr. sepulveda, y

what more do you think the department of veteran affairs can be doing? well, they're working hard to do what they can. their problem is they have an antiquated i.t. system. they're having a hard time dealing with the huge influx of veterans who are making demands on the system. i think it's going to be quite some time before they finally get their house in order. sothing that's been long overdue. but the secretary of veterans affairs, himself a decorated and wounded combat veteran, knows what to be done. and is working hard to make sure we deliver. a lot of the things that veterans need, they don't need right away. 20 years from now, when the veterans of the current conflicts start to develop the problems that are the result of the conflicts, they're going to show up at the department of veterans affairs, requiring treatment. and we better be ready for it. >> thank you so much for your service. we need to thank others for their service today on this veterans day. it's so nice to see you this morning. >> thanks for having me on. >>> for resources for vete

in the spotlight now, the department of veterans affairs. the wasteful spending there proving this is no longer an administration, it's a national lampoon misadventure in governance. >> reporterfirst we found out the general services administration spent 900,000 taxpayer dollars to throw a lavish las vegas conference. those were the good old days, weren't they, jeff neely? then we learned the irs racked up a $50 million bill for their conferences because nothing helps explain tax fraud better than "star trek" and "gilligan's island." now the department of veterans affairs is embroiled in its own scandal. spending more than $6 million on two conferences in orlando in 2011. and of course, they had to produce a video featuring v.a. employees dancing. but while the irs prefers the cupid shuffle, folks at the v.a. like sister sledge. today on the hill, lawmakers weren't happy. >> veterans affairs is a large agency with deep pockets. yes, it's a large agency with deep pockets. but those pockets were not intended to be picked by either contractors

drugs to treat mental illness and reduce pain, in fact a recent report by the department of veterans affairsnd that v.a. doctors prescribe specifically more opiates to stress patients than other veterans. congress held a hearing. family members, veterans and doctors testified about the culture of prescribing drugs at the v.a. >> unfortunately, we have given the veterans the impression that for whatever problem they have, we have a pill to help it. one or two bills to depression, one for anxiety. one or two for sleep, one for ptsd. add a few more pills for hypertension, diabetes, asthma, then add one or two or three precipitations for narcotics, what happens if a vet adds some over the counter medications or if he drinks alcohol? >> suicide and accidental overdose among veterans and active service members is twice as high as the national average. leading some to question whether the drugs are treating mental illness and pain or making the problem worse. so how effective are these precipitation drugs at treating what ale also our veterans? >> producer is here monitoring our social media. we kn

and right now, the department of veterans affairs has an enormous backlog has been scrambling to clear issue that veterans have been dealing with. now president obama has pledged to officially wind down the war in afghanistan by the end of 2014. braug to a close one of the longest stretches of military conflict in this nation's history. awful that starting with september 11th. >> live for us at the white house. and the ceremony continues at the tomb of the unknowns. and also inside the amp theater, that ceremony will last for about an hour as well. and president obama will be making the comments and you'll hear them live on cnn. >>> also making big news today, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded slamming into the philippines. and now survivors are left with pretty much nothing. trying to figure out how to get the basics, like food and water. to remain survivors. cnn reporter stuck in the middle of the typhoon is going to describe his experience, next. so if ydead battery,t tire, need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geico's emergency roadside assistance is there 24/7. oh d

the department of veterans affairs is making progress, substantial progress, on its once shameful backlogsability claims. back in march, 256,000 of our veterans have been waiting for more than a year for their benefits, a figure that was up 2,000% since president obama had taken office. now, the number has fallen, are you ready for this, to 34,000. now, that is real progress and i want to congratulate the veterans affairs and general shinseki for their progress in doing something meaningful. it took awhile but our congratulations and our thanks. the overall backlog at the v.a. was at 900,000 in march. it's now down to 401,000. this is the real deal. this is making a difference and our congratulations to the department of veterans affairs. among the reasons for the improvement, a new v.a. computer system, mandated caseworker overtime. we here have been severely critical of general shinseki and the v.a. for their delay in dealing with that horrible backlog and i do want to say sincerely, congratulations and our deepest thanks. there's obviously a lot more to do, but the progress that has be

