Call this meeting to order. Welcome, everybody. Hope yall had a great thanksgiving and hope everybody has a wonderful Holiday Season coming up. This is a very important hearing for the United States senate. On november 4th, if my memory is correct, we had a meeting at the va. Sloane gibson, dr. Schulkin and some others were in the room. In terms of Va Health Service delivery to our veterans, veterans choice, consolidating programs, reimbursement rates so there wasnt any preference over another. A reality in our lifetime and in their lifetime. With that will come a number of decisions. This will not be the first time i heard most of this information. We had that meeting before. It will be the first time a lot of people have heard it. Of people have heard it. Of people have heard it. Of people have heard it. This is a critical there are a critical number of decisions we will have to make to make my va work. The new veterans choice work and make sure that va does what it does best well bu
What youve probably thought about in terms of the enabling legislation for this particular program. If you dont do that, then youre building the transformed system on outdated policies that may or hey not have ever been appropriate. They just happened to get through congress and you have to live up to them because theyve been mandated to you. Im not going to get into a lot of questions except that the reason i continue to have this flavor to my discussion is i want to help you establish a plan that transcends your tenure and your positions. So do we. That continues when we get another president. That needs to be articulated. And we need people in the va to put the mirror back on us, saying youre asking me to do this thats shifting away from the other thing you asked me to do. If we do at that, and you put the mirror in, its our problem. If we make a request, and you dont reflect back on us, its your problem. And i want to make this our problem so that we can help facilitate the transfo
King, if i can. Ambassador, youve done a commendable job representing the north korean human rights portfolio. I also recognize the difficulties you face since the administration doesnt make the human rights issue in my view enough of a top priority. I think it best a secondtier issue behind nuclear proliferation. Even if its given sometimes lip service by calling it a top priority and constant focus. As such im disappointed that following the release of the u. N. Commission of inquiry report, in my view little has been done. No human rights sanctions no executive orders, and no move for a vote in the Security Council. Ambassador king, can you tell us what is being done at this time to hold north korea accountable for the mass atrocities described in that report . I mean it was a horrific thing to read. And why theres been so Little Movement since the reports release. And then also, are you aware that there are three americans currently detained in pyongyang and im deeply concerned par
That the costs at the end of the day while it has what we call around here a c. B. O. Core, the costs arent real. It basically is what they would have to do anyway. So were looking for language that assures our colleagues that are rightfully concerned about the debt and deficit but also addresses the grotesque Human Rights Violations that are occurring in venezuela today. I want to in a moment yield to the senator from new jersey who has shown extraordinary leadership on this and every single issue involving democracy and human rights in this region and around the world, but i hope and i know that there are things going on in the middle east that are of critical importance to our country. I know that there are things going on visavis russia and ukraine that are of extraordinary importance to our country, but i hope people understand that what is happening in venezuela matters, too. Because even as we speak, there are millions of people in that country who are being systematically their
The here and focused on whether the governments website will be ready and happy ministrations handling inconsistencies and health care applications. This portion is one hour and 40 minutes. Our last appeared before us october to testify on behalf of one of the contractors who build healthcare. Gov. Our own going concern about the of is one of the reasons we are holding this hearing today. Exactly one year ago today, members of this Committee Member we heard from the administrator who told us healthcare. Gov will be ready october 1. We were told would work and later we found out that was not quite the same thing. The contractors told us the same thing. Our reviews of the website were brushed aside. The rollout of the Affordable Care act it was an unmitigated disaster. We hope to hear from you candidly and honestly about how things are progressing. His new role comes at an opportune time. We will hear from william with the Government Accountability office. Confirming what this committee