Krn about our vets. I want to thank David Shulkin for being here. Hes the secretary of Veterans Affairs. Its really good youre here, mr. Secretary. Especially since in a couple hours youll be across the street in the white house for a bill signing passed by both republicans and democrats that President Trump will sign the bill which will give you some tools to reform the v. A. And if anybody can reform the v. A. You can. Youre a strong leader and were lucky to have your service for our country. [applause] you know, a lot of times you hear people gripe about the v. A. And im sure there are some flaws in the system, but its important for our citizens and our vets to know the vast majority of people who work for the Veterans Administration care deeply about helping our vets transition. I want to thank people from our team, ken and holly and miguel for being here and putting on this conference. With us today are three educators from three parts of the country. Ken from Syracuse University that spends a lot of time on Veterans Issues. Margaret spellings who used to be in my cabinet and was kens predecessor at the bush center is now the head of the university of north carolina. And of course representing the great state of texas, admiral bill mccraven from the university of texas system. Theyre with us because theyre going to discuss how better to lp our vets get a meaningful higher education. There is a well, as fontaine said she felt a little out of place at university of houston primarily because of age but also because of experience. The question is, can these universities help these vets better transition . And so theyre here to talk about their ideas. I want to thank you for being here. We have a lot of vets today, and their families. I wish you would stand up so we could recognize you. Vets and families. [applause] maybe we should have gotten everybody who wasnt a vet. [laughter] you know, i tell people all the time that were a fortunate nation to have had millions volunteer in the face of danger. Nd i view vets as a tremendous National Asset. These are folks that got a ph. D. In life without having to go to college. Theyve seen a lot. Theyve learned teamwork and discipline and skills. Theyve been under pressure. And the question is, can we help them if they need help . I want to thank fontaine and flo and michael for speaking. If you cant get a sense of the National Asset thats available for our country from these three you are not hearing well. I mention michael last because he was a subject or maybe he thinks victims of my paintings. It turns out, michael, youre not the only subject who is here. Byron vincent, justin, Matt Anderson and spencer my low who are also here, five friends, five people i got to know well and five people who i painted. And, you know, i say, do you like your portrait, and their general response is, im honored you painted me. [laughter] the reason i painted the men and women in the book port p is to raise money for the vets and those at the bush center. For those who have not bought the book, feel free to do so. One of the issues i hear a lot friends, my veteran i want to work. I think the primary issue among the vets, can i find meaningful employment, and one of the things that the bush center, we have done is weve joint ventured with the u. S. Chamber to help our vets better understand how to bridge the militarycivilian divide. In other words, how better to talk in civilian terms. As well were trying to help the private sector understand what a vet means when he speaks. Like, whats your qualification, son . Im a sniper. A lot of Corporate Vice president s will probably say to themselves, i dont think we need a sniper this year. [laughter] hopefully what theyll say eventually is, this person is cool under fire. This person is willing to take on a tough assignment. This person is disciplined and welltrained. And so we develop whats called a veteran employment transition road map. For those vets who are interested in discovering what we discovered and how to better how to give yourself a better chance of finding work, go to the employment transition road map at bushcenter. Org. And one of the things that prevents vets from realizing their dreams of working are the invisible wounds of war. In the book that i painted, there are stories which yield important lessons that weve learned. And rod talked about one of them and that is the stigma of posttraumatic stress. Notice we dropped the d. Because if youre labeled someone with a disorder, youre likely not to admit you got a disorder. Who wants to be labeled a disorder . Say to themselves, i cant find work if i get a disorder, i wont get promoted if i have a disorder, people wont understand me if i have a disorder. So in order to defeat the stigma of posttraumatic stress, to tell d the d i like people it was courageous to volunteer in the face of danger and just as courageous to talk about the invisible wounds of war. And so the book talks about people like turner who had never really talked about his posttraumatic stress until he came to our golf tournament, stood up and started talking about and he realized the path to healing, the path to dealing deal with the injury was to be open about it. The other thing we learned is that peertopeer counseling works really well. There are a lot of people who care about our vets. Its not hard to be empathetic. Its hard for us to understand what a vet is trying to tell us. The best way a vet to get help is for a vet to seek a fellow vet and to be willing to talk about the problems. So there is a lot of people here that are involved with peertopeer counseling. I dont try to name them red, white and blue, team rubicon. There are a lot of good programs that are working. Our mission at the bush