bring your exceptional medical and health care skills to the veterans health administration. america's heroes need you. join the conversation at #workatva or visit vacareers.va.gov lou: looking live as pitchers from gaza city that power is out as the israeli offensive continues and prime minister netanyahu says that israel should prepare for significant expansion and officials say it could take weeks israel attacks more than 150 target since the beginning of the operation by joining us tonight from tel aviv former israeli ambassador to the united states, a good to have you with us. obviously the ground operation is well under does the prime minister noted the ground strikes were inadequate certainly with the tunnels with the terrorist that have been using to enter israel? >> yes. the short answer is yes no starting on the second day of the ground operation to mention the of quiet for a quiet with the ceasefire but to no avail essayed terrorize the people indiscriminately with the rockets know so far with those nine tunnels that started in gaza bang going under the border with

bring your exceptional medical and health care skills to the veterans health administration.rica's heroes need you. join the conversation at #workatva or visit vacareers.va.gov me where'd you ever learn ♪ ♪ to fight without saying a word? ♪ ♪ then waltz back into my life ♪ ♪ like it's all gonna be all right ♪ ♪ don't you know how much it hurts? ♪ ♪ when we don't talk ♪ when we don't touch ♪ when it doesn't feel like we're even in love ♪ ♪ it matters to me ♪ when i don't know what to say ♪ ♪ don't know what to do ♪ don't know if it really even matters to you ♪ ♪ how can i make you see ♪ ♪ it matters to me? the one i used to read variety and this is how i use to find out what going on in my business. i also read electronic media and no i don't ascribe to any of them. i scan a website that gives me a daily summary. there is plenty of what is stupid in today's media. thank you for saving me money. you have recently written an article that says there is no such thing as an objective journalist, so get over it. >> that's right, everyone has a point of view and they don't magically

veterans benefits administration and their progress in reaching goals related to the claims backlog. the scandals at the veterans healthadministration weighing heavily on us tonight the committee wants to assess the current state of play at the vba, the agency appears to be making some progress on its goals of the lemonade claims backlogs by the end of 2015. i do however have concerns in the va oig shares the concern that the resources needed to achieve va's backlogged goals are being directed and applied disproportionately ultimately harming other veteran services. i refer in particular to nonreading workload benefits delivery at discharge independent disability of valuation system and appeals to name a few. we have heard over and over again of the dangers and failures of a system geared towards defining success based on narrow fixed metrics. then as now -- not how good customer services deliver. that is not our veterans perceive success and why should they? what good is it for a veteran if vba process his or her rating in an unacceptable period of time that then takes years to add a dependent? from july 2010 to july

coming forward and sharing with us the reality of what is occurring on the ground with the veterans health administration. one thing i think when we became aware of the magnitude and the crisis was concerning the patient wait times, and the fraudulent changes in terms of those records often fueled by the drive for bonuses. that's what you're saying is actually the problem was much deeper than simply patient wait times, that they were also denying people inside the system is that correct? >> they didn't get into collecting the applications that i think this is where we have to look at you can only get the appointment if you are enrolled and so we have systemic problems in the enrollment system and to give you some context you may hear this from the next panel the office that helps build of this center is about to start with a call for command center. this is something that they will assume to be the leadership or perhaps the committee that i want you to understand the change will only come from real solutions at the va. currently this is what i call the gimmicks that go on at the va. we send about making

the veterans health administration. of that $55 billion, most members would be shocked to know that 48% goes to direct patient care. we're talking about $27 billion of appropriated money goes to the delivery of health care to our nation's veterans. 52% goes to administration and other programs that emanate out of the vha budget. of that $27 billion, that's doctors and nurses, it's the delivery of care to all of our 8.4 million veterans who cbo has scored enrolled and active. now, it brings us to the house bill and the senate bill. the house bill was scored at $35 billion a year. and if fully implemented after the two-year period scored it $50 billion. the house scored it $44 billion. basic difference of timing on the wait times from 14 days to 30 days. now, i ask my colleagues around this table, is the cbo product that they've produced reflective of anything sane? that the scoring of a bill that offers limited choice if one of two things is triggered in the house side, gone past the 30 day established by the va, or they

