Transcripts For CSPAN2 American Legion Hosts Annual Conference 20170228

Really need to adopt watch the rest of this event in the cspan Video Library at cspan. Org. Type center for American Progress in the search box. Going to leave and go live to remark some House Veterans Affairs Committee Chair ted poe, some john mccain, james mattis and the mr. Secretary David Shulkin. All living at the American Legion conference here in washington. In deuteronomy it is written, a strong and courageous do not fear or be in dread of them. For it is the lord our god who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. And in romans, what then shall we say to these things . If god is for us, who can be against us . With those passages in mind let us go to the lord in prayer. Almighty god, for whom nothing is too difficult, we call upon you to call our spirit calm focus our attention and energy on the tasks at hand, knowing that what we do is a part of your divine plan. Grant us the courage and faith needed for the assignments we are about to undertake, centered upon what you would have us do all to your greater glory. Shower us with forthright, honesty and sincerity. And all of the concerns and proposals that we present, may our preparations be fruitful, and touch the hearts of those who hear them. But those who have ears here, and those who have eyes see. Lord, you fed and watered millions in the desert, a feat only you could accomplish. And so we are trusting in you to provide a practical means necessary in the meetings where about to attend. You called us to a task that requires supernatural provision, and now w were calling on you o provide the details. With trust in our god we will do our part, and do it well by your grace, and no, you will do yours. Our strength will be renewed and we shall mount up with wings like angels in our service to god and country. In this we pray in the name of all that is sacred, precious and holy, amen. Amen. Resolution to 88 adopted by by the 87th annual National Convention requires the designation of a pow in my a chair, or flag at all official meetings of the American Legion. This is a symbol of the thousands of american pow mias still unaccounted for. For whom all wars and conflicts involve our nation. So with a pow mia flag posted in position to my left him let it serve as a reminder for all of us to spare no effort to secure the release of any american prisoners, the repatriation of the remains of those who have been killed in action, and a full accounting of those who are still missing. Let us rededicate ourselves to this vital endeavor. Thank you, chaplain. I now call upon the chairman of the National Legislative council from the department of georgia to lead our pledge of allegiance. With a flag of our nation in place please join in fighting the pledge. And to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Please recover, and you may be seated. Welcome to the 57th annual commanders call. Before you leave today we hope youll be inspired, motivated and most importantly educated. Article this morning is to empower you with everything you need to know to carry the america legions message to capitol hill. With the passion, confidence and knowledge you have with the over 2 million veterans, their families and their votes most importantly behind you. We are the largest and most respected veteran Service Organization in the nation. We are the American Legion. Id like to begin by introducing our first speaker. Hes been asking us to carry the legacy forward. Its a proud legacy indeed and he is contributing to that legacy by fearfully advocating for veterans and their families. A retired air force officer and veteran of the vietnam war, hes the first member of the Great Department of oregon to leave our organization. It is my pleasure to edit is the National Command of the American Legion charles smith. [applause] thank you. Thank you. Thank you, chairman oxford. And good morning, American Legion family. Hoo rah. It is such an exciting time to be in washington. We have a new Administration Ad a new congress. And no matter what your political persuasion is, it is exciting for the American Legion. It is exciting because we are nonpartisan, and with the new leadership in washington, we look at all new possibilities. As i like to say during my acceptance speech after elected me as your National Commander, accentuate the positive. We see a lot of positive signs coming from washington, the new va secretary David Shulkin seems committed to making the va better than ever before. That isnt to say that they are not some Serious Problems to address. But he does agree that it is a system worth saving. Let me be clear about our position regarding choice we are not against the concept of Health Care Choices for veterans. Realistically, not all veterans would find it convenient to use va. Veterans in my hometown in heinz, oregon, in eastern oregon, for instance, must travel more than 200 miles to find the nearest va hospital. Although there needs to be a wellmanaged partnership with private providers to serve veterans in remote areas, we are against the current mess that is called Choice Program. Delays, nonreimbursement for services and bureaucratic entanglements are constant experiences for many who have attempted to use this program. Additionally, no veteran should have to experience a long wait time to be seen by a va doctor. And we are eager to work with dr. Shulkin in fixing this problem. The American Legion shares his goal to make va so great that veterans would overwhelmingly choose va over the private sector. We think the va is already moving in the right direction. But as the president would say, lets make it great again. Im excited because in the last congress, the house of representatives agreed with us that the antiquated appeals process for veterans disability claims needed to be modernized. The current process, if left alone, will result in veterans having to wait an average of 10 years, by 2027, to their decision on their appeals. This is more than twice the time that took for the United States to fight and win world war ii. According to bas on 2016 numbers, nearly half a million appeals claims were waiting to be finally adjudicated. More than 80,000 claims were waiting for greater than 125 days. The American Legion finds this completely unacceptable. We believe the appeals modernization legislation, h. R. 457, introduced by dana titus will simplify and speed up the process as well as make it more transparent. The house did its job in the last congress, but the senate refused to move on it. I am hopeful that today you will talk to your representative and your senators and tell them that we need to pass this important legislation now. The American Legion welcomes president trumps promised to rebuild our military. More than half of all marine corps aircraft were not liable this past december. Only three of the us army 58th h brigade combat teams are considered ready for combat. The air force, the branch where i made a career, had a total of about 5500 aircraft. The average aircraft is 27 years old, older than many of the pilots that are flying them. In the early 1990s the air force had 8600 aircraft, and much larger force and a much safer world. What can i say about the navy . I was just at joint base hickam to observe the 75th anniversary of pearl harbor. Talk to survivors. I put my hand in the pock marks scrape into the building by japanese aircraft fire that if we learn anything from pearl harbor, it is that we must always be prepared. Military cats have really had a major impact on babies ability to protect our seas. A strong navy is needed now, especially in chinese construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea, and increased provocations by governments of iran and north korea. This is why we are asking congress to fully fund the department of defense with the real and robust budget and not an unsustainable continuing resolution. Does anybody really believe that the world is safer now than it was during the cold war . The conclusion of the bipartisan 9 11 commission is that our enemy was at war with us, but we were not at war with them. The courts need to recognize that it is the president who has the ultimate and constitutionally mandated responsibility to keep us safe. The bottom line is that we need to take a very hard look at our immigration and entry policies. While we have been very effective at stopping terrorist attacks, look at what has been happening in france, germany, belgium and turkey. And as weve seen in boston, San Bernardino and orlando, we wont be able to stop all of these horrendous attacks, but every attack that our authorities can stop is a valuable victory that saves an incalculable amount of lives. Finally, i would like to say a few words about the deniers. These are the people, summon immediate, some in congress, and some protesting on College Campuses and in our streets, who denies that our flag has any special significance. Its just a piece of cloth, they say. It is a piece of cloth, all right. Its also the fabric of our nation. These people deny that flag desecration is a problem. It hardly ever occurs, they say. Yet a quick google search, you will reveal thousands of images of people doing just that. Some in congress are denying a hearing on the flag amendment. By doing so they are denying the rest of congress the chance to vote on it, and denying the American People the right to pass this measure through their state legislature and enshrine this protection into the constitution. Thats our constitution, the constitution of the American People. And these deniers say congress has more important issues to address and that the flag protection and in the is a waste of time. Amendment. I say pass the amendment and we wont bother you with it again. [applause] otherwise, you will keep hearing from us. We never quit our missions in military and we are not going to quit now because thats who we are in the American Legion. We love peace, but we will always fight for what is right. Thank you all, and god bless you and god bless the United States of america. [applause] thank you, commander. Thank you. I noticed there are lots of folks stand in the back. If you are interested there are plenty of seats up front. We invite you to come on debt and take a seat if you are so inclined. The American Legion is one of the most powerful voices in washington and its because of you and our strong grassroots presence. Veterans across this nation depend upon you to help make sure the nation does right by them. Just remember, the most important meeting members of congress will have that relate to the American Legion will be the one they have with you, their constituent. Ladies and gentlemen, our next guest is the chairman of the u. S. House Veterans Affairs committee. He was first elected in 2008 to serve the first Congressional District of tennessee. As a physician, he ran a successful medical practice for 31 years and delivered close to 5000 babies. Hes an army veteran and a member of American Legion post 24 in johnson city, tennessee. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm American Legion welcome to the honorable representative from tennessee, phil roe. [applause] thanks very much for having me, and i appreciate the opportunity to be here. And as you all know, congress has a less than 12 approval rating, im glad to get invited anywhere, so thank you for having me. [laughter] i told the speaker the other day i said you know, after speaker, et cetera as bad as you think it actually three things that poll worse that we do. He said was that come look at a possibly be . I said Lindsay Lohan one, meth labs in north korea. So the bar is pretty low. I want to thank you all for being here, take your time to come to washington to talk to us about the important issues that you face. And once again my name is phil roe. Im just a country doctor from northeast tennessee, a lifelong tennessean that about eight, nine years ago decided that it didnt like the direction the country was going. I felt like i could serve my country get after over 30 years in private medical practice comments i went off my medication and ran for congress, and look what happened. [laughter] so be careful to stay, be sure to stay on your medicine. I was a young physician in memphis. I tell people that actually won a free trip to south east asia. Many of you did the same thing. I went to the mailbox and had this draft notice and i had a six week old child when i went in the military. As many of you probably did. Went through basic training, was stationed in korea 13 months cant casey, camp bradley has been a few months without insole at the 121 feedback hospital. Go up in a military town where the 101st airborne is. I felt, ive always been the like i was part of the military. I know in Congress Today less than 20 that serve in the military. Back in the 70s it was over 80 serve in the military. Theres a different, i know many of you, maybe our world war ii, korea, vietnam, a lot smaller percentage of us have served now than did in previous generations. I think its a real honor, it is an honor to do what i do, and have the time to do this, the opportunity to do this i should say. I do want to again thank you all and your families for coming up here. I know a lot of times we forget when we were in the military that there is a family at home that loves us and cares for us and waits for us when we come out and gives us the opportunity and privilege to serve. I also want to thank dr. Shulkin is our new secretary, got to be careful what i say because hes backstage. He is going to be a great secretary. I fed opportunity for the last 18 months to work with them on the Veterans Affairs committee. I believe he is going to do a great job for our veterans in this country. I know that you all know, and back in 2014, ive been on the Veterans Affairs committee since 200 2009 when i was sworno congress and at that point in time were spinning about 97 billion a year on veterans care. Today its just a little south of 180 billion with added almost 100,000 employees during that time from 260,000 employees to over 360,000. The va has more employees now and then that u. S. Navy does. I dont know the va is doing that much better job. I know that my concern is, i do think we have the resources to take care of what were doing today. I think when you do a better job of managing. And thank you to make sure till the va accountable. Theres a dob of coming up next week that we are going to markup, and accountability bill. Many of you are aware of the scandal that occurred in phoenix. Phoenix. It turned out that these wait list or more pervasive than we had thought. One of the things this accountability bill is going to do is to give dr. Shulkin who has asked for these things the ability to fire or to hold people accountable for what they do. There are many egregious, i could go over them, im not going to this morning, have occurred, actually occurred that took months and months and sometimes even years to make right. I come from the private sector. That doesnt happen in a private sector. I can tell you some of these events that occurred, the door we need you in the backside on the that they. I think dr. Shulkin need to these tools. [applause] key is going to get these tools. Were going to mark this bill up just next week. One of the primary things i want to work about is as a physician who saw that in patients in my office and who saw veterans as an activeduty military doctor, i want to be sure that we put the veteran in charge of Health Care Decisions. What i mean by that come in my practice, the person i worked for was the patient. Now the Insurance Company and not the hospital and not anybody else. The patient. [applause] i want to do is i want the veterans and the doctors to be making those decisions, Health Care Decisions if you feel like that youre not getting the care you need at than the hospital, then you should have a choice to go wher what you want. Many veterans, maybe i was presumption in my reelection in october, but i traveled to lubbock, texas, and to the haskell valley in yakima in washington to visit rural areas where bas are. The veterans are spread all across this country. My district, for existence for instance, almost 10 are veterans. I know we have bob hensley who is i think bob is sitting right up front here who is a veteran from Mountain City tennessee and want to thank him for being here. I know there some texans out there and want to remind you that it would not be texans who were not for tennessee. Just want to point that out. [laughter] the opportunity, what i want to see happen with the va in health care is i want you to have the absolute best health care that can provided by anybody in the world. You should have that as a veteran. If you earned it, you deserve to have it. [applause] i think accountability and access to care is a huge item for me. We have another, i coach or the doctors caucus in congress, and theres a huge issue not just among veterans certainly among our country, opioid abuse. Weve had now, this is unbelievable, that weve had Prescription Drug Overdose Deaths last year killed as many people as car wrecks do, or Breast Cancer in this country. Its a scary epidemic that is preventable. Its a passion of mine to see this stamp out. It is something that we should not have. Theres an appropriate use for opioid and then theres an inappropriate use. I want to be sure that veterans who need these medications get them, but we also protect people from the deaths that are occurring. I know theres another thing that im very concerned about, also with tim walz, cochair, caucus in congress that takes care of folks with ptsd. We havent done the job we need to do. The va is at the forefront. I will give them a big shout out. Theyve done, a lot of things they need to do but the va has been a leader in ptsd treatment and its an issue across this country. We passed a bill called the 21st century cures act were we acknowledge that we need to do more for it, not just veterans but for other patients in this country that are suffering ptsd. One of the biggest things were going to have to do, and i know dr. Shulkin is concerned and worried about this, the enormity of it, is to transform the va i. T. System. And what i mean by that . We spent 4. 5 billion last year. Thats 4,500,000,000 on technology. Its right now the Health Care System is a good one. Electronic Health Records system youve got. I can tell you this from personally insulting one. It is not easy to do. I say this sort of as a joke but not Electronic Health record system that made me a congressman. It about drove me crazy learning how to use the thing. Technology is good if it works, and the va system needs to be reformed for their building. We are sending people out on the Choice Program which we know is not working like it should. I can tell you stories all the effort about how its not working. Weve got to get that working better. But technology is one of the keys to it. So you can bill, so you can pay her bills, so you can do other things with technology. Thats a big, big bite we will take of the apple one of the things i want to assure you is that i am not sitting after talking about privatizing the va. Im talking about making the va better. And thats something i think [applause] something i think thats extremely important for people to know that thats not what were doing. The va in 20 years is not going to look like the va today, i can tell you that. Medicine is changing, and it is changing rapidly. We are veterans that live in very rural areas that need access in a different way, whether its telehealth or other devices that we use. I dont even know from, i know that probably most of you have a smart phone. Theres going to be intimate as an out of health care provided to a smart phone. I know im getting older because i keep getting these unsolicited emails from the walkin tub. I dont know about you. [laughter] i get one every day now. But thats going to change how we provide health care to people. I think we have the most Bipartisan Committee in the congress, Veterans Affairs committee, its one of the reasons why i enjoy working on that committee. Its not about republican. Its not about democrats. About how we take care of veterans, and that is exactly why im on that committee. [applause] i want to thank you all again for having me here. Im going to finish my remarks by just telling a story, to tell you why im so passionate about being a chairman and serving on the Veterans Affairs committee. 