show, we talked about this with independent vermont senator bernie sanders and he is on the veterans affairsme just play for you what he had to say about the progress that is being made. >> progress has been made, more progress is going to have to be made because the idea that any veteran in this country is waiting one year or two years to get his or her benefit claims processed is clearly unacceptable. >> now, there is a bill that's been circulating in the senate, i'm sure you know, that would require the va to post processing times and the percentage of claims that are proved -- that are approved but the veterans affairs committee says it's too much for us. it's just going to set us back even further. what can you tell us about that and how difficult would it be for there to be this sort of almost realtime accountability? >> the va could be providing these numbers to the public regularly but they don't. you know, one of the things that was very damning in our story in march was we obtained dozens and dozens of leaked spreadsheets, performance metrics from the va that show that the va had k

in the spotlight now, the department of veterans affairs.he wasteful spending there proving this is no longer an administration, it's a national lampoon misadventure in governance. >> reporter: first we found out the general services administration spent 900,000 taxpayer dollars to throw a lavish las vegas conference. those were the good old days, weren't they, jeff neely? then we learned the irs racked up a $50 million bill for their conferences because nothing helps explain tax fraud better than "star trek" and "gilligan's island." now the department of veterans affairs is embroiled in its own scandal. spending more than $6 million on two conferences in orlando in 2011. and of course, they had to produce a video featuring v.a. employees dancing. but while the irs prefers the cupid shuffle, folks at the v.a. like sister sledge. today on the hill, lawmakers weren't happy. >> veterans affairs is a large agency with deep pockets. yes, it's a large agency with deep pockets. but those pockets were not intended to be picked by either contractors

the bill is being presented here would grant both the department of veterans affairs and the department of defense the authority to disinter ineligible veterans buried in national cemeteries who have created or committed a federal or state capital crime. it would give the v.a. the authority it needs to exhume the remains of michael anderson. now, last month, i testified in support of this bill at a senate veterans affairs committee meeting and i was pleased to be joined at the hearing by alicia's father-in-law frank and mother-in-law carol who traveled here to washington from fort wayne, indiana, in support of this particular bill, and i want to thank chairman bernie sanders and ranking member richard burr and members of the committee for immediately grasping the nature of this and being willing to do everything possible to help us move this legislation, and it couldn't have been done without their support, and their efforts have been advanced and expedited by their commitment to support this. and to give -- have senate action on the legislation as soon as possible. so i'm here today to

then crisis at the veterans affairs department. our brian sullivan does a deep dive to expose problems in the va health care system. wait until you see what he's uncovered. welcome back. how is everything? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. you really love, what would you do?" ♪ [ woman ] i'd be a writer. [ man ] i'd be a baker. [ woman ] i wanna be a pie maker. [ man ] i wanna be a pilot. [ woman ] i'd be an architect. what if i told you someone could pay you and what if that person were you? ♪ when you think about it, isn't that what retirement should be, paying ourselves to do what we love? ♪ the united states population is going to grow by over 90 toovemillion people,ears and almost all that growth is goi

i talked to the chairman of the veterans affairs committee, it is our intention to continue to look at what is driving backlog down, if it starts really going down and they look at what is -- of theat the question bas drive to change the culture -- the va's drive to change the culture. something arrived just before, but not in time for you to review it for a full committee hearing -- that begs the question of whether you are andg treated with respect your department that we expect all ig's to be treated with. i recognize the ranking member. how many pages is the handbook? give me an approximation. >> it is about 40 pages. >> 40 pages. i see. i want to thank you and your staff. i have to tell you, we can do better. i think you would agree with that. don't you? do you agree? >> i agree. >> we can do better. it would be legislative malpractice if we stood on the and of the deus -- dias said everything was ok. it is not ok. we realize you have a lot of balls up in the air, but i have to tell you -- as far as conferences are concerned, i can see there has been -- you have not spent as much