center is to help vets who want to be helped, to hook up with these peertopeer counseling groups and the third stage, of course, is the help with professionals. Kohen center does a lot of good work. The v. A. Does a lot of good work. This is what the secretary is committed to. Finding that which works and focus on a result not who gets credit but how can we help the vets transition, and im confident the work were doing here today is really going to make a big difference. Thats why you take what were doing seriously and come up with recommendations and action can help all of us implement. One thing well do at the bush center is and were pretty good at this and that is helping people understand what it means to be a leader. We can become pretty irrelevant quickly. And we got four really good libraries in our part of the world. Johnson, bush 41, bill clinton. Brother with a different mother. And ours at s. M. U. So margaret spelling came up with this idea that bills library and my library started and that is to have what we call president ial leadership scholars, to bring people from all around the country, 60 a year, to our respective libraries to teach them case study methods on leadership. How does a president make a decision . What does a president do with people on his team . The purpose of which is to train new leaders and to give them a new perspective. Today were announcing were going to do the same thing for veterans and those involved with helping veterans. And so applications for a veteran Leadership Program will be made available on our website bush center. Org starting this fall. Im confident this program will make a Lasting Impact on not only our vets but on those who are trying to help our vets. Again, i want to thank all very much for being here. This is a spectacular gathering of people who are committed to one thing and that is helping vets and in so doing help this great nation of ours. God bless. [applause] good morning. My name is leanne and on behalf of the boeing company i want to say what an honor it is to be here today. It sin spiring and gratifying to be united alongside you as we work toward this common goal advancing the wellbeing of our veterans who have given so much of themselves to our great nation. Every day i see the extraordinary dedication, talth and leadership of our service men and women. I am even more blessed that i have the opportunity to see them firsthand following their formal service time. The truth is veterans never stop serving. They may no longer wear a uniform but the selflessness and character that defines military life never disappears no matter what comes next in their lives and careers. We believe veterans deserve our societys highest respect and were committed to ensure they are given every opportunity to thrive and remain healthy in their civilian lives. We are grateful to president bush and mrs. Bush for making this a centerpiece of their postpresident ial work and are honored to participate. In a moment we will hear from the honorable David Shulkin, secretary of the u. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and joining him to serve as moderator of this mornings discussion is military journalist and author bryan bender. Secretary shulkin was unanimously confirmed for this role by the senate on february 13, 2017. He brought years of experience serving as undersecretary of Veterans Affairs for health with the v. A. As well as from his distinguished career as a medical doctor, professor and leader in the field of health care. Bryan bender is the defense editor of politico pro. He previously worked for the boston globe covering military operations around the globe. Hes also the author of the book you are not forgotten the story of an iraq veteran search for macing world war ii pilot in the south pacific. Ladies and gentlemen, it is now my great honor to welcome the ninth secretary of Veterans Affairs, the honorable David Shulkin, and our moderator, journalist bryan bender. Thank you. [applause] bryan happy friday, everyone. Welcome. Thanks for coming. Joining us at the u. S. Chamber of commerce. As you know im bryan bender, defense editor of politico and glad you could join us for the first interview today here at the Bush Institute stand to National Veterans conving. I will be moderating a oneonone with secretary shulkin to get Veterans Issues going forward. And later this afternoon along with my colleague kimberly hell sing we will have helsing, we will have a conversation with senator tim walz and senator boozman to get a congressional perspective. Just a programming note, if you want to join the conversation on twitter because we cant do anything these days without twitter, of course, the hashtag is standtwo. Please join the conversation. And then just one last note, special thanks to starbucks, for the event here this morning which probably got us here this morning. At least some of us. So without delay lets get the conversation going. Welcome, dr. David shulkin, secretary of Veterans Affairs. Maybe well talk about an issue that a lot of people care about and thats veterans employment. For obvious reasons the v. A. Focuses on providing Health Services to veterans. But could you tell us a little bit about your view, your objectives in using the v. A. And its convening power, its budget to try and do a better job of connecting veterans to society, connecting them to meaningful jobs as the president said . Should the v. A. Be doing more in terms of programs or should the v. A. Be more of an integrator whats already out there in the nonprofit word, etc. . Secretary shulkin well, you mentioned a lot of v. A. s focus has been on health care and weve been changing the way that we think about health care, to focus not so much on disease but