bring your exceptional medical and health care skills to the veterans health administration.'s heroes need you. join the conversation at #workatva or visit vacareers.va.gov >>> our word of the evening selected in part because it is so appropriate. but also to salute our guest tonight. the word is dereism, a psychiatric term, mental activity defined, that is absorbed in fantasy, lacking any connection to the external world or reality. for example, a president who issued empty threats to other leaders, an example of dereistic thinking. joining us to give us a perspective and a psychoanalytic perspective is dr. keith ablow, a psychiatrist, member of the fox news medical "a" team. great to have you here. >> pleasure, lou. >> this president saying things to president obama about grave consequences, further isolation, if you don't do what you're told -- he seems compelled to make these statements even though he must surely understand two things can happen, one, no effect, and secondly, there can be a response that would be unpleasant for the president and for much of the world? >>

bring your exceptional medical and health care skills to the veterans health administration.s need you. join the conversation at #workatva or visit vacareers.va.gov gerri: billionaire venture-capital oysters in a heated dispute over his decision to block public access to the san mateo county beach. he says it is his land that he can do what every once. the county says otherwise. legal team. to welcome to you both. great to have you. venture-capital. he's very well on the west coast before he bought this i have to say, you can get to that peeks through the property. tell us about that. >> basically the case of a poor, defenseless billionaire. you have to be aware that the whole community was using it for like 60 years to get to the beach below rebel he says, but toward to let that happen any more. he puts up a blockade so that people can't go. he sued by a public-interest group. that is basically what the controversy is about. gerri: it is his property. >> the port command of pencils billionaire and bought the property in 2008 and maintains the exact same policy. he allow publ

previous oversight hearings, the veterans benefits administration and their progress in reaching goals related to the claims backlog. with the scandals at the veterans health administration weighing heavily on us, tonight the committee wants to assess the current state of play at the vba. the agency appears to be making some progress on its goals of eliminating claims backlog by the end of 2015. i do, however, have concerns in the vaoig shares the concern that the resources needed to achieve va's backlog goals are being directed and applied disproportionately ultimately harming other veterans services. i refer in particular to non-rating workload, quick start, benefits delivery at discharge, independent disability evaluation system and appeals, to name a few. we have heard over and over again of the dangers and failures of a system geared toward defining success based on narrow, fixed metrics. that is not how good customer service is delivered and it is not how our veterans perceive success. and why should they? what good is it for a veteran if vba process his or her rating in an unacceptable period of time, but then takes years to add a dependent. from ju

bring your exceptional medical and health care skills to the veterans health administration.ca's heroes need you. join the conversation at #workatva or visit vacareers.va.gov gerri: so you probably heard the phrase, too much of a good thing? well now the mantra could be used, we're talking about running. new research showing that people who are participate pate in excessive running like marathon runners may have more heart problems than the rest of us. why is this so? how can you run safely? dr. kevin campbell, assistant professor of medicine at the university of north carolina has some ideas. kevin, welcome to the show. so, really? i can't, marathon and eating a hamburger, they're comparable? how so? >> i really don't think that is accurate. eating a hamburger has lots of fat and calories and it is just not very good nutrition for you. running a marathon can be a great thing for your health, but, it can also be detrimental if you overdo it just like with most things folks enjoy. gerri: are there limits how much you should run and still stay safe? s >> this new data, this new

despite the best efforts of truly committed employees at the hec and the veteran health administration who have risked their careers to stand up for veterans, management at all levels have ignored them or retaliated against them for simply exposing the truth. some of the critical issues reported by whistle blowers at the hec include mismanaging critical veteran health programs and wasting millions of dollars on an affordable care act direct mail campaign. the possible purging and deletion of over 10,000 veteran health records at the health eligibility center. a back log of over 600,000 pending health applications. nearly 40,000 unprocessed applications discovered in january of 2013. these were primarily applications from returning service members from iraq and afghanist afghanistan. the ewrath that i've experience include my whistle-blower complaint to white house deputy chief of staff was leaked to my manager sherry williams who stated in writing that she was contacting me on behalf of acting sent gibson and mr. rob neighbors. neither mr. gibson nor mr. neighbors have responded to thi

