All right, senator burr suggests maybe we should make a wait a few minutes for other members to come back from recess. Lets take a quick recess here. Its create cal we continue to have these hearings to do everything we can to hold v. A. s feet to the fire and make sure that accountability is there. We know some things now that we did not know at the last hearing. We know for a fact that v. A. s wait list manipulation and access to care issues is, in fact, systemic. Report after report has confirmed this. In fact, 77 facilities are currently under investigation by the v. A. Inspector general. Its an astounding number. And i believe the scheduling problems are the tip of the iceberg. Now we have allegations of whistle blower retaliation and mproper payment of claims. The cancer doesnt seem to stop, but it must be stopped. While i appreciate your efforts , secretary gibson, i think you have done some things, and they are recognized and acknowledged. But i think wed all acknowledge theres
But what could be more pressing than to make sure our veterans receive the care that they need and deserve . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Other members will be filtering back. But i would like to hear from the acting secretary now. And customarily, we give five minutes, but youll have more time. This is a serious discussion, and we want you to have the time you need to make your case, and we want the members here to have the time they need to ask you the questions. All right, senator burr suggested maybe we should wait a few minutes to make sure all the members come back. Lets take a very quick recess here. Okay. Lets reconvene, and senator, i think were up to you and your Opening Statement. Thank you, senator chairman sanders and Ranking Member burr for convening another very important hearing to address the issues at the v. A. Its critical that we continue to have these oversight hearings to do everything we can to hold v. A. s feet to the fire and make sure that accountability is there.
Ladies and gentlemen last summer i was in, going from india to japan and i stopped in singapore to meet with what people refer to as the Henry Kissinger of the far east. A fellow a lot of you know of equal on you someone that most foreignpforeignp olicy experts note and almost every world leader has sought his opinion. He was kind enough to meet me in his home because he has written and spoken a great deal about the future of india, china, russia and the United States. I sat with him. He is 90 some years old now and i sat with him and his home. He is somewhat frail but he still has an incredibly crisp and sharp mind. In the middle of our discussion i turned to him and i said to him, i said mr. President what is china doing now and literally meaning what is the progress going on . I know president she because i have spent more time with him than any other leader i believe and i think eve knowledges and i was trying to figure out where is china likely to go . He looked at me and he said
To thank you and the Ranking Member who is currently not here, but you all in this committee have done such a great job in responding to this crisis. I think showing excellent leadership. We heard from the va directly. Weve heard from the gao, the office of Inspector General, hearing from the private sector. Each of us in our individual capacities are listening directly to the veterans in our community. I ask we have a panel of vet vans and Veterans Service organizations if we are talking about veterancentered care, we need to hear from them. And add to mr. Mcclains excellent suggestion of having a Management Organization identified structural and organizational weaknesses and complement that with the veterans and what they are missing in their care right now. I think one of the issues that has to be included in that review is the issue of accountability. Weve talked about and described our frustrations with the amount of money thats been authorized and appropriated. Virtually lost wit
By a Panel Discussion on ukraine with former russian german and polish officials. In 1997 my daughter hillary and i have for hillary in my own family, then it presents senior majoring in politics pics nato as her thesis topic. She called her mom then in my third term in congress to get my assessment. So i had to really think about it. Nato expansion have been agreed upon and in 1994 brussels declaration and there was real enthusiasm certainly in the United States congress. The senate voted 8919. Thats a very initial vote these days in 1998 to ratify the addition of three countries to nato poland hungary and the check republic. 16 countries have now been added through six rounds of enlargement since the end of the cold war. But there were also skeptics. Tom friedman the writer tom friedman who also is a former wilson scholar wrote an oped last month in which he quoted his 1998 interview with it then 94yearold george kennan. Said kennan, i think the russians will gradually react quite ad