on wellbeing. And when you think about the wellbeing of our veterans, youll have to think about employment because one of the things that weve learned is the most powerful predictor of outcome and success and well become is meaningful fulfillment in life and part of that is the ability to be able o give back and to work. A lot of our work recently has been in connecting veterans during this period of transition. And finding meaningful ways for them to give back. As you know, we prioritize veterans homelessness and made great progress, but if you do not connect people back with the ways to sustainably maintain themselves, they fall back into omelessness. In many of the areas we work in an Emotional Health and the invisible wounds of war, as the president was talking about, its about connecting people back in with work. Our vocational rehab programs are really important and connecting with Community Organizations in being a part of the community to get veterans connected with the right resources is important. Bryan the u. S. Chamber of commerce and obviously a lot of those in the audience come from Corporate America. Some of those places are doing a good job already of hiring veterans. Can you talk about some things the government can do to further incentivize companies not just to hire veterans, but possibly tax credits . As some suggested for those who hire reservists who might call to active duty, go off for months and the company has to eal with that person not there, is there Something Congress can do to incentivize Corporate America to do more . Cretary shulkin well, i think the overall good news is, because of the work and so many of the people in this audience that are part of organizations, the secret is no longer a secret that veterans are really among think the the most preferred employees that corporations can hire. Veterans are terrific entrepreneurs. They are starting businesses and companies all over the place. Back after 2001, the Unemployment Rate among veterans was 10. 7 . It was higher than the average opulation. Today, veteran employment is lower than the average population. It is 3. 7 . Companies are struggling to find enough veterans to hire. Through the hiring our heroes program, 1,536 companies have committed to hiring over a million veterans. They are at about 600,000 now who have found veterans to hire and many, many looking how they can identify such a talented pool of people to come and join their organizations. So while the government can do really think we are quite successful when you hear flo and michael and fontaine, as the president said, who want want them to be part of their organizations . I think we found the successful recipe here. It really is to connect people to do work like the Bush Institute is doing, to provide leadership skills, to be able to make those connections, are younger veteran Service Groups are providing those types of skills. Think we have found something that is working already. Bryan on that, does the v. A. Have data or do you have a sense of what kinds of jobs veterans are getting . T looks like the overall the rs are good, but as president mentioned, meaningful employment. Not just a job. Something with the future, something they feel like can really be there as they integrate back. Is that something you have looked at . Ec. Shulkin i think it is something that, again, the Bush Institute has a really key issue, and that is leadership raining and mentoring. Especially the peertopeer mentoring, and that is what you see so many of our younger veteran groups doing, which is really connecting people who want to be part of their communities, who want to be leaders, because the military does provide leadership kills. While people may enter organizations at various levels, it is really those first four to five years when you enter an organization that you begin to set your path on whether you were going to advance in that organization. I think it is the mentoring and leadership skills that are key and having a coach, somebody who can help advise you on the best ways you can contribute. We know about our veterans that they tend to be much more involved and engaged in their community. People look up to them. They tend to be natural leaders. It does not surprise me when i see an organizations increasingly that it is veterans rising to the senior ranks and going on to be chief executives. Bryan a broader question about veterans and their challenges at reintegrating with society. As we know, less than 1 of americans, men and women, volunteer to serve in the military. W concerned are you that as americas conflicts have dragged on for more than a ecade and a half now, post9 11, that you have a country that is by and large disconnected from the military . Dont really fully comprehend hat they go through, the struggles he undergo. If they do know, perhaps forgetting or not a comprehensive picture. What are things that summit it your level can do in terms of trying to connect the country t large . Some say its a guard. It is a very narrow set of people who live in their own world oftentimes and feel it is hard to come back to society and be understood. Ec. Shulkin i am very concerned about the increasing military civilian divide. We talked about this a little bit last night with the president , and work is being done at Syracuse University to try and understand this. With. 8 of our population now serving, we have Many American families who do not even know people who have served or are urrently in the military and dont understand what i have had the privilege of secretary of understanding about the tremendous commitment that not only these young men and women give when they serve their country but their entire family gives when they go off to serve. Part of