over the past few months, the nation has been rocked by revelations that the veterans health administration was manipulating wait time data leaving tens of thousands of veterans waiting for the care they needed and deserved. in the wake of this scandal, it becomes clear that officials failed for years to act on warnings of national scheduling crisis. the president's own team found that this was fueled by a culture of which officials tended to minimize problems or refused to acknowledge problems altogether. although va's started taking steps to improve access to care, much more work is needed to understand and resolve the full scope of the issues facing the va health care. the ongoing international -- ongoing internal evaluation by the va and investigations by other offices will be critical in understanding that effort. as the head of va, mr. mcdonald, it will be essential that you embrace the findings of these investigations and urgently work to bring about the needed reform. perhaps more importantly, you must usher in a new culture throughout va. employees at all levels must be willing to

third, we are moving ahead with urgent reforms at the veterans health administration. that 14 days scheduling goal has been removed from employee evaluations was so there's no reason to engage in inappropriate behavior, providing the highest quality care for our veterans need it, that is your incentive. there will be new measures of patient satisfaction from the veterans perspective. today's out dated scheduling system will be overhauled with the latest technology. more broadly, the review conducted found and i am quoting -- significant systemic failures, including two little responsiveness, transparency and accountability. that is totally unacceptable. it recommends the vha be restructured and reformed with stronger management, leadership, and oversight and more doctors and staff and i totally agree and we are going to make that happen. i have asked rob to remain at the v.a. to help move these reforms forward. hiring new leaders has been frozen, vha leaders. to make sure the new team we are putting in place is the right one. based on the recommendations of our panel of

veterans mean a lot. forward to doing good things under your administration. whether it is in mental health, making sure we have the doctors and nurses, we need to support the problems of the veterans that are coming back. meeting, i appreciated your focus on the v.a.'s capacity to better serve veterans. there are some that want to privatize the the i -- the v.a. i am not one of those. there are others who want to build the v.a. i am in that camp. i appreciate your willingness to serve. you have got a full plate. i think you have got the tools that we need to fix what is wrong with the v.a. and improve what is right. with that i want to thank you once again. our veterans deserve our best. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator. and rankingman member, thank you for convening the hearing today. mr. mcdonald, i thank you for being here. opportunity the that we had this morning to sit down and talk about some of the issues you will be facing. in the midst of this crisis, it is imperative that we swiftly move to fill this vacancy at the top position in the organization. when secretary sh

veterans per day commit suicide despite increases, significant increases, in the department's mental health and suicide prevention budget programs and staff. members of the house veterans affairs committee will hear this morning from veterans health administration officials, mental health experts, family members of veterans who killed themselves and others. congressman jeff miller of florida is the chair and representative mike mishu of maine is the ranking member. also you'll get a chance throughout the day, if you'd like to give us your reaction, you can use facebook and of course twitter with the hash tag c-span chat. >>> if i could get everybody to take their seats, please. welcome to order. before we begin, i would like unanimous consent for our colleagues representative scott peters from california and pierson cinema from arizona to sit in and participate in the proceedings today. without objection, so ordered. i'd like to welcome everybody to today's full committee oversight hearing entitled "service should not lead to suicide, access to vas' mental health care." following widespread manipulation and physical harm in facilities all across this nation, this committee has held a series of oversight committee hearings over the last several

good things done for veterans under both administrations, and i look forward to doing things under your administration, whether it is in medicine, mental health, making sure we have the doctors and nurses, we need to support the problems of the veterans were coming back. it is critically important. during our meeting in our office, i appreciate your focus on the capacity to better serve veterans. there are some who want to advertise the v.a., they wanted to get down the road of randomization. there are those who want to build the v.a. and make it better for veterans and more accountable. i am in that camp. i appreciate your willingness to serve. you have a full plate, once you get confirmed. i think you have the tools we fix this. >> appreciate the opportunity to sit down and look at some of the issues we are facing. it is imperative that we swiftly moved to fill this vacancy, the position. a change somewhere in the organization, if not at the top of a sweep the mess under the rug, moveon, deal with other issues and eventually it is all forgotten, but the problems are not solved. what the v.a. really needs is a transformative leader that can