1943 i guy in johnson city, tennessee, a young man walked into the Army Recruiter in downtown johnson city and tried to sign up for the United States marine corps. The marine corps. He was turned down. His name was homer. The recent homer was turned and was he was 13. So they didnt allow him to go in the marine corps at age 13. But not to be deterred, homer cleaned up this local derelict, put a suit on them, went down to the Army Recruiter and had him sign as his father that he was 17 years old and he could go in the army. So he got in the army. Not just the army bu buddy got n the 101st Airborne Division at age 13. He parachuted in at normandy at age 15. He was wounded in france and sent back to england to recover from his injuries. He rejoined his unit and fought in the battle of the bulge. 15 years old. Well, his mother didnt even know where he was. She thought he just ran away from home. She didnt even know he was in the war. So he was wounded again at the battle of the bulge and sent back, and they finally caught up with him. It took forever to get these records. They finally caught up with homer and they separated him from the army. Came back to johnson city, tennessee, and you ran away from home went to fort bragg and tried to sign up again. His captain there said palmer, youve been in the battle of the bulge, youve been in the normandy invasion. Go home and be a kid. So he went back to his high school in our hometown as a freshman now, and finished in 1949 and went to east Tennessee State university, our college in our hometown, and went through rotc and was commissioned. Andy did a lot of other things. He was a Police Officer and did a lot of other things, but he decided that wasnt good enough so they went into the army rangers in the 1950s. And that wasnt good enough so he volunteered for vietnam. Its a sad ending to the story. Palmer was killed in 1965 with a silver star in vietnam. Those, ladies and gentlemen, are the shoulders that we stand on. Unbelievable story. [applause] would you like to have met homer and got to know him and maybe tipped one within . I certainly would have. I want to thank you. There are stories right out here in this room that are just as compelling. And i want to thank you here you have my solemn promise to do everything i can to make sure that this va works for you and gives you back the service that you have earned. Thank you very, very much. And may god bless each and everyone of you. [applause] just made a comment to the chairman. Im still in awe of the 5000 babies. At this point i like to recognize commander schmidt for the purpose of an important introduction. Well, it is customary to refer to all members of congress as the honorable. It is a title that has been truly earned by our next guest. This past november i visited the former home of this United States senator. I hope you dont consider me root for saying that it was a dank and depressing. It was an infamous holding prison, also known as hanoi hilton. And it is not a nice hotel like this. The site of an admiral, our guest today was offered Early Release from the pow camp, but he turned it down. He entered torch and hardship for nearly six years. After operation homecoming, he continued his navy career amortized as a captain in 1981. He has represented arizona in the u. S. Senate since 1987. Best known as the 20,008 republican nominee for president of United States, he boldly embraces the American Legion pillar of a Strong National defense. A graduate of the u. S. Naval academy, he is a member of arizonas American Legion post two comments currently serves as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee. It is my pleasure to welcome and to present the American Legion distinguished Public Service award to the honorable senator john s mccain. [applause] spira well, thank you. Its a great honor to be with you today, and im grateful for the opportunity to say a few words to you at your annual conference as you can do to help us try to do the lord to work in the city of satan. And im always grateful. [laughter] for that. And its an honor to accept your National Commanders distinguished Public Service award. I am deeply honored. And could i say thanks for mentioning that a lost running for president of the United States. Thanks. [laughter] appreciate that. After i lost i slept like a baby, sleep two hours, wake up and cry, sleep two hours. [laughter] and thanks for not mentioning again the number of landings that did not match the number of takeoffs, but thats okay. [laughter] could i just tell you one brief story really quickly . Before i retired i was at the bar, a club and a guy standing next to me, real old looking guy. I he looked a lot like charles here. [laughter] and i notice he was wearing one stripe on his sleeve, and i said to him, i said, how are you . How long have you been in the navy . Isa 30 years. I said youre still an instant . Never promoted . No. Why . He said i was at the first squadron at guadalcanal early in world war ii. Every single night one japanese airplane used to fly over our field and the cyberman, we call them washing machine charlie, this i would go off, we got to get out of her bits into airplanes, start the engine at present the all clear siren would go off because of just washing machine charlie, he said. He said i got tired of it. He said i wasnt getting any sleep so i went in the jungle and i caught this monkey and i trained this monkey that when the siren went off he would come out of jungle, get into an airplane can start the engine because of the all clear siren went off he would shut down the engine and g quebec in the jung. Wonderful. I was little like. Every night. Then sure enough one night it wasnt washing machine charlie. It was a real japanese air raid. He said i came out of my tent just in time to see that monkey taking off in my airplane. [laughter] i said, well, i said i can certainly see why you were not promoted picky said, thats not what makes me mad. The monkey retired as an admiral last week. [laughter] most admirals dont enjoy that joke. [laughter] i want to thank you, friends and comrades. Andy did want to make one additional comment. As you know it was recently an effort, a brave effort in yemen, and we lost an airplane we lost a brave american and several wounded. All of us here at one time or another probably lost a comrade, and theres nothing worse than that. Sometimes missions succeed and sometimes they dont succeed. But it doesnt have anything to do with the bravery and courage and sacrifice that those brave americans made. [applause] and it does not in any way when we judge the nation have any way of diminishing their courage. My friends, 55,000 names are in black granite not far from here. And because of the failure of leadership, because of the feeling of leadership a lot of those brave americans were on missions that didnt succeed. Micromanagement from the basement of the white house. Many of us are all familiar with it, but we honor their sacrifice every single day of their lives. And to somehow equate whether a mission succeeds or not with their bravery is, failure to understand the courage and sacrifice. Because these brave americans, when they are told to go, they go. And thats what america is all about. [applause] so were living in a very dangerous world, my friends but we are in probably the most dangerous world weve been in in 70 years were seeing the breakdown of the new world order that was formed after world war ii. After two of the bloodiest wars in history. The United States of america, thanks to the service and sacrifice of ourselves and our allies, it was a new world order. It was shaped around the rule of law, shape to read of the press. And we ship to read freedom to elect our leaders. The fundamental principles of democracy and freedom that we imbued throughout the world. And, of course, my genuine hero always will be Ronald Reagan who won the cold war in the words of margaret thatcher, without firing a shot. Because he stood for what we believe in during the cold war. He stood for supremacy. He stood for those that when he said tear down that wall, that was a call for freedom. And after that wall came down, we heard from people. They said we heard Ronald Reagan. We heard him on voice of america. We heard it on radio free europe. And they were so grateful. And they were grateful not because so much because of our military power. Because that was essential, but they loved us for the message of freedom, democracy, human rights rights, a freedom from the slavery in the gulags of the then soviet union. And now, my friends, we are being tested again. We are being tested in the South China Sea with the chinese now are filling in islands that, they have no business doing, gross violation of international law. We never asked million refugees out of sooner you. 400,000 dead. We now have Vladimir Putin dismembering ukraine, occupying crimea. And today as we speak he will be testing this new administration. And so we are in very challenging times, and we are seeing, of course, possible breakup of the european union. And by the way, we are seeing russian interference in the french election, and probably in the german election. If Vladimir Putin is able to destroy our ability to correctly elect our leadership, he is destroying the fundamental of democracy. And thats why we have [applause] and thats why we have to stop this. There is a whole new area of competition, my friends, and its called cyber war. Cyber war. Right now today there have been attacks on some of our most important capabilities there have been attacks on our privacy. There have been attacks that continue. And its a whole new area. And when i talked to admiral rogers who comes before a committee, he is the head of cyber command, he said we are not ahead. Its a lot easier to attack and to defend it and so we got to address this whole issue of attacks on everything that we hold dear, our privacy, our secrets, our capabilities. And thats an area that a know that you are concerned with. So we are now in an era where theres more strains on that coalition, that new world order that was formed at the end of world war ii, that was one at the sacrifice of so many brave americans, so many. We dont know where they all are, but we know they lie in islands in the pacific. We know they live in battlefield in europe, but come at great costs. And now we have a challenge that we have to meet. I want to talk to you on a couple more issues. One, ptsd. My friends, ptsd is an issue. Everyday as we speak a better is committing suicide, more than one. We passed a bill called the clay hunt act