our responsibility at the v. A. And so many of our Community Groups is to make sure we let people know not only about what these young men and women do hen they raise their hand to rotect their country, but what our responsibility is as a country to them, not only when they go off to conflict, but when they come back. I think that is one of the roles we see. We learn a lot by looking at other countries. When you take a look at countries, and i am thinking in particular where everybody in the country serves, like a country like israel, you do not ee so many of the problems when people come back with emotional or invisible wounds of war, because everybody around them understands so they have a built in network where most families have somebody who serves so that the community understands. I think what happens here is people eturn, and except for fellow veterans, most people around them in work and their life dont understand what they are going through. I think we have to do a much better job of getting people in the country to understand how they can support our veterans hen they return. Bryan lets switch gears a little bit and talk about health. Which is a huge role that the v. A. Plays. Maybe we can start with the choice act. As many of us know is fairly recent legislation that tries to take a little bit of the burden off the v. A. And help veterans who may not be closely facility or cleric to get care, get good care and do it through a private system. That was recently renewed by the congress. For some period of time. There is some question about hether there is enough money to fund that. Can you talk about how it has been working and where you see that going . S that a model for perhaps a uch Larger Program where you have a publicprivate system overall that relies on the v. A. Health system for certain things, but then provide government subsidies . Sec. Shulkin the origins of the Choice Program started with he v. A. Crisis in april, 2014, where it became known that the demand for services was much greater than the supply ervices. Congress came up with the Choice Program legislation. I think the most important thing we learned from that was that v. A. Cannot do this alone. V. A. Needs to work with the Broader Community in health care and outside of health care if we are going to really uphold our responsibility to ur veterans. Congress, of course, designed the program, and they designed it in a way that had two problems. Ne, it was amazingly complex so that veterans did not understand how to access the program. The people who worked in the v. A. Did not understand how to ork the program. Very few veterans in the beginning were actually getting help. They were getting frustrated. Secondly, they designed the program around administrative roles. The way you could access care is if you lived 40 miles where from a primary care doctor or if you waited more than 30 days. What we have now proposed in order to continue the ability to access care for the into the community is two things. One is dramatically simplify the program so that people understand it. And secondly, get rid of administrative roles and create a clinical system of care. That is what a Health Care System should be doing. We are working now with congress to redesign this program to make sure it works, but we are committed, as president bush said, to focus on what works for veterans and what i think is clear what works for veterans is, you take the best of what the v. A. Does because v. A. Is doing terrific work in many areas and you take at what the best of what the private sector does, and you allow the veteran to people to Access Services in an integrated fashion so that you do not experience the gaps in care that many in the private sector experience where doctors are not talking to each other, ot sharing information, and so people get caught in these gaps. If you can create an integrated system between the private sector and the v. A. , i think veterans will benefit the most from that type of system. Bryan directly linked to the health of veterans longterm are disability benefits for those who have been wounded, dealing with longterm Health Problems rom their service. The disability system as it is structured has not been changed ery much at all. I am wondering if that is an issue you have started to look t as well. We live in an era where is a veteran you might have lost a limb or have a lifelong injury like that could still be fully employed in a digital economy. You could still live a full life and perhaps a generation ar two ago a veteran could not. Is the payment structure, the competition structure, is it up to date enough . And should it include new things . Wellness programs, for example, that try to help veterans longer term live a fuller life as opposed to just writing them a check. Sec. Shulkin one of the challenges that i faced coming into government from the private sector, not getting an ducation in washington, is the challenge that it is to suggest new ideas that may potentially be viewed as a take away from current benefits. That is extremely hard to do in ashington. I think you have to start with that everybody recognizes that we have a responsibility as a country to provide and to be able to supplement resources for veterans that were harmed or injured during their time of duty. I dont think anybody is suggesting that we take away our commitment to that, but to suggest that there is not a better way to do things i think is also wrong. I believe our current isability system that is designed from 50, 60, 70 years ago, i would suggest it is not sustainable, and it may not be achieving the results of wellbeing for our veterans. Our system incentivizes disability. When our system should be Incentivizing Health and wellbeing. I