and i actually did find the oig report, and i heard that the veterans health administration and the veterans benefit administration could not exchange information because of hipaa problems. they both work for the same department. i'm not sure why there would be any hipaa problems with vha talking to vba. my question is, is the recommendation from the oig back in 2011 was that the v.a. medical center directors and vba directors will meet monthly. they meet monthly and discuss this issue. has that issue about any hipaa problems been resolved between vha and vba? do you know what the outcome of that is? if not, could you get back to the committee? >> i could give you an example. if i do an exam on a patient, that's not considered a vha document. it's considered owned by the veteran or by the vba, and so that's not something that vha releases. there are some separations that are aimed at protecting veterans. >> but both vba and vha works for the department of veteran uz fairs. so i'm not sure why there would be hipaa problems between vba and vha. so yeah, if you could get back on that, i would a

veterans benefits administration and their progress in reaching goals related to the claims backlog. the scandals at the veterans healthadministration weighing heavily on us tonight the committee wants to assess the current state of play at the vba, the agency appears to be making some progress on its goals of the lemonade claims backlogs by the end of 2015. i do however have concerns in the va oig shares the concern that the resources needed to achieve va's backlogged goals are being directed and applied disproportionately ultimately harming other veteran services. i refer in particular to nonreading workload benefits delivery at discharge independent disability of valuation system and appeals to name a few. we have heard over and over again of the dangers and failures of a system geared towards defining success based on narrow fixed metrics. then as now -- not how good customer services deliver. that is not our veterans perceive success and why should they? what good is it for a veteran if vba process his or her rating in an unacceptable period of time that then takes years to add a dependent? from july 2010 to july

despite the best efforts of truly committed employees at the veteran health administration who have risked their careers to stand up for veterans. management at all levels have ignored them for simply exposing the truth. some of the critical issues reported by whistle blowers include, mismanaging critical veteran health programs and wasting millions of dollars on an affordable care act. the possibility purging of nearly 10,000 records. a back log of over 200,000 pending health application sz. nearly 40,000 unprocessed applications discovered in january of 2013. these were primary applications from returning service members from afghanistan. the harassment i've experienced from top levels of management include, my whistle blower complaint to white house chief of staff was leaked to my manager sherry williams who stated that she was contacting me on behalf of secretary gibson and mr. neighbors. neither have responded to this fact. think employee reports were illegally altered. i was illegally placed on a permanent work detail. i was placed on involuntary administrative lead curiously at the

despite the best efforts of truly committed employees at the hec and the veteran health administration who have risked their careers to stand up for veterans, management at all levels have ignored them or retaliated against them for simply exposing the truth. some of the critical issues reported by whistle blowers at the hec include mismanaging critical veteran health programs and wasting millions of dollars on an affordable care act direct mail campaign. the possible purging and deletion of over 10,000 veteran health records at the health eligibility center. a back log of

and i actually did find the oig report, and i heard that the veterans health administration and the veterans benefit administration could not exchange information because of hipaa problems. they both work for the same department. i'm not sure why there would be any hipaa problems with vha talking to vba. my question is, is the recommendation from the oig back in 2011 was that the v.a. medical center directors and vba directors will meet monthly. they meet monthly and discuss this issue. has that issue about any hipaa problems been resolved between vha and vba? do you know what the outcome of that is? if not, could you get back to the committee? >> i could give you an example. if i do an exam on a patient, that's not considered a vha document. it's considered owned by the veteran or by the vba, and so that's not something that vha releases. there are some separations that are aimed at protecting veterans. >> but both vba and vha works for the department of veteran uz fairs. so i'm not sure why there would be hipaa problems between vba and vha. so yeah, if you could get back on that, i would a

senate veterans affair bernie sanders and counterpart jeff miller holding a new's conference as we speak and announcing a deal to reform the veterans administration health. it has been hit with long wait times and cover ups and falsified documents. we'll bring in a b stoodard, and rich lowery fox news contributor. this deal would allow them to go to private doctors if they face a long wait or live 40 miles away from the va site. it needs full approval. does it sound like a solution? >> it is not a solution, but a step in the right direction. it is a classic congressional deal. democrats and republicans house and senate splitting the difference and getting a deal done. and sanders wanted to throw billions at the problem on the theory that there was not enough input. and he scaled that way back. republicans wanted to institute reform to give patients more choices and make sure there was more accountability and looks like the veterans groups are signing off and congress will pass this and go home for the recess able to say we got something done on this. >> veterans have died waiting for this report. and some have waited as long as 115 days and accountabili