again, this is the secretary of veterans affairs. ou much more about what's happening on veterans day with observances here in the bay area and around the country a little bit later on. >>> welcome to veterans day. it's monday, november 11th. i'm dave clark. let's talk about your weather and traffic now. steve is right over there. >> thank you, dave. >>> a combination of a little bit of mix of sun. a lot of fog. more inland and bayside than coast. a lot of high clouds are kind of skirting over. 40s, 50s on the temperatures. lows didn't get that cold. santa rosa to san jose some fog. some of that burning off. high clouds, inland fog and bayside fog more so than coast fog. a little bit of an easterly breeze. high clouds, mild to warm. it will be warmer than what we saw on sunday. there's plenty out here. you can see the parent low is driving a lot of this moisture way to the north. it will drag across us tomorrow. higher clouds, filtered sun. combination of the low clouds. they will burn off. but kind of a hazy day. temperatures inland.

the department of veterans affairs is making progress, substantial progress on its once shameful backlogf disability claims. back in march, 256,000 o our veterans have been waiting for more than a year for their benefit. a figure that was up 2,000 percent since president obama had tak office. now the number has fallen, are you ready for this? 34,000. that is real progress. and i want to congratulat the veterans affairs and their progress in doing something meaningful. it took awhile, but our congratulations and our thanks. the overall backlog at that the viejo was 900,000 in march. it is now down to the 401. this was a real deal. mandated case worker overtime. we havbeen severely critical our deepest thanks. another related matter, the unemployment rate for veterans remains 10% the dozens of companies as see on the hope that have made a commitment. you will see it there. a much larger printn our website. but for each of those corporations, for each of those organizations again, our deepest thanks. joining us now is the "a-team", democratic strategist, a pulitzer prize-winning new york co

. >>> the department of veteran's affairs has been buried by a backlog of disability claims for yearspartment officials say they are making progress. they say 58% of disabled veterans are now waiting more than four months to receive their disability claims. there are more than 700,000 veterans waiting for a disability claim to be processed. that's an improvement from a year ago when more than 900,000 has pending claims. joining us now is sherman gill ans who has had personal experience in filing a disabled claim with veteran's affairs. he is a associate director at the paralyze veterans of america organization. it's good to see you, and happy veteran's day. >> thank you john. we are moving in the right direction, the department has explored a gambit of ways to tackle the backlog, most of it involved digitizing records, coming up with records to take the guesswork out of how you process a claim. but the commitment was to eliminate the backlog by 2015, and that's what we want to see. that's what we consider the end game. >> so for 700,000 vets, what does this mean, practically. >> if yo

department of veterans affairs communication he office. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me on. >> you penned an opinion piece in march argue that veteran unemployment is not a crisis. for those who didn't get a chance to read the piece, make your argument. >> well, the premise of the argument ask that veteran unemployment is much -- it's a bit lower than the national rate, right now veteran unemployment is run going 6.9% versus 7.3% for national unemployment. where we're seeing the real issue as you mentioned earlier with younger veterans. veterans aged 18 to 24. those veterans have an unemployment rate that is actually about 10%. the last few months it has averaged 9.2% so it is a bit higher. part of the reason is not because people don't appreciate veterans. first of all, young people often have trouble finding jobs. they don't have the same level of education, they don't have the experience and this is often exacerbated if you have just spent three ofour years overseas. you are a bit behind. we have to make a concerted effort

looks at how the victims of sexual assault are being denied benefits from the department of veterans affairs. this article in "the daily beast," the very first statue of a female soldier unveiled in virginia last week. they called it a symbol that was long overdue. >> we talked about this a bit on the program? >> they called it a blowout that set records. that sold the best were underpants and broths. the chinese answer to valentine's day for single people. check it out, journalists. might come as a surprise. we are the head of the lonely hearts list, head of people working in advertising and i.t.. according to this article it is not because we lack good luck -- good looks or are not weeresting, it is because have poor working hours. >> that is why, nothing else. >> thanks a lot. >> job which has won the world final on monday. it was a fitting finish to the season, with titles against the australian open champion in the final. the rally was breathtaking, joke tee'dcobvitch up with natal, the all- important winner. back here during game five of the second set, he played the perfect match for