believe that we do need to begin to start having a discussion and a dialogue, not so much about withdrawing our commitment, but how can we essentially enhance the outcomes of our system to help people . This is going to be a very difficult discussion to have, because this is one that i worry that if not done well could become politicized. Magine that. V. A. Has really done a great job in keeping itself in a bipartisan dialogue, and i am committed to making sure that v. A. And veterans do not become part of the political discussion, but more part of how do we do what we do better, how do we accomplish our Mission Better . So i think that rethinking how we could approach disability is a key topic that is going to be important in the uture years. Bryan weve heard a lot this morning or weve been focused on post9 11 veterans, as we heard from some this morning. As you know, the median age of an American Veteran is i think 55. The largest population is an aging one, and obviously that is not dissimilar from an issue we are dealing with as a country, the socalled silver tsunami as baby boomers age. And need more health care, need more services. Is the v. A. Prepared for that in the sense of enough facilities, enough doctors . Because it seems like were entering a period where for the xt 20, 30 years, the ietnamera veterans, cold warera veterans are going to be a strain on the system. You dont hear a lot about that. It doesnt seem to me there is a laserlike focus on that issue. Are we prepared, what are we doing . Sec. Shulkin i think you are exactly right. First of all, the v. A. Tends to see the issues in the Health Care System before the rest of the Health Care System sees it and its exactly what we are seeing now. The crisis in 2014, many people related directly to our returning younger veterans but in actuality most of our demand was our Vietnam Veterans growing older and requiring more services. While the number of veterans is projected to decline in the next 20 to 30 years, pending a new major conflict, our demand for services actually is expected to go up. So, our focus is on, how do we prepare to meet that demand . I think one could traditionally think of that as building more hospitals and capabilities in medicine and more longterm care facilities but as you know health cares changing and the models of caring are changing. So were looking at how do we actually help people remain in their homes, help do we help them stay healthy and avoid the need for complex care that takes place in hospitals and institutions . We are increasingly trying to change our medical model and rely more upon technologies like telehealth and help people maintain their normal environment and home environments. We are looking at how do we support structures like caregivers. Right now, legislatively, v. A. Is able to provide caregivers to post9 11 veterans, which is a terrific program that we have, but what we want to do is expand that so that we can provide caregivers support to those that are older, because if we can keep people healthy and safe at home, that is really the environment they want to be in, that we want hem to be in, and it is also a costeffective solution. We are doing a number of things in our approach to the growing age of our veteran population, and i think you are going to see new advances coming out as we begin to look at tools that will help our veterans stay healthy at home. Bryan one last question on veterans health. Of course, all of this is connected with employment and reintegrating into society in a meaningful way. Finding a new life. A little bit of a controversial question. As you know youre aware, the american legion, one of the oldest, certainly largest veterans associations, not necessarily representative of the 9 11 veterans, has been appealing to President Trump to reclassify or at least consider reclassifying cannabis, marijuana, so that the federal government could study its potential Therapeutic Properties for p. T. S. And i am going to start calling p. T. S. , not ptsd. The government would have to go through significant steps to get to the point where federal research can be done. We dont know if that works, but there is some indications that, in a controlled environment, could possibly supplement some of the drugs, some of the therapies that are currently being used but some would argue are not really working. We still have 20 veterans a day killing themselves. Every time i see that tatistic, im shocked. Each time. Its one of those things that i am shocked. What is your view . Do you think the government should study at or at least begin to see whether there might be something there . Sec. Shulkin our top priority, the only clinical priority we focus on right now, our top priority, is the prevention of veteran suicide. We are taking the approach that, until we can see results that are decreasing that number and getting it to zero, we have to be open to new ideas or therapies that may help. Wish i thought it was going to be as simple as one pill is going to fix this. I do believe that its going to happen. Believe this is going to be a multifactoral approach which means we have to be open to all sorts of new ideas. The issue of medical marijuana rom the federal Government Point of view is one that, right now, we are prohibited by law from doing research on it or prescribing it. This is an area where actually the states are going to be leading in this, because the aws are being passed at state level to use medical marijuana, we are seeing increasingly not only more Clinical Data coming out, but we are seeing more research being done. And so, as a physician scientist, i am interested in learning from that data and seeing, is this something that could help, and could help veterans . In