which was named after the sun, clay hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans act, named after the brave young man named clay hunt who committed suicide in march 2011. And so weve had problems with addressing this issue. We have an obligation to identify, resource and make available effective forms of treatment to help eliminate veteran suicide. We must eliminate veteran suicide. We owe that to everyone of our veterans. [applause] im proud tha the va working closer with my office has turn arizona to become a National Model for addressing the crisis as home to the clay hunt pilot program. The new circuit of the va dr. Shulkin has committed to making this one of his highest priorities. Im embarrassed. Im embarrassed that in phoenix, arizona, the scandal began. In the phoenix va 50 veterans as you know were on a nonexistent waiting list, died. Veterans need the American Legion today more than at any time ever. We need you. [applause] we passed legislations, veterans access, choice and accountability act, which president obama signed into law. The legislation grid the veterans Choice Program. I know theres some controversy about that but let me just say, i believe that the va does the best job of anybody on ptsd, traumatic brain injury, other prostheses, and others. But theres also medical care that veterans need, and they needed immediately. They dont, they should have to wait on a waiting list. People who are on medicare, my friends, are not on a waiting list. They just got to a Health Care Provider and get health care. So what i want our veterans to be able to do is when you need the specialized care that only the va can provide, we should make sure they have that. You have a routine health care need the added just go ahead and be able to call up and make an appointment and see a doctor, just like people in medicare do. I want our veterans to have immediate care, whether its at the va or whether its another Health Care Provider. No one should be on a waiting list for days and weeks or months, no one. [applause] so i will hope that, at one time we had 15,000 veterans in phoenix stan in line for care, including dozens as a mentioned who died. We cant do that. We cant do that to our veterans. So we live in an interesting and challenging times. I am honored to here with you today, as im always. Those who i love most in know best of those why had the great honor that was just mentioned, to serve in any hotel far away from here, here and those, and those people are those who had the great honor and privilege of knowing and loving. Some of them have left. Some of our fellow Vietnam Veterans have left us. But i am the person i am today if theres any small measure of success that ive achieved, its because of the comradeship and the love in struggle we caged together. My friends and fellow pows that we were proud to come home with honor. And im honored to be with you today. Thank you. [applause] [applause] sender, we will be in phoenix next month for a system with saving visit to the va. Commander, would you introduce our next guest speaker . It gives me great pleasure to introduce our next speaker. He was confirmed by the u. S. Senate as secretary of Veterans Affairs on february 13, 2017. Unanimously, how often do you ever hear of a senate agreeing on anything, 110 no votes . How about that . Prior to confirmation our guest serve as the ace undersecretary for Health Leading the nations largest integrated Health Care System with more than 1700 sites, serving almost 9,000,000 veterans. A physician himself, he has has held numerous chief executive roles at morristown Medical Center, the Atlantic Health systems Accountable Care organization, and president and ceo of bath israel reticle sent in new york city, he has been named as one of the 50 most influential physicians executives in the country by modern health care. Please give a warm American Legion family welcome to the secretary of the Veterans Affairs, dr. David shulkin. [applause] well, thank you, and its great to see all of you. And commander, thank you for that warm welcome. You know, i dont think the commander has been home in a long, long time. No one works harder traveling the country, carrying about visiting people. I just want to thank you for everything you are doing. And wanted to record eyes and say hello to mary davis and jeff, bill oxford, mr. Clay. Its great to be here. The American Legion is such an Important Organization not only because you are the largest but your commitment and passion for everything that people do, and you do for our veterans is so important. You have such great leadership. I certainly want to recognize and thank verna jones. I can imagine being led by more able and competent leader. [applause] cant imagine. I dont think theres anybody who knows more about whats going on in washington than lou chile. Hes constantly telling whats going on and i appreciate it. You guys are really so capably led. I wanted to talk this morning about modernizing the va. As the commander said, ive really been secretary now for just about two weeks. I think two weeks today. But its really important that we get on with this task, and that we do this very, very quickly. Because this is long overdue. So let me share a few thoughts with you. It really is just such a tremendous privilege and honor to be able to lead his department with a mission that we have, because it is the best mission in the federal government. Obviously one you share, which is making sure those who have gone and served our country are getting what they deserve and have earned. I believe that the va system is a unique system, certainly not only a system worth saving but essential for veterans and for the country. And im reminded, having come from the private sector, how important it is and different that we have a system that cares specifically for veterans. I come from the hospital world, and many of you may have had a chance to see what we call the final salute in the Va Health Care system, when someone passes away, given the honor and respect the life of a person who served their country in a way that is distinct. You just dont see things like this in the private sector. We also have to remind ourselves that when you go out into the private sector, that the type of care that you get isnt always the type of care that our veterans at me. Only one in five providers in the private sector actually have military competency. And Mental Health only 15 of those in the private sector really understand the environment that people come from. So if youre getting treatment for ptsd and you tell your psychologist or psychiatrist that it was a result of an ied and they say, what is an ied . You can see that that may not be the right environment to get the best help in. And so when they came from the private sector to the va, and actually started a practice in the Va Health Care system, i recognize just how different the va is what you get in the community. In the va theres pierce support. We have crisis lines, transportation caregivers, finding patterns veterans care, all sorts of things that are much more comprehensive approach to care than what you would find in the private sector. And these are some of the reasons why i think its important we keep a strong va. When i had the chance as undersecretary of help to go out and to visit some of our Adaptive Sports programs, i dont know how many of you have ever been to these programs, but we take people out of wheelchairs and had been skied down mountains such as what we going to do again next month near aspen, or this summer when i was with veterans who were out there surfing. You begin to start seeing how important these types of activities are to the wellbeing of our veterans. These are unique services that are offered in the va system. Our use of technology is also unique. This is actually a picture of me practicing from my office in washington where i see patients at grants pass oregon using telehealth, using technology. I had not done this in the private sector but this is routine and i would deliver care, particularly to roll veterans. No one uses technology the way that the va does. 9 million episodes of teleheal telehealth, even in tele Mental Health, 336,000 visits, and innocence of care units, places i could never have fulltime intensive or Critical Care doctors that he is able to use technology to bring that expertise even to small rural p. A. S. So this is something again at a somewhat unique. I think people understand that the va system takes care of patient, does research, trains doctors but that often forget about our Fourth Mission which is to be there in case of capacity for the country or national emergency, whether thats a medical emergency that might happen or military emergency that may happen. We are the backbone, that safety net, for america. And we are there. We train for this. Actually deployed eight times this past year, national emergencies, but we are there and we practice for this, and people forget that compound vital that is for the country. In terms of modernizing the va system, really where my focus is, i always think its important to remember that va has historically contributed to not only health care but you all america. I date this back to the civil war which as you know was the bloodiest war that we fought in this country. It was sort of handtohand combat. The types of injuries that were happening on the battlefield where really quite remarkable because it was close range, either bayonets or shotguns. And at the time on the battlefields the doctors were moving so quickly how to manage these types of traumas, that they were writing, essentially protocols for how to treat trauma. They were writing them so fast and adding them to the book, that the binder theyre keeping on the battlefield broke open. The only way to hold the book together was to wrap it in red tape pics of the va is the originator of red tape. We brought that to all of america. Now, but when you look at history, there have been lots of efforts to modernize the va. Lots of commissions, lots of studies. Thats often a popular approach to how to fix something, lets go out and study and get some experts. Ive counted 140 of these assessments that are sitting somewhere on the desks in va. We dont need any more studies or commissions, recommendations on how to fix the va. [applause] what we need to do is to begin to work and excuse