drugs to treat mental illness and reduce pain, in fact a recent report by the department of veterans affairs that v.a. doctors prescribe specifically more

today the rail authority in the department of veteran's affairs signed a contract giving a percentage to small businesses run by vets. the employment development department is not doing enough to find work for veterans. >>> and a dance video featuring a bay area breast cancer patient is going viral with the very inspirational message. beyonce is even taking notice. >> this video is creating quite the internet buzz. >> it shows you see the san francisco doctor rocking out in the operating room with her surgical team tuesday morning and this is happening just as she was about to undergo a double mastectomy. >> i was more nervous about how the flash mob was going to go than the surgery was going to go. >> she spoke this morning via skype, and she sang get me body by beyonce. >> and beyonce responded saying, deborah, you're awesome. cohen asked friends and family to join her in the dance from wherever they were tuesday morning to lend support. among them was this braft cancer survivor -- breast cancer survivor who knows the doctor. >> there was joy if that operating room. it wasn't a seri

ic has acted as a nucleus bringing go together institutions including the department of the veterans affairs. and as robert will discuss later today, the va has plans for building on the success of our research facilities. now south of mission bay hunters shipyard will be an innovation district that will act as a test bed for the latest design in smart cities. the navel shipyards closed we watched this lash gibberish but no more. after decades of planning and entitlement work this time next year 2 hundred and 47 home with 67 hundred imply residents will be built at the shipyard. simultaneously we'll be breaking ground for the total revitalization of alice areas folks will soon be living in save energy efficient housing. in fact, such a point is the importance of building and accelerating the development of new housing for people of all income levels. that's right. we're focused as much on building new and affordable housing as on the resident towers that grab our headlines. that's why we're building affordable housing throughout the city and keeping pace with the market housing. you should,

. >> you're quite righ the department of veterans affairs is doing a better job of taking care othe claims, i think they've been reduced by 30%n the last couple ofonths or so. the bigger problem will occur in the future, wn a very lge number of people 15 a 20 years fr now, are gng to show up who have served, are going to show up wit pblems that need toe solved then. we bter be ready for that the other thg is to change attitudes. we view giving jobs for example, to veterans, a charity. nothing could be furer from the uth. these are people who have had an ormous amount of authority, responsibility at a very early ag giving veterans jobs is not arity. these are the best people you canind in america. >> they're highly skilled indeed >> on this veterans day, what's the bt way to honor a veteran? >> say thank you. say thank you to a veteranf you know one. say thank youn your heart for the fedom that we ve. it's because of th that we have it. >> from the botm mifeart, i thank you d all the veterans out there, i tha you. >>> one of the best highlights on the footbl field all weekend, you have to s

rodrigo garcia, assistant director of veterans affairs in illinois, says veteran face a series of perceptions before they even apply. businesses, he says can be wary of hiring reservists for fear they'll be deployed, and hesitant to hire combat veterans--concerned that they may suffer post-tramatic stress disorder. he admits, it can be a tough sell. "their commitment, dedication, ability to make decisions is what sets them apart and adds to the bottom line." but employers say analyzing a spreadsheet is different than assessing threats to a village. garcia says the biggest challenge facing veterans is lack of education. during the last four years, the post 9/11 g-i bill has provided more than 30-billion dollars for tuition, book stipends and other expenses for a million veterans to get the sort of education they'll need. last week, the university of phoenix offered retired army colonel garland williams on the subject. "coming out of the military, they don't have the educational degrees to get their foot in the door." the potential labor pool is only going to grow. it's estimated that one-point