this case, we not going to be out there doing that research or prescribing these different medicinal preparations unless the laws change. Bryan got you. I wouldnt be doing my job if i didnt ask you about some news of the day. We heard about this this morning. You will be at the white house later as the president signs the v. A. Accountability and whistleblower protection act, members g that i think of both parties have wanted for a long time. That gives you some more power, some more authority to make Management Changes at the v. A. Can you give us a sense of where you are headed about howm of both parties have wanted for a long time. That gives you some more power, you will go forward using some of that new authority . Sec. Shulkin first of all, i am grateful to congress and the president for moving forward with this. You do see this is an example where there is bipartisan support to help us fix issues we know have been roken for a long time. The basic issue is, in order to work in the v. A. , i believe it is an honor and a privilege to e able to serve. There are, in small numbers of cases, employees that have forgotten that and clearly have lost their commitment to the values that we hold dear. And when you let people stay in an organization who are not demonstrating those values, that decreases the morale and takes away the motivation for the vast majority of our employees who, as president bush said, are overwhelmingly people that were proud of and the greatest professionals i have seen working in health care in my career. So i believe that to be able to move people out who have lost their way is going to be part of the solution in fixing the v. A. And in fact, without the ability to get the right people n these jobs and the right people in our leadership positions, i dont think we will be able to reform the v. A. This is an important day, it is good news for veterans and their families, its good news for our employees because we need to make sure that everybody is working in the v. A. For the right reasons. I dont think this is going to be something that is abused. I take it seriously that everyone deserves due process and we will make sure that that due process exists but when we find evidence and weve seen a lot of cases recently in the press that have just been so frustrating that we remove the employee and the mert system protection board judges merit system protection board judges brings those employees back, you shake your head at those cases. After that, we will be able to change that course in the v. A. And it will be a positive step forward. Bryan you mentioned bipartisanship and i think we ould all agree that the Veterans Issues these days seems to be one of the few areas both parties can get together to get things done. This afternoon as i mentioned we will have a bipartisan duo and house nate veterans committees. What can congress do in the near term . In this congress . Are there things that congress can do what are some of those . Secretary shulkin well, first, i think its important that we give congress the message how important it is they stay focus on whats right for veterans and dont create a partisan issue over v. A. When you see what is happening in the rest of washington right now, you can imagine the pressures on our elected members to turn everything into a political issue. So i am very proud, particularly of those who serve in our committees, some of the leaders you are talking to today, that they have been able to resist those forces and really stay focused on Veterans Issues. We are looking out of the senate right now, for them to pass our appeals modernization act. You talked about policy and law that hasnt been updated in a while. Our appeals laws havent been updated since the 1930s, and it now takes on average six years to get a decision if you were to file an appeal on a disability claim, it would take years to get a decision. Without a change to the law, we rent going to get that fixed. We are looking for a solution from congress to help us find solutions for our choice funding problems. The good news is we are getting more veterans than ever, getting care that they need in the community and the v. A. , but hat has actually accelerated our spend rate in the Choice Program. We are looking for some help there. We are looking for legislation that will make the Choice Program work even better for veterans in the future, like we were talking about. Were also looking for support to modernize the v. A. I think most americans would be surprised to know our Financial Systems are running on cobalt technology. The last time people used cobalt as a programming language was in the 1970s. Our scheduling systems are msdos. Those blue screens i was using 30 years ago when i got my first pc. Our buildings on average, are over 60 years old. We have 450 buildings from the civil and revolutionary ars. So what we really need to do is modernize our system. Our veterans deserve better than we have been giving them. That is why i announced recently that the v. A. Will be leaving its homegrown Electronic Medical record over 35 years old to the department of defenses Electronic Medical record so for the first time, we will have a modern, offtheshelf ystem from the time you enlist through long term or endoflife care. [applause] nd we need congress to step up and support those types of initiatives. These arent cheap, but in the long run, this is when you send somebody off to war or to conflict, you have already committed to a lifetime of responsibility, and this is part of our countrys responsibility and not making these investments is not responsible. Bryan last question before we are out of time. Is there a Capital Improvement plan in the works at the v. A. . In other words, what does this