They are close to as big a problem as not having people. You have doctors there but you dont have examination rooms. Do you have a construction plan moving forward . I know its unfair. You have been in the job six weeks. Im not trying to be critical. Its five, actually. All right. Obviously, you are right. Facilities are very important. The action you took with the bill gives us the ability to have 27 more facilities. Not surprisingly, one of the facilities will go in phoenix where, obviously, we have a need. We have an issue right now that were working. Its around leasing. We have been following an appropriate, i think, strategy of leasing facilities rather than building them. Because the population is moving. You have talked about the increase in veterans in montana. Were currently working through the gsa on this process. Because the to get down to it, i appreciate you telling me what you are doing. All i want to know is, do you have a construction plan moving forward for the next ye
Management that pushed. It is a combination. When something is going on for as many years, not everywhere, but at a number of facilities, it is an accepted way. Involved in scheduling, and they come in as a new hire, someone says, this is hour you do t they may not realize that someone is telling them the improper way to do it. It is a combination of things, the bottom line is, who is in charge. When you get them a policy directive from vha, do you enforce it or ignore it . That is the bottom line. My time is expired. Let me say, i thank you and your staff for the process tlau going through, it is unvaluable to the countrys veterans and to the agency. Your professionalism is helpful to us. Thank you for that work. Your investigation whether it be phoenix or the other 93 facilities, is focused on schedule, correct . That is what we go in to look at. Along the way, you sometimes become aware of other activities you need to look at that may be related. Principally, they are wait time, the
Enforce it or do you ignore it . I think thats the bottom line. My time is expired but let me say once again, i thank you an your staff for the process you are going through. It is invaluable to our countrys veterans and to the agency. Senator, thank you very much. Senator tester. I want to thank you, too, for your work and your professionalism. It is very helpful to us so thank you for your work. Your investigations, whether phoenix or the other 93 facilities, is focused on scheduling. Correct . Whats that we dgo in to loo at but sometimes along the way you see other things you need to look at that may be tangentially related. There are some places where it is expanding. Is it fair to say that the investigation started out in phoenix because of some pretty damning things that were being said about phoenix. Is it fair to say that the scheduling problems are pretty pervasive throughout the va . Absolutely. Okay. Specifically for phoenix, look. A good portion of montana heads down there
Authority . Again, you dont have an explicit authorization from congress on the air strikes, on what were doing now. What congress voted on was arming syrian rebels. The question im asking, is the Legal Authority to go into syria now, to do air strikes now, based on this idea of an imminent threat, is that how youre coaching it to congress . With respect to this group of al qaeda operatives and this group of al qaeda veterans, yes, they pose a threat to the United States and to our partners, and we were watching them conduct what we determined to be advanced stage plotting. And the president s been clear under current authority, he has the authority to go after, take that fight to disrupt al qaeda operatives and their associated forces to disrupt that plotting. Hes also been quite clear hes got the authority he needs to take this fight to isil, but this is not americas fight alone. What you saw last night was five arab nations working in a Broad Coalition to take that fight to isil und
The International Fund for Public Interest Media has announced its new cohort of 17 grants across nine low-and middle-income countries in Asia and the Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean. Together with its inaugural grantee cohort announced in 2023, the International Fund has now committed more than $8 million USD in grants and direct portfolio support in its focus regions.