veterans career expo in cupertino. it offered vets a rare opportuno enroll for health services throh the veterans administration. >> plenty of veterans career exs but nobody ever attached a mobia hospital with it to enroll vetes without any waiting, without hag to make appointments. we hope it catches on across the country. >> the event included a seminarn post traumatic stress dissport workshops on improving social ma presence, resume writing and interviewing. >>> a dying man's wish will sooe true. phillip ingram of martinez wanto take one last trip to see his m. sergio quintana has the story. >> the only tip-off to a special event going on at this local fast-food restaurant is a small collection of balloons out there that's because it was supposed e a surprise for this honored vetn who got a very special wish. >> for phillip ingram and his fy this is more than just a visit a local fast-food restaurant. >> hello, welcome in. >> this is the beginning of a dm come true when it starts with a little lunch on the house. >> really big burgers burgers ae shake. >> he is an army veteran, servex years in the late '70s and earll '

veterans affairs, and for other purposes, be instructed to, one, receive from disagreement with section 203 of the senate amendment relating to the use of unobligated amounts to hire additional health care providers with the veterans health administration. and two, receive from the house amendment and concur in the in all other instances. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 7-b of rule 22, the gentleman from west virginia, mr. rahall, and the gentleman from texas, mr. flores, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, the house has just finished its roll call votes for this week. the conference committee at an impasse on h.r. 3230, the veterans access to care through choice, accountability, and transparency act, hope is fading that any legislation will be enacted this summer to address the urgent needs at the department of fairs. -- department of veterans affairs. this is truly shameful. and as an american, i think this is shameful. it is beyond me to understand why our legislative branch of government cannot get this done. it's tr

a bill to reform the veterans administration health system, has cleared its first hurdle. the chairmen of the house and senate veterans affairs committees have reached tentative agreement on a plan to fund much-needed reforms. v-a hospitals were caught putting veterans on secret waiting lists for medical treatment, while making it appear that vets were getting prompt care. the house and senate have only a few days to pass the new agreement in time for their august recess. former alaska governor and vice presidential candidate, sarah palin, has launched a new online tv channel. >> were born to cut through the politically correct filter. >> that's palin appearing on her new subscription-based network - sarah-palin-channel-dot-com. palin calls her new project a 'news channel that's a lot more than news' and promises subscribers a community where they can share ideas and discuss news of the day. for 9-95 a month, subscribers can view videos from palin and post their own videos and questions for her. palin is the executive editor and will oversee all the posted content. when yo

relating to the use of unobligated amounts to hire additional health care providers for the veterans health administration, and two, receive from the house amendment and concur in the senate amendment and all other instances. the speaker pro tempore: will ppear in the record. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does gentlelady from california seek recognition? >> i have a motion at the desk. the clerk: managers on the part of the house on the conference of the disagreeing votes on the two houses to the house amendment to the senate amendment to the bill h.r. 3230, an act to improve the access to veterans to the department of veterans affairs and for other purposes be instructed to one, receive from disagreement with title 5 of the senate amendment relating to health care related to sexual trauma and two receive from the house amendment and concur in the senate amendment in all other instances the speaker pro tempore: the the gentlelady from california, ms. brownley and the gentleman from colorado will each control 30 minutes. ms. brownley: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro t

overwhelming bipartisan support, this legislation will begin the process of reforming the veterans health administration and being the father of an army soldier and having worked for 30 years as a health care practitioner, my heart broke when i heard of the -- first heard of the disturbing revolutions of gross misconduct and dysfunction at the v.a. unfortunately with the passage -- fortunately with the passage of h.r. 3230 we have moved one step closer of restoring the trust of our veterans. this legislation will provide timely access to cost-effective care services while bringing necessary changes to the department of veterans affairs. however, mr. speaker, this is just the first step and more needs to be done to fulfill the commitments we have made to these brave men and women. i want to thank the chairman of the house and senate veterans' affairs committee for overcoming political differences and finding common ground and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition? >> i ask permission to address the house