cost and how do we as a country ay for it . Sec. Shulkin the v. A. Has, for years, not gotten the types of resources that it has needed. We have a 50 billion capital deficit. That simply cant be addressed overnight, so what i have announced is that we have 1,100 vacant and underutilized buildings. I have said in the next two years, i have a plan to essentially get rid of vacant, underutilized facilities. I want the ability to take those resources, invest them back in the v. A. Thats going to mean were going to need a different type of footprint. Ill just give you one example as we close here. We have announced that we are going to build a new hospital in omaha, nebraska. It took us about five years to get that plan going and we wanted to build a new hospital for 560 million in omaha, nebraska. A new bed tower and health care is changing. You dont need as many hospital beds anymore. Most care is ambulatory. We took 10 of our money for design fees, 56 million to plan the new hospital, and instead of planning a new hospital bed, we took the 56 million, we worked with the community in omaha, nebraska, a privatepublic partnership, and another unity donated 40 million. Now we are building a stateoftheart ambulatory facility for 96 million. Sing 10 taxpayers taxpayer dollars. We are going to have a stateoftheart facility in omaha that will serve the needs of veterans without building a big bed tower. And i think we need to think about what the footprint of the v. A. Will look like in the future so we can get stateoftheart facilities without having to spend the type of money we have always thought we needed in the past. So i think together, and working more with the private sector, we are going to be able to reshape the system so that everybodys proud and veterans are getting the best care. [applause] bryan with that bryan again, special thanks to you for joining us, mr. Secretary. We all wish you good luck in Getting Congress to close facilities around the country. Sec. Shulkin thank you. [applause] announcer ladies and gentlemen, please welcome mrs. Laura bush. [applause] mrs. Bush thank you everyone. Thank you very much. Hank you, everybody. Thanks to eric eversole, thank you all for hosting this at the u. S. Chamber of commerce today. I would like to recognize meg cabot at the department of Veterans Affairs. Thank you for joining us today, and thank you for your commitment to serving our Military Spouses and families. Plause [applause] a special thanks to walmart and the boeing company. Thank you for your generous support of the veteran community, and thank you for sponsoring the Bush Institutes stand to. And to all the veterans and active military here today, thank you for your Selfless Service to our country. [applause] mrs. Bush as many of the servicemen and women gathered here today know, you arent the only members of your family who served. Your spouses served, as well. While our servicemen and women are deployed, their spouses are the ones taking care of everything at home. They care for the children, they manage the family finances, and they pray that their husbands or wives in uniform return home safely. Master sergeant rocky rodriguez and his wife, marlene, joined us at our ranch in 2013 and 2014 for the bush centers annual warrior bike ride. When marlene talked about rockys years of service in the air force, she said, we, i say we, served 25 years. I lived every deployment with rocky. Every trial and tribulation, so the day i said yes to him, i didnt realize the impact his service would have on me. In fact, rocky so credits marlene with his recovery that george painted marlene in his portraits with rocky. [applause] mrs. Bush that is why it is so important to make sure that while our service men and women get the support they need when they come home, that we care for their spouses and families, too. Today were discussing ways for veterans to transition to civilian life in the areas of wellness, education, and employment. While there are over 4 million post9 11 veterans, there are 8. 10 million Family Members and we must consider how we support their transition, as well. All caregivers hope for their families to be in good physical and mental health, but as veterans transition to civilian life, they often deal with the stresses of uncertainty and finding new meaning in their lives. Visible wounds, posttraumatic stress make more susceptible veterans to sickness, homelessness and even suicide. When one Family Member is suffering, the entire family suffers, leading to an increase in the risk of behavioral issues, anxiety and depression n military children too. Just as veterans need Good Health Care when they return home, caregivers need access to quality care for themselves and for their children. 66 of military families say they have difficulty finding good and affordable childcare. This is one of the reasons military families are 27 less likely to have dual incomes, and why 21 of Military Spouses who want or need to work are unemployed. 