it and really focus on that. So thats exactly what we are going to be doing. We are going to be streamlining this organization, getting rid of the red tape, the regulations that prevent us from providing the type of services that you need. And where were going is exactly where both doctor rao and Sandra Mccain talked about is, is to take best of the va and the best of the private sector and make that one system that essentially works for veterans. And thats our focus. [applause] specifically my priorities as secretary are going to be these 10. Dr. Roe talked about legislation for accountability i couldnt agree with him a more, that when people lose their values the values we all hold dearly, they no longer have the right to work in the va. Were going to make sure that they dont work in the va. [applause] senator mccain mentioned the Choice Program that congress was able to authorize three years ago. That doesnt expire this august. We need to see that legislation extended beyond august, because we need that, those resources to be able to provide they care for veterans and that they deserve. So we are seeking that extension and were working with cogs to make sure that happens in the next couple of weeks. If i were designing the Health Care System, i would not thought about necessarily picking it on my election we times. There are better ways to deliver care. We will make sure the president is committed to that as well. [applause] i think when you talk about modernizing the va can you know that our facilities are ruled. The are not representative of what we want the environments that we want their veterans carried in. We will be looking towards investments. We have to make some choices. Theres some parts of the country where buildings are sitting empty. Theres a sense in keeping buildings empty and this will consolidate where it makes sense and invest in worldclass facilities. Again, we have a commitment to do that. Enhancing our Foundational Services cannot buy that i mean exactly what senator mccain was talking about. Theyre a Certain Services that va does better than anybody. I want to make sure we continue to be on the cuttingedge commodities at the top Services Available in the world and we will continue to invest in those. I need to work closer with the department of defense and other federal facilities. Ill show you a map of where the va and dod intercept. Dear dean us and we need dod and secretary madison i will be working closely together to make sure we are maximizing our ability to Work Together. Our i. T. System is after roadside, we have been a leader, but the systems desperately need modernization and well take those steps this year. Suicide prevention, again, what senator mccain was talking about. Our top priority right now is suicide for prevention. We are looking for legislation to be reintroduced to get that system fixed. We should not be waiting anywhere near the period of time that people are waiting to get their appeals heard, decisions made here in until he gets a legislative fix, we are not going to make the progress we need. We are looking to see that done this year. Less than the benefits side of the list made tremendous progress in tremendous progress, we have much more we could do to get faster decisions. I just want to highlight a few of these things that are really important modernization. Infrastructure, the way we work at the air, improving quality because thats really important in keeping the va unique. For those who have worked with me for years in the private sector when i ran hospitals before coming to the va, i was often known as the relatively impatient. I think thats true. I would say to my hospital teams i was working with, book, i want this done now. Whats it going to take . An act of congress. Now ironically everything i do takes an act of congress. But im getting used to it. When i talked about the infrastructure, you can see on some of our va is today, with those names ending from the 1800s. And so, i think everyone recognizes that this is going to require a new level of investment to be able to get our facilities to look like the bottom righthand corner what a contemporary modern hospital should look like. Thats her palo alto facility. Single rooms come with beautiful facilities to a Family Member stay with them. Thats what we want for every veteran. This is our va dod map to look at closely, how we look closer at the department of defense. Ive talked about our ability for va hospitals to begin to start working together with community providers. This is what i call the integrated approach of taking the best of va and the best of the private sector. This is really our vision for the future. When i look at progress and whether we are making progress, i look at these four areas. Quality of care, whether we provide access, whether we make progress in areas important to us like suicide and most importantly, what our customers, with the veteran say about what the experience about ea. When it comes to quality, and we measure quality comprehensively. Im pleased to say last year at 82 of rdas made significant progress in the quality of care. Its not just va says that. When the independent groups look at our quality like the rand group in a report on this common and they find the quality of care in va is as good or better than what youd find in the year. Its important for us. Va continues to lead important issues not only to veterans that all americans. The Opioid Crisis cannot be a beacon work well before it was recognized as a national crisis. Weve seen 22 reduction in use of product over your and hepatitis. Im also pleased to say by the end of next year, we will have been able to treat every veteran who has hepatitis and once to receive treatment for that with the 95 cure rate. No other Health Care System will be able to do that. [applause] overall last year 20 reduction in risk adjusted mortality are part of dignity, people working harder at 12 and thats a major increase. Even in bbi where our call centers a year ago, 59 of our call is used to be blocked. In other words, you couldnt demand to speak to somebody who today that number is less than 1 . So we are making service improvements. What we are trying to do now is to make it easier for you to see our progress and to see much easier comparisons to the private sector rather than complex government report working to make our result more transparent to you and easier to understand. In terms of access and senator mccain was talking about this and this of course started in phoenix. When i came to be a name in months ago, we had 57,000 veterans that were waiting more than 30 days for urging councils. That was totally unacceptable. Today the number is close to zero. We have really focused on making sure when you have an urgent care need that you get the care not in a couple days, but right away. We have sameday access now and every one of our Va Medical Centers and primary care and Mental Health. If you have a medical problem or you have an Mental Health problem, your Va Medical Center would be able to take care of that issue today and thats important so that we dont have people waiting for urgent care needs. In terms of access, 96 c. Within 30 days. 86 within seven days. We would compare this to any other private sector setting we think were as good or better, but were not satisfied with where we are and we continue to work on this. But veterans come to see us in our va and 90 say they are satisfied with their care. 10 stellar opportunity to do better. But its important to recognize we are asking you how were doing and youre letting us know. And homelessness, we saw 46 decrease in veterans homelessness since we started our efforts with their biggest decrease in the 17 reduction last year and will continue to focus on this until they are no longer homeless veterans. In tba come the benefit side in march of 2013, we had over 600,000 claims waiting more than 125 days. Today the number is less than 100,000, but as i said before we are not satisfied with that. Will work to make sure we get that to a much lower number and were looking at ways of modernizing our benefit system even further. The Cemetery Association highest Customer Satisfaction in the country by the american Customer Loyalty index. 96 satisfaction rate. We are proud of the services we are able to do. I mentioned suicide as their top priority. Youll see new initiatives commanded ea the next couple weeks. We are going to be working with Community Partners to do as much as we possibly can and we do need help on this. Im good. Im good. I have a story i dont want to start im good. But i feel alone in a crowd. Im good, that nobody understands. Im good. The past keeps coming back. I cant get out of bed in i cant sleep in im good, but i feel overwhelmed. Im good, but i dont feel safe. I still have night terrors and i dont need help. Im good. I dont feel anything anymore. Im good, but i cant live like this anymore. Im really not so good. Are you ready to listen . We are trying to get the message out. Weve added hundreds of the veteran crisis line responders. We are looking. This is our top political priority right now. We continue to innovate and find new ways to do better jobs. Thats the good organizations do. Renamed the 11th of Innovative Organization in the world but patten said some of these innovations come to you soon. Many of you couldve Va Medical Centers where he remains. We are are introducing a nap on your phone so you may not have to not have to dedicate your adjustments. You can do it right from home on your phone. These are the types of innovations we are bringing. I hope some of you have participated millions veterans program, the largest database in the country where it looks economic information to find new discoveries to help veterans and for us to do a better job. Our Research Organizations are doing terrific work. We are taking what we learn and now spread across every ea. This is our best Practices Initiative and we are beginning to act like a single va rather than individual das. This is something you will see more of in the future. Our most important way that we measure whether we are making a difference is whether we have your trust. We know an april 2014 we broke that trust and that is hard to regain trust once you break it. In april 2014, 47 of veterans felt they could trust the ap today the numbers above 60 . We are not satisfied with that, but we believe we are slowly rebuilding that trust in him should acting in a way that you shouldnt consider giving us back that trust because this is the type of organization we are focused on. Finally, i want to say that va can and must become a customer Service Organization. Jd powers measures our pharmacy and a way that we deliver profits as number one in the end is he above all the private sector benefit like walgreens and others that do this. We can do it in the National Cemeteries or we can do it and are pharmacy benefit area. We know that ea can do this in other areas. To do that, we are partnering with the best companies in the country and notforprofit is important to us. Other Companies Make sure we are serving you better. The relationship in your partnerships to help us make sure we are doing the right thing is critical. I want to thank all of you once again and am so delighted i could be here this morning. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you, secretary shulkin. We are happy to work with you in this role. We have the men and women of the greatest fabric of the world. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Our next speaker is running a little bit behind so we are going to adjust. Our next guest is an accredited va Service Officer and a member of the attacks of the morning 53 in washington. She is eligible for the american agent on salary membership to the service of our parents, both world war ii veterans, vietnam war veteran has been in her son robert who served during desert storm. She cares passionately about veterans and their families in asserting that hillary for 40 years. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the leader of the american americas largest paycheck womens organization, National President of the American Legion on salary mary kay davis. [applause] thank you so much. Commander smith, i appreciate the warm introduction and your invitation to offer remarks to the legion family this morning. The commanders call it such an important feature of the American Legion auxiliary d. C. Conference because that prepares our members to be Effective Advocates for veterans and their families during our field visits later today. I thank you for allowing me to be a part of this morning. Yesterday, the american knocks hillary hosted several discussions. We had indepth discussions on how exhilarating as can best engage and support Women Veterans and those who are serving in the selfless an often overlooked role as caregiver. We pledge to look at both within our post and within our communiticommuniti es to uplift and offers support to these key constituencies. We also heard from three National Nonprofits within whom we can Work Together to honor and serve veterans families. Each of these initiatives allow our unit opportunities to increase Brand Awareness and membership with the added in a fit of continuing our good work on behalf of Service Members, veterans and their families. America and they should filler numbers do incredible work. In any given year, they volunteer 5 million hours serving veterans, americas veterans and their families. Contribute 22 million to support youth scholarships and community. Volunteer 6 million hours serving mission outreach. Contribute 2. 6 million in programs benefiting children and youth. Volunteer 1. 9 million hours for active duty military and their Family Members. Additionally, but sobering numbers are recognized by the secretary of the u. S. Department of Veterans Affairs each year for our outstanding contributions to the quality of life for veterans and Va Medical Centers. It is with the same passion for the Mission Commander schmitz, that we offer our support to 2017 legislative priorities. The American Legion knocks hillary, the World Largest patriotic Service Organization is proud to stand alongside the American Legion and advocating for our military veterans and their caregivers. We join the legion family and calling for quality care for mailing female veterans. Timely benefits and support for veteran caregivers. Our nations heroes should expect nothing lasts nothing less from all of us. Today and tomorrow, members will stand beside you as fellow legion Family Members reminding our elected representatives in congress. Just to collect its voting power of the Worlds Largest Veterans Organization in the Worlds Largest womens patriotic Service Organization by a powerful voice vote here in washington d. C. And back home in his or her district offices. Commander schmidt. Well continue to to encourage our members to sign up to the beaches legislative action alert and we will make frequent visits to the legions online legislative center. We pledge to continue to work handinhand with our American Legion inside the American Legion. To advocate for Public Policies and funding that improve the wellbeing, quality and quality of life for our troops, veterans and their families. We will continue to fight for a strong, wellequipped military to keep our nation strong and free. Commander schmidt, thank you for the opportunity to address the family at todays commanders call and to all the veterans. Thank you for your service, both in and out of uniform. [applause] madam president can i thank you or we can do for the American Legion family. Since its inception, the american major net dedicated itself not only to veterans themselves, but to their families. This is one reason the sons of the american nation was created in 1932. The sons of the American Legion is made up of boys and men of all ages whose parents or grandparents served in the United States armed forces and are eligible for number ship in the American Legion. Our next guest is eligible to the service of his korean war veteran father and vietnam war veteran stepfather. He is a member of squadron 27 in arizona. This time, please welcome the National Commander of the sons of the American Legion, jeff frank. [applause] good morning. Commander schmidt, thank you for allowing us to be appeared today. On behalf of the 366,000, welcome to washington d. C. Two of the veterans out there for the sa outcome i thank you for your service. Without you, we would not be here. Todays speech i sat back trying to figure out what im going to say. This is not like the normal conference where you talk about the programs of the sons and American Legion. Today we are here to discuss the issues about our veterans. Going up on the hill, seeing congress and the senate. We are here to discuss the difference of why this unfair here. We are not eligible. We are here to support the veterans. In 1932, the American Legion created the sense of the American Legion as a program. Since then, its inception, we have an standing sidebyside with the American Legion. Today is no different. We come here to stand sidebyside with our veterans to make sure they are taken care of. One of the things when i was trying to write this speech. I dont normally read speeches. They speak off the cuff. They kept referring back to commander charlie seen carrying legacy forward to this at 1932, since american nation was created to carry principles for which the american nation stands and that is why we are here. So allow the faa numbers please stand up . [applause] commander schmidt, please stay standing, guys. Please. This is the sao exercise program. Up and down, up and down. Commander schmidt, in front of you. They come here mostly on their own expense, to stand there and help. We dont toot our own horn. We are here to help, but today i want to showcase the fal to everyone of you. Like i said, we come here on our own expense. Her passion is their veterans. The ones standing are here for the one sitting. The veterans. So commander in the legion family, i say to you coming you created the sons of the American Legion to help carry on. Okay guys, you can sit down. You created the sons of the American Legion to carry on the legacy of the American Legion and all the great principles for which the American Legions dance. I am serious sons of the American Legion is National Commander to say weser will stand beside you through the halls of congress. We will stand and fight with you to make sure our veterans are taking care of. And we will carry on all the great principles for which the American Legion stand and helping our veterans. For you to see the sons of the american engines out there, we are here to carry on the legacy. Thank you, commander. Thank you, everybody. [applause] thank you, commander for your your leadership of the sons and for carrying forward legacy of the American Legion. At this time will be receiving Commission Reports to the commander. Next to the Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission chairman Ralph Purcell of colorado. Are you here . [applause] you have before you on the way you knew were given your pamphlets about the legislative agenda the American Legion is to go about your visits on capitol hill today. My job today is to barely brief you on five points that are particular interest to va. Weve learned one thing for sure. We are not legislating im not advocating. The important the work we do to appreciate all you do to make these points have been for the veterans in our country today. The first one i want to bring up his limit outsourcing and unified va programs. We heard from our speakers this morning about the importance and dr. Tran 11 shulkin talked about what we are concerned about is three things have been va coordinate the programs they have descended better and Safer Community care. We want to be sure that the care is provided the access provided in a timely manner. We want to be sure they be able pay the bills on time and we also want to be sure that the medical data is transferred back to the veterans record. Those things must happen in order for this program to be successful for the veteran. The second point is to reform their appeals process. The modernization act. Youve heard it again this morning. On your way and, American Legion staff and a to hash tag thing on there if you know how to do that to say this is so important to us than it is. The existing appeals process was developed in 1933 and its no wonder that it doesnt work. We really do need to have this modernized and our staff the American Legion staff has worked with white house staff and board of veterans appeals to simplify and make this a much fair process. This is one of the most important things