secretary of veterans affairs eric has toured the country urging colleges to do more to help veterans. >> they must graduate, otherwise there's no pay off to them, to any of your institutions or to the american people who have underwritten this most generous of education programs. >> but the va has been slow to build on the discuss of its city college clinic. in may the non-partisan government accountability office issued a report saying the agency isn't doing enough to back up its $10 billion investment in veterans' education. the report said that colleges were working without any guidance or assistance from the va. and the senator for investigative reporting found that at 150 colleges that the largest numbers of iraq and afghanistan veteran students, the va provides services at just four. >> it's not an expensive program. initially it's a challenging program to get set up because it involves the va doing something with another bureaucracy. >> three years on, the program remains in the pilot stij, with no plan for a major national rollout. a va spokesman fold us the agency is still g

. >>> and california's department of veteran affairs to help get vets back to work, the two agencies signed a deal to give a percentage of high speed rail contracts to small businesses owned by disabled veterans. >> those who have committed early on to a mission that's much greater than themselves are important for our project. >> today's announcement comes a week after a statement audit showed the employment development department is not doing enough to find work for veterans. >>> and twitter's ipo received a warm welcome on wall street today, also chance of protest on market street. affordable housing supporters okayed like they were dead and surrounded coffins. they say high-tech giants such as twitter are pushing up home costs and can no longer afford the rent the stock closed the day at $44.90. >> and city leaders helped welcome a new high-tech company to oakland. mayor jean quan cut the ceremonial ribbon. the companies there were self reasons to relocate to oakland, specifically its central location and its proximity to bart. >> that's sort of the theme of why are we in oakland.

they are seeking $37.5 million from navy and department of veterans affairs. he shot and killed two people before he was killed by police during the rampage. >>> one of the strongest storms on record is on a path for southeast asia. we have just learned that when it slams into the philippines it killed more than 100 people. more on the death and destruction left behind by typhoon haiyan. >> reporter: typhoon haiyan unleashed 22-foot high waves and 200-mile per hour winds it forced more than a million people out of their homes the massive typhoon known as a hurricane in the western hemisphere measures 300 miles wide and may be the most powerful storm to ever hit land. philippine officials are blaming haiyan for many deaths and say it has put 12 million people at risk. >> this man says i saw those big waves and immediately told my neighbors to flee. we thought it was a tsunami. roaring winds and downpours, knocked out power and telephone service. villages have been buried. rescue workers carried children to safety and distributed supplies including resorts home

shinseki, secretary of veterans affairs.ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. [applause] ♪ [ hail to the chief ] ♪ ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing, please place your hand over your heart, or render the salute. ♪ ♪ please remain standing for the prayer for all veterans. delivered by the department of chaplainaffairs service. >> let us pray. oh god, i am an american veteran, and ever with your grace and your strength to guide me, i have sacrificed for you and country. and you have made my heritage long, and proud. for i shivered that cold winter in valley forge, and spilled my blood, i am an american veteran. i came to france in the war to end all wars, i am an american veteran. i was there on that day of infamy, stormed the beaches of normandy, and i scaled the cliffs. i met battle on island after island, and i raised the flag. i am an american veteran. i was there with macarthur in korea, and in the jungles of vietnam. i was there in desert storm, iraq, and today, in the mountains of afghanis

they said the navy and department of veteran affairs ignored mental health issues.hey ignored them and 12 died. >> split in italy arrested a -- police in italy arrested a man for the deaths of hundreds of migrants killed in somarly. the somali man was part of a group that organised a boat that capsized off the coast of lampedusa. some of the migrants that survived were taken host ig. >> a stronger than expected jobs growth last month despite the government shutdown. some people may be giving up on trying to find work. our series champions of the economy - an experimental local currency in massachusetts is growing in popularity and could be going global. >>> a mexican mayor who spoke out against drug lords that terrorized his small town was found strangled to death. the area is allegedly dominated by the knights teme particular drugs cartel. the group extorts money from the town's 12,000 residents. mendoza held a hunger strike, drawing attention to police whom he felt turned a blind eye. 40 mayors have been killed in mexico. >> the cofounder of frozen yoghurt chainin