veterans. it offered them a rare opportunity to immediately enroll for health services through the veteran's administration. it included a seminar on post traumatic stress disorder and workshops that improve resume writing and interviewing. >>> a dying man's wish will soon come true thanks to the kindness of the dream foundation. phillip ingram of martinez wanted to take one last trip to see his mother. >> phillip and his family, this is more than a visit to a local fast food restaurant. >> welcome in. hi. >> this is the beginning of a dream come true and it starts with a little lunch on the house. >> really big burgers and a nice strawberry shake, you know. >> he is an army veteran. he served six years in the late '70s an early '80s be i in the last year he has had what tough time. his health isn't keeping up with his spirits. >> i have been diagnosed with cancer, stage four, the faster the better. >> he's hoping to get back to chicago soon to see his mother who's also ailing. today the wish has been grand. ingram was presented with his travel itinerary. >> dream foundation sponsored the strip. >> althoug

if we're to use a medical analogy for the veterans health care administration, you know, we've essentially hopefully stopped the bleeding with this measure. but we haven't addressed the underlying issues, and we also haven't taken this opportunity to think about how we might do a better job of delivering health care. we touched upon one, which is capitalizing on care that's already available within the community, capacity that exists at either private hospitals, public hospitals, clinics, health care providers, behavioral health centers. there is a lot of additional capacity out there at a time when the va is having a very difficult time getting veterans in in a timely fashion to access the care that they need. another idea that's been raised that i think is worth exploring may or may not be a good one ultimately is to think about va health care as a center of excellence for war-related injuries. post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, prostheti prosthetics, musculoskeletal injuries. in this idea or concept, you go to the va to have those issues treated, and those become

. >> pam: congressional leaders have reached a deal to reform the veterans administration health system. thank u day fo fendg oucouny. thk yofor yo se and ank u for ur bvery thanyou lone thk yodadd miliry filieare ique ankf forany ings the gacyf us aut insurance n bene othem ifou'ra cuent or formermiliry , t anuto surae que and e wh92% ourembe plano st forife. >> pam: washington insiders say, lawmakers agreed on a 17-billion dollar deal, that would get vets to the doctor more quickly, hire more medical staff and add dozens of new facilities. >> pam: the v-a has been rocked by reports of delays in care for veterans at its medical facilities. today's deal comes just days before congress is scheduled to leave on its august recess. >> pam: the measure still needs to be approved by both the full house and senate. >> pam: an american doctor trying to quell the ebola outbreak in liberia is now infected with the virus. >> pam: that's according to his employer, samaritan's purse. >> pam: the christian humanitarian organization provided this photo of doctor kent brantly. he is undergoing treatmen

for the tribal veterans in my district, this bill strengthens the relationship between the veterans administration and the indian health services. this bill also ensures that the veterans administration can quickly hire more doctors, nurses and medical professionals. and this bill gives the veterans administration secretary the authority to hold v.a. employees accountable. our veterans deserve world-class health care, and a v.a. that puts veterans first. i believe this bill provides the foundation to do just that. again, i urge all my colleagues to vote for this bill so it can be signed into law without delay. i yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maine remains the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: thank you, mr. speaker. it's now a pleasure to yield to the gentleman from michigan, dr. benishek, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for two minutes. mr. benishek: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of the conference report to the veterans' access to care act. as a doctor who served at the v.a. hospital in ir

health care at the department of veterans affairs. and we look forward to hearing your testimony. secretary gibson is accompanied by mr. philip macao ski. the assistant deputy undersecretary for health for administrative operations. and your prepared remarks will be submitted for the record. secretary gibson, senator tester, you've already made your statement, okay. secretary gibson, please begin. things and get straight to business. as has been recounted we have serious problems. here is how i see the issues, first and foremost veterans are waiting to long to care. and second, scheduling acts were widespread. and third an environment exist where many staff members are afraid to raise concerns or offer suggestions for fear of retaliation. forth, a vast number of vocal points for staff are not focused on the veterans we are here to serve. fifth, the va has failed to hold people accountable. and last we lack physicians, space, staff, information technology and perchase care funding to meet the current demand for timely health care. furthermore we don't have the capacity to quantify the staffing because we have not built resources from the bottom up. we have instead managed to a budget number. as a conse

health care at the department of veterans affairs. and we look forward to hearing your testimony. secretary gibson is accompanied by mr. philip macao ski. the assistant deputy undersecretary for health for administrative operations. and your prepared remarks will be submitted for the record. secretary gibson, senator tester, you've already made your statement, okay. secretary gibson, please begin. things and get straight to business. as has been recounted we have serious problems. here is how i see the issues, first and foremost veterans are waiting to long to care. and second, scheduling acts were widespread. and third an environment exist where many staff members are afraid to raise concerns or offer suggestions for fear of retaliation. forth, a vast number of vocal points for staff a