we can get accomplished in the 150th congress. The third thing was health care for women. Women Service Members, their roles are vastly different from their male counterparts whenever they change occupational roles in the military to separate from the military. Ba needs to be sure that their Health Care Provider for womens veterans is absolutely gender specific. Weve been talking about this for years and this is one of our strong points. This is to reclassify cannabis medical research. The key word is research. We are not supporting legalization of cannabis. We are supporting research. One thing that we have always done in the American Legion is to find out if any treatment for veterans or not but are veterans and the only way we can note the Cannabis Research is truly a medicine for people is to have congress reclassifreclassif y cannabis from a schedule one drug so that the people who do conduct the research of the proper facilities and funding to do so. Thats without when its on there. The last thing as a caregiver act. Right now the caregiver act provides funding for caregivers or those who take care of the veterans. But only for post9 11 veterans and we believe they should be open to anyone. They are people trained for Vietnam Veterans by this benefit. Thats what we are about today and i ask you to do one day. As you go by your Business Today and everyday, lets please remember those on the battlefields right now. Those men and women defending our freedom here at everything we do today affects their lives in the future. Thank you very much. [applause] or next guest is a thirdgeneration montana farmer and former schoolteacher. He also served as the Montana Senate president and avid outdoorsman. Hes a supporter of efforts to provide Quality Health care for veterans regardless of where they live. He also understands the challenges of running a small business, having done so in a custom butcher shop. In fact, he still butchers his own meat and regularly hauled it to d. C. In a carryon suitcase. What can you say . Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Ranking Member of the senate Veterans Affairs maybe, senator jon tester of montana. [applause] thank you all very, very much. It is true. It is not that i dont trust the Grocery Store i like mine better. At any rate, i want to thank you all and i want to thank the legion for inviting me to say a few words. Im honored to be here with you. I want to acknowledge montana degeneres kelley ackerman, william mike melillo schmidt, roger hagan for making the job for montana little bit earlier and i think they are in the back of the room. Good to see you folks. Merv gundersen is also good good to see secretary shulkin outside the door and im glad he took the time to visit this morning. I told him he was nominated he is the right person for the job at the moment. He has an enormous task ahead of him. An open dialogue between the legion, va and congress is critically important as we all share the same goal of honoring our nation veterans. Since the American Legion was chartered back in 1919, a couple years its really a big event. Your Grassroots Efforts have helped veterans and families in montana and across his country and i went to thank you for your commitment to serve your fellow veterans. Same thank you is not good enough. To properly honor our veterans like you and your families, Congress Needs to follow your lead and ensure that our nation must it to its commitment on behalf of those who have served. Today i think we can all agree that the va is at a crossroads. We are approaching a sense that day or the socalled program while collecting a number of veterans to care is often left a number of these in montana with the choice waiting longer for the care not to deny care at all. Some have spoken openly about permanently extending the program in its current form for sending more va resources into the private or without boosting the capacity of the va. In my opinion, that would be disastrous for veterans seeking care. Veterans of over one and they told me once they get in the door at the va, they love to care. The problem has been getting in the door. Ranking member of the Veterans Affairs committee, you can be assured that i will remain committed to improving that is too tightly quality of care for you and your families. [applause] together, i think we can acknowledge the va has made a great deal of progress in recent years on priorities such as connect the mark veterans to care and reducing veterans homeless as in the backlog of disability claims. We can also acknowledge the va is confronted with blooming and dramatic funding shortfalls, an unacceptable number of pending appeals and the Choice Program has failed to meet the needs of our veterans. The same veterans is established to serve. With expired in august we have an opportunity to reform it, cut the program spread hate, bureaucracies so that veterans are connected to care more quickly into new providers are reimbursed in a more timely manner. We need to untangle the web of multiple Community Care programs and streamline access for veterans across this country in montana is no exception. The seamless process for veterans and providers to navigate in way too many instances. The thirdparty administrators getting in the way and it is past time for them to shape up or ship out. Ill tell everyone gathered here that Congress Must reform the Choice Program before im going to read to extend it. Im a farmer something is broken, you fix it. Its that simple. Older farming Community Care, way to ensure the va has capacity to meet the evolving and longterm needs of our veterans. Thats what i call on congress to prove to 24 penny misses her medical facilities across this country from florida to california and in fact including one in montana. We cannot serve veterans if we do not have the physical infrastructure. These new facilities onto any good without the medical staff and appropriate personnel to operate. As i said before, all federal employees should be held accountable for performance and conduct. There is no question that the va should deal swiftly with the employees delivering on the promise was made for Service Members and families. In most cases, folks need to be shown the door. It is simply it is simply not a choice of either standing with the veterans are with the va employees. A third of which are veterans and selves. That is why the media and the charge to improve the ability to recruit, hire and retain topquality talent to serve our nations veterans. Im currently working on legislation that would allow the va to better compete with the dirt for leaders in Health Care Industry to service Medical Center direct yours. Recent years weve seen a vacant as high as 30 of those positions. If we want real reform and strong va leadership across the country, this needs to change. They must also ensure the va is addressing the needs of all eligible veterans regardless of where they live or who they are. Women veterans are the Fastest Growing veteran population and they continue to encounter unique barriers to care and benefits. Im talking about being sent basic as privacy in their examination rooms and access to primary care providers. Women veterans have an Unemployment Rate nearly four percentage higher than their male peers and they are three to four times more likely to experience homelessness and nonveteran women. But we know that Women Veterans are resilient. With the support they deserve, Women Veterans have higher Household Incomes and are less likely to live in poverty than women who have never served. The va must address the specific needs of Women Veterans and connect them with the benefits they have earned. That is why today im going to announce ive authored landmark legislation that will expand peertopeer counseling opportunities so that they will not fall through the cracks in transition and get connected with the va. The bill includes the creation of a secure Text Messaging Service to the womens Veterans Call Center and increase access to Legal Services for women to address things like Child Support issues, restoring drivers license and prevention of infection and for closure. Additionally, the bill provides all directors the ability to provide child care for veterans coming to the va for treatment. My legislation will require the va to eliminate access by ensuring it has the medical personnel to better meet the Health Care Needs of Women Veterans. Addressing issues than act privacy and the environment of care like locks on exam room doors. Im ruling out the legislation to get your feedback so we can Work Together to ensure that it works for your members and all of americas veterans. [applause] so please, please review the bill and to get back to me with your feedback. I am particularly interested in your thoughts on the provision to make the disability claims process more fair for survivors of military trauma. We have made progress on the disability claims backlog, but its no secret the appeals process is archaic and in desperate need of reform. Over 450,000 veterans are still waiting in limbo for the benefit. At least 80,000 of these folks have been in line for five years. Last year bipartisan and Bicameral Group of legislators introduced a bill that he supported to consolidate and streamline the va disability appeals process by establishing three specific and separate lanes for appeal. This means that a veteran who has new evidence is not to start over in a veteran of that can straight to adjudication. The legislation will soon be introduced and we need to move it over to us quickly as possible. Ive also recently introduced legislation and Education Development for troops and veterans that to make it easy for servicemembers and veterans to get the most out of their educational benefits. This legislation will ensure the colleges and universities are better able to create or expand centers on their campuses. The launcher educational benefits for guardsmen and reservists dont is value in the cost of Higher Education continues to rise. The Deployment Training are able to do for your student loan payments as they can focus on the task at hand. Tomorrow the american nation will be delivering its legislative priorities to the senate and House Veterans Affairs committees. I look forward to hearing directly from you about how to hold the va accountable, improve access to timely quality