the department of veteran affairs is trying to change that by focussing on the challenges in a complexand esolving job markets. they want to recognise the value of skills in the work place. >> somebody who walks in and says they've been an infantry squad leader for the past four years - it doesn't readily translate into the corporate or manufacturing world. we have to educate them through training programs, hiring fairs, engagement with the individual veterans in helping them craft their resumes and going through mock interviews, preparing for engagements. >> illinois is one of six states that help veterans use military experience to get state-level credentials for law enforcement and health care careers. and helps those with valuable motor kills to by pass tests. >> veterans have the leadership experience, and knowledge. they have self-motivation and the honour, and they understand chain of command, leadership. >> acknowledging the sacrificeses and their service as veterans, there's not only a reminder of their past, but a promise for their future. >> nearly a million and a half u.s.

on to serve as a grant county commissioner, a grant county councilmember and a grant county veterans affairs service officer. he worked tirelessly for the veterans of grant county, helping them to receive the benefits and recognition they deserved. he was a community leader, a patriot and i'm honored to recognize his life's work today. my condolences and well wishes go out to his wife of 38 years, linda, to his children, lori, michael, christopher and his grandchildren. we will miss larry dearly but the lessons he taughtess will not be forgotten -- taught us will not be forgotten. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 4 of rule 1, the following enrolled bill was signed by speaker pro tempore thornberry on thursday, october 1, 2013. the clerk: h.r. 3190, an act to provide for the continued performance of the functions of the united states parole commission and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house sundry communications. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of

extreme what's more disturbing is that it may even be more you see as of march the department of veterans affairs actually stopped publishing their statistics on injured veterans why or according to report by international business times the v.a. cited reasons of bashful security so on top of the already and adequate health care for vets now are being censored from the eye opening up to six of the true reality of the war on terror not being able to see the truth prevents us from understanding why there's been such an exponential growth and wartime injuries and vietnam so if you want the v.a. to explain this trend to them join me and let's break the set. this is. the piece of lead it was terrible and they are legendary hard to take a listen again to the money or the club that never had sex with their lives let alone. lists lists lists lists lists lists lists.

family of one of the victims, mary knight, filed a claim against the navy and department of veterans affairs. it seeks more than $37 million. the family says the military ignored warning signs about alexis' mental health. >>> we've had this problem with the website. i'm not happy about that. i promise you nobody has been more frustrated. i wanted to go in and fix it myself, but i don't write code. >> the president making headlines as he defends the healthcare law in new orleans today. he also said once those problems are fixed critics may change their tune. >> i know healthcare is controversial, so there's going to be only so much support we get on that on a bipartisan basis. until it's working really well and then they'll stop calling it obamacare. >>> now to this headline on cbs news. the most uninsured are ignoring the obamacare marketplace. the latest gallup poll shows just 18% of uninsured americans have attempted to log onto a healthcare exchange site since the start of obamacare. only 22% of uninsured americans say they plan to get health insurance through the new healthcare marketpla

drugs to treat mental illness and reduce pain, in fact a recent report by the department of veterans affairsnd that v.a. doctors prescribe specifically more

the state department of veterans affair and the authority have signed an agreement to aware contracts the train project to small businesses owned by disabled vets. a statute audit reveals that the state is failing to helping vets find jobs when they leave the military. thousands of veterans attended judicial fairs but only 60 were offered positions. >> in los angeles, police have arrested more than 50 petroleum in a protest of more than 200 at a newly opened wal-mart store in chinatown of the demonstrators gathered last night to show support for the workers who walked off the job demanding better pay. it was mostly peace of but when people blocked traffic police asked everyone to disperse. those who did not were arrested. >> 62 ipads and listen tops stolen from a san jose school are being replaced. safeway is donating 31 ipads to the school. thieves pried open a door and stole 62 new ipad s and laptops from the school in october. the school district will replace the laptops using money from the general funds which were valued at $72,000, not enough to meet the insurance deductible. >>