undersecretary for benefits at the department of veterans affairs and philip matkovsky, assistant director undersecretary for health and the administrative operations at the department of veterans affairs. as always, your complete written statement, mr. secretary, will be made a part of the hearing record and with that, you are recognized for your opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'll get straight to business. concerning v.a. health care, we have serious issues. here's how i see the problems. first, veterans are waiting too long for care. second, scheduling improprieties were widespread, including deliberate acts to falsify scheduling data. third, an environment exists where many staff members are afraid to raise concerns for fear of retaliation. fourth, metrics became the focal point for some staff instead of focusing on the veterans we're here to serve. fifth, v.a. has failed to hold people accountable for wrongdoing and negligence. and last, we lack sufficient resources to meet the current demand for timely, high-quality health care. as a consequence of these failures, the trust of the veterans we serve, the american peo

veterans affairs. assistant director undersecretary for health and administrative operations at the department of veterans affairs. as always, your complete written so it -- statement, mr. secretary, will be made a part of the hearing record. with that, you are recognized for your opening statements. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i will get straight to business. concerning health care we have serious issues. here is how i see the problems. first of veterans are waiting to long for care. second, scheduling and improprieties were widespread, including deliberate acts to falsify scheduling data. third, and in foreign exists were many staff members are afraid to raise concerns for fear of retaliation is. fourth, metrics became the focal point for some staff instead of focusing on the veterans we are here to serve. fifth, va has failed to hold people accountable for wrongdoing in negligence. last, we lack sufficient resources to meet the current demand for timely, high-quality health care. as a consequence of these failures the trust of the veterans we serve, the american people, and the elected representatives

am not convinced the va has changed at the senior leadership and the management of veterans administration and health care. >> a vote has been called so a number of senators are going to leave. tester, murran and johanns and then the senator will return. >> i want to thank sanders and burr for their work on this committee. access to health care for veterans didn't pop up overnight. we have been working on this for years. solutions must be based on good information and hopefully the conversation today will be straightforward and frank so week we can get down to solutions. it will require folks on the ground in washington that last well beyond the media span. veterans deserve better than having the folks jump on the latest crisis or two and nen you never hear about it again. they want answers and solutions and they want the benefits that they have earned not press releases. i am approached by veterans every time i go home whether it is the grocery store or service station. they are direct and straightforward and give me the best view of what is going on at the va. this friday i am holding another round

affairs committee looks at the veterans benefits administration process for evaluating disability and benefit claims. it's another in a series of hearings investing veterans health care. va whistleblowers and benefits administration officials are set to testify. live coverage on our companion network, c-span2, at 7:30 p.m. eastern. >>> up next, it's a hearing on child trafficking. the senate health and labor subcommittee on children and families heard from experts about what government resources and funding are needed by the states. this is an hour and a half. >>> good morning, everyone. the senate subcommittee on children and families will now come to order. today's hearing is titled fa falling through the cracks: the challenges of prevention and identification in child trafficking and private re-homing. i want to thank all of our witne witness witnesses whom are here to testify. i look forward to wrr testimony. i know many of you traveled many miles to get here, so i do appreciate your attendance. i also want to thank our ranking member, senator enzi, for joining me today to address this very important issues that we're going to be discussing in the hearing to

of accountability, a culture that has not placed a premium on the veteran and health outcomes for veterans, but instead on administrationnuses, the kinds of problems that led to the secret waitlist in phoenix, problem's i saw my home list in el paso, veterans who not -- who do not get in for 30 days, but do not get in at all. we're calling for health care claims and we are told to call back next year. when they did that, the appointment never showed up. they did not have to report they did not meet their head -- their deadlines. i am glad to see additional money, about $5 billion to hire more providers, psychiatrists and psychologists, doctors, nurses, anders practitioners. i am happy to see nearly $10 billion for the community. you cannot get into see a doctor or a mental health professional in a reasonable amount of time. we will allow you to seek care in a community. if you live in a rural part of west or far far willel paso county, we allow you to purchase care in the community instead of allowing you to come into the v.a.. bille the fact the includes provisions to get rid of senior management that is standing in th