15 of military caregivers spend 40 hours a week at home caring for their veteran, and often spend more time caring for their children when childcare is unavailable. In order to ensure that our caregivers have the opportunity to find meaningful work and contribute financially to their household, we need to ensure that caregivers and Family Members are eligible for the same Transition Services that are offered to veterans through the government and through the nonprofit community. [applause] mrs. Bush Steven Schwab is here today representing the Elizabeth Dole foundation. Who is mission is to create an environment where military caregivers are empowered and recognized foretheir for their service to our nation. Through their Hidden Heroes caregiving community, caregivers around the country can access a Digital Forum where they can find emotional support for themselves and their families, and where they can learn from other caregivers, and where they can discover resources and programs that are available in their own communities. The Elizabeth Dole foundation is a terrific example of a support group directed at improving the wellbeing of those who help our Service Members. And the Bush Institute applauds their work. Veterans and caregivers all want their children to be properly educated, but the average military family will move six to nine times during their Childs School career. An average of three times more frequently than nonmilitary families. States and local School Districts need to make sure that military children have equal opportunities for academic success. This means having teachers and School Administrators who understand the challenges of relocating to a new school. The differences in achievement standards, in course offerings, High School Graduation requirements, extracurricular activities, and how difficult it is for students to create a new life in a new school. While there are plenty of organizations committed to supporting military children, few exist to assist with School Transition and academic support. It is our responsibility to make sure the students are not disadvantaged because they have a military parent. We need to place our military children on the path to success, preparing them for a Bright Future in college and beyond. Just like their spouses, studies show that caregivers primary concern when transitioning to civilian life is employment, their own employment. Military spouses often spend their marriage moving their family around the country and the world. On average, military families moved to a Community Every two to three years, making it hard to keep a job. This displacement causes periods of unemployment and a weak professional network. Most military families need two incomes and too many are forced to live paycheck to paycheck. 80 of Military Spouses say their job search has caused stress within their marriage. Some Companies Already recognize that hiring Military Spouses isnt only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. La quinta inn is one of those companies. As a member of the Military Spouse employment partnership, they are helping Military Spouses find jobs, and they are providing training to help them enter a new career field. And just this week, starbucks committed to hiring 10,000 veterans and Military Spouses by 2018 and 25,000 hires by 2025. The Elizabeth Dole foundation, la quinta inn and starbucks are just a few organizations that have identified themselves as leaders in helping our veteran caregivers and families transition to civilian life. And i am grateful for their example. I want to thank the other 70 plus organizations recognize here today. Government agencies, business, nonprofit, academia and philanthropy. Thanks to you for your commitment to our veterans and their families. As you work to improve veterans transition, i ask that you also consider how you support the Hidden Heroes, the spouses, the fathers and mothers. The children and the loved ones who also serve our country. Military families are american families. They have the same priorities to create a nurturing home, to take care of their loved ones, to find a strong education for their children and to be financially secure. And they do so with more difficulties and obstacles. I am reminded of the old line that the dancer beginning Ginger Rogers did. She did everything the great fred astaire did except that she did it backwards and in high heels. Mrs. Bush our military is the strength of our nation and our Service Members are the strength of our military and our caregivers are the strength of our veterans and wounded warriors. Their devotion to our men and women in uniform and their commitment to their marriage, their family, and to our country, is an inspiration to us all. Thank you all and god bless you. [applause] coming up here on cspan, the house will be gaveling back in in under an hour. 2 00 eastern time for speeches on the agenda today house several bills that members will take up under suspension of the bills. That fema recommended eligibility stabbleds for Disaster Assistance for condose and could he ops. And another for veterans finding work in the trucking industry. 2 00 eastern when members gavel back in. On cspan3 later today, florida senator marco rubio will be part of a discussion on efforts to stop transnational organized crime. Hes a member of the Senate Foreign relations committee. You can watch the discussion live, hosted by the American Enterprise institute at 3 45 p. M. Eastern on cspan3. You can also watch online at cspan. Org or listen live using he cspan radio app. Recently on cspan, Williams College student, zachary wood, at a Senate JudiciaryCommittee Hearing on free speech on college campuses. The president of the Williams College unilaterally canceled the speaker. Days later the president enacted new speaker policies that made inging speakers to campus an especially arduous process for my student group. What i find impermissible, undemocratic, and antithetical to the intellectual character of the college i attend is the president s decision to disinvite a speaker solely on the basis of his inflammatory remarks about race. Congresswoman Diana Degette on the Opioid Crisis in the u. S. I was sitting next to the Denver Public librarian, and i said, what are the issues youre facing here at the Denver Public library . I thought she would Say Something like cybersecurity, or access to books. She said, you know, we have people overdosing in the Library Every day and we need to get our librarians so they can give