veteran's facility as well as length of wait times. i think that will not only make the health administration better, but it also will obviously improve access and care to our nation's veterans. i'm reminded by a sign that was in the barracks door that said leave, follow or get out of the way. i would ask the president, at the end of the day, no matter what we do, if there's not adequate leadership that we will not fundamentally change it. it's got to be lead, follow or get out of the way. thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate having an opportunity to serve with each of you on this conference committee. i'm finishing my 16th year in congress. and i've seen this story before. our challenge is to fix the real problems, not the symptoms. 11,000 primary care doctors 12,000 pas. that figures out to 287 uniqewu visitors per provider per year. think about that. double it. when i hear about we need more providers and more money, i just go nuts. what we need is kmaktly what you said. we need leadership. and we know that we need the ability to control those that manage. if you don't fix the real problems, you'll be back here again and the commit

whistle blowers who accuse the department of veterans affairs and say they were often forced into administrative leave after they came forward about lagging healthunder staffed medical centers and overworked staff. nearly 70 employees filed complaints. >> in tonight's money matters stock market for a second day in a row. dow fell 177 points. >> walmart is the world's largest company according to fortune's magazine golden 500 list, earning $476 billion this year. apple is among the top 20. isis, the mobile wallet service founded by at ask t, verizon and t-mobile is changing it's name, ceo says it's to avoid association with a terror group called isis. >> picking a local wine to pair with produce got easier. governor brown signed a bill allowing limited wine tastings at certified farmer markets in california. winers and growers have been selling full bottles now they can apply to give out samples so you can try before you buy. samples can be no more than three ounces each. >> solar power. it's not just for homes anymore. >> no. a look at latest ways to harvest power of the sun's rays >> hear from the young mind behind these solar rollers >> why it

whistle blowers who accuse the department of veterans affairs and say they were often forced into administrative leave after they came forward about lagging healthe quality due to under staffed medical centers and overworked staff. nearly 70 employees filed complaints. >> in tonight's money matters stock market for a second day in a row. dow fell 177 points. >> walmart is the world's largest company according to fortune's magazine golden 500 list, earning $476 billion this year. apple is among the top 20. isis, the mobile wallet service founded by at ask t, verizon and t-mobile is changing it's name, ceo says it's to avoid association with a terror group called isis. >> picking a local wine to pair with produce got easier. governor brown signed a bill allowing limited wine tastings at certified farmer markets in california. winers and growers have been selling full bottles now they can apply to give out samples so you can try before you buy. samples can be no more than three ounces each. >> solar power. it's not just for homes anymore. >> no. a look at latest ways to harvest power of the sun's rays >> hear from the young mind behind these solar

know that the veterans administration runs the largest integrated health care system in the united states of america. just today, you can see the scope of it. over 200,000 veterans are walking into the doors of the v.a. to get health care. the vast majority of those veterans feel good about the health care they are getting, the staff they are interacting with, but we all understand there are problems in health care. there are problems in the claims backlog. there are other problems. esther mcdonald's job is to start addressing those problems. i don't want to get mr. mcdonald too nervous by mentioning some of these problems. he may walk out of here. what he does know that some 640,000 veterans have an appointment that is more than 30 days from the date that the appointment was initially requested or desired by the patient. one of the challenges that you face is to make sure that all of our veterans get high-quality care in a timely manner. not so easy, but that is one of your challenges. of themore, in terms challenges that you face, it is not only providing quality timely care, but many o

health issue. [speaker not understood] less than 2% offer compassionate care for low-income and veterans. the city administration is constantly talking about regulations ~, regulations required for ncds. well, how about change the ncd operational use permit to include 5% compassionate care? when someone applies for an ncd license it's automatically included. this is something many patients in san francisco definitely cannot afford the medication and it is a serious health issue. thank you. >> thanks. next speaker. >>> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is james ward. i live in district 6. i'm a disabled american veteran, and i need compassionate care. i need your support. i need you guys to support me. you know, it's not just me. it's one in six people in this city is a disabled person, a disabled registered voter. there is a 3 percentage that need medical marijuana because we don't want to mess with some of these pharmaceutical drugs that make us into zombies. so, please, support us. thank you. >> next speaker. >>> hello, thank you for hearing our request. my name is denise dorey and i'm part of the compassio