care and assure veterans and their families divided but the benefits theyve earned. Moving forward, i have a request for each of you. Hold me and make rational colleagues accountable. Bevocal, be relentless. Words have meaning, but they are hollow if they are not followed up action. Holding the va accountable is a priority of mine but a twoway street. I dont know about you, but i am sick and tired of congress shaking his fist at the va without giving them the resources they need. Clock back with that said, i pledge to each of you that i will continue to work hard on behalf of the veterans that i represent and on behalf of view. I want to thank you for your service and everything you do on behalf of fellow veterans and their families. I wish you all the best. God bless you. God bless america. [applause] thank you, center for the work you do on behalf of americas veterans. We look forward to working with you and your staff in the congressional legislative student of issues to the forefront of the 115th congress. At this point, we will continue with the Commission Report spread that to call paul ballard on the chairman of the Education Commission to the podium. Thank you, chairman oxford. Good morning. Its good to be here. I want to cover about five bullet points from the veterans to plan and Education Commission and highlight a few of the areas and not. Defend veterans education benefit is the creator of the original g. I. Bill, the American Legion continues to focus on the sustainable important document current benefit while ensuring the veterans who is he the most benefits possible. The next bullet point you need is to ensure that those returning from active duty retained their employment rate. Passed by congress in 1994, the Armed Service employment protects the rights of servicemen to be reemployed after returning from active duty. Including reserves to National Guard members. The American Legion wants to prohibit employers from pressuring veterans into waiving their veterans employment right under this protection. Support veterans own small business. Business is sound i disabled veterans required to receive 3 of federal contracts. The American Legion supports efforts to ensure the u. S. Government meets these thresholds. Continue funding programs to and homeless veterans. To fully implement the vas pledge for veterans homeless, Congress Must continue making responsible in a cement in Affordable Housing programs such as Supportive Service of veterans families of those veterans and their families all through the streets into stable housing. Also we have two create an American Legion commemorative coin. The American Legion will celebrate its centennial in 20182019 and the coin is under consideration by the u. S. Men and timely congressional authorization is needed in your support is requested. It takes two thirds for people to cosponsor from the house and the senate. These proceeds from this coin will go towards our four pillars. And so, the sale will start january of teen and end december 19. We need your help there. Thank you, mr. Chairman. [applause] caps his National Security chairman mike slade from maryland. Thank you on the chairman oxford. Pleasure to be with you today. And your trifle, the number one priority is national defense. I want to do a few bullet points which i think are important before you go to the hill. If the leaks in washington are correct, the president will announce an increase of 54 billion, by 10 increase in the defense budget. Thats a first step. The important thing to remember is the increase. Number two sustainability. A oneyear fix is not going to solve the problem. Second area of quality of life for the troops. As we approached nearly a 20 year mark on this current phase of the war and terrorism. Our troops have been in combat for nearly 20 years. As a vietnam guy, when i think in terms of three, four and five combat tours done by our men and women in uniform, including our guard and reserve forces, it just my mind. Taking care of the troops is enough important issue. Another issue while a small dot in the dod budget line provide full funding for the fullest possible accounting of our pow and mia. Epa currently running a 10 or 15 million shortfall we need to fully fund the issue. Additionally in addition to the increase in defense spending, sustained increase, the viable u. S. Foreign policy protects interests worldwide. The preamble of the constitution directs that our elected officials to six games. One of them is to provide for the common defense when you go to the hill demand that they do their job. At thank you. [applause] thank you, chairman fleet carried commander schmidt, would you introduce our next guest . Our next guest is the chairman of world war i Centennial Commission. Retired army colonel will be swearing in it are a new member of the esteemed commission. Please welcome chairman robert del santo and john [applause] well, so nice to be here and nice to see a room full of legionnaires. Im embarrassed to say ive not wearing my hat. But im at but im a good legionnaire myself. [applause] its always risky to put an historian on the podium, but ill make this quick. We are commemorating and remembering the 100th anniversary of world war i. Our country entered the war in april 1970 and i would argue that in addition to the roots that we have in the American Legion said that war, that were changed america dramatically and forever in every way. In race relations, gender relations and in the way that america looked at the world, it opened an American Century and set up the greatest generation, our achievements since n. America s. Foremost in the world. As such, we are charged with educating americans on the importance of world war i. And we do that in partnership with the American Legion. So this morning is. Gordon two s. Because their new American Legion commissioner, jack monahan is going to be sworn in. Without further ado, if you would come forward. Please raise your right hand. I state your name do solemnly swear that i will support and defend but i will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies. Against all enemies. Or in a domestic. Foreign and domestic. The method i will bear true faith and allegiance, that i take this obligation freely without any mental reservation. Without any mental reservation purpose of evasion and purpose of evasion cannot discharge the duties of the office of which i am about to enter of which i am about to enter so help you god. So help me god. Congratulations. [applause] good morning. Comrades and friends, i think chairman dalessandro for being with us today announced that bank National Commander schmidt for entrusting me with this responsibility. Most importantimportant ly, i think my wife diane for her support and her encouragement. The cataclysm of the First World War literally changed everything. Empires fell. The social and moral fabric of europe was torn asunder. Were we systematized and mechanized, which resulted in death and destruction on an unprecedented scale. America entered the world stage in his first real way for world war i. It made a decisive contribution to the outcome of the war and the great war thereby became the hinge upon which literally the entirety of the 20th century turns. No real understanding of the 20th century can be had without an understanding of the war, the great war and its impacts. The century in fact would become known as the American Century. The mission of the world war i Centennial Commission is to foster education on the conflict to commemorate its important anniversaries and to honor the contribution of all who served. The work of the commission in raising Public Awareness of the great war and the great effect is not only worthy and another south, but it is also of importance to the American Legion because the word forms the context of our own founding. The spirit of the doughboy, courage, character, values and ideals. This was the spirit in the crucible of combat which forms the values of the American Legion. As espresso eloquently by the founders in the preamble to the constitution. It is my hope that arab centennial will be not only a celebration of our many achievement, but also a commemoration of our ideals and our values and they will offer us i think the opportunity to be dedicated ourselves to those values to uphold the as americanization and this individual legionnaires. I pledge to you that i will do my best to achieve this up to and i hope the mask that you will join with me. Thank you. [applause] congratulations, commissioner. We are happy and proud and excited to have you in this position. At this point id like to call in a legislative staff to share with us the Important Information we need before we go to capitol hill. Matthew schuman. Good morning, everybody. We are very eager and excited to be here this morning and to give you a broad through the legislative priorities. First i will take role for the legislative commission. If you would tell me if you are here. I tend to do this extremely quickly and i will have to ask you to be extremely loud. If i mess up your name, i may have done it on purpose. Scott kline. Boris hardin. George kring bomb. Stephen grey. Already kinsey. Jeff williams. Mr. George phishing. Mr. Nielsen team from the great state of arizona. Kenneth king. I swear ebay all. Westley sherman. Joe and addins. Michael brimmer. Norman clinton. Peter duncan. Robert highness. Nelson lum. Carly santos junior. Jay michael yates. Raymond gray then. Thomas bach. Gerard dearman. K. Robert louis. Mr. Arthur schwab v. Clarence. Gerard clark. Susan mason. Raymond olson. George wyer e. Roger king letter. William lionheart. Bernard lee. Francis riddle. Marvin c. Create. Dwight dinka. Jerry said then. Thomas mattis. Henry robards. Robert wesley. W. Darrell hanzel. Frederick langley. Paul stuart. Robert newman. David warren can. Though all silas. James taro. James johnson. Tomas maccormack. Anthony keith. Mark davis. William chisholm. Paul moran. William trotter. Good morning. Frank porter. Jared crockett. Peter johnson. Ronald runyon. William cody. Rick sanford. Bobby cook. Robert goes to. Almost done. Robert and. The honorable james oxford from the carolina. Eugene kachina. Douglas holt. William crosser. Freddy tisdale. John graham. Robert diane. Stephen shurtleff. John and shallow. Mr. Joseph google is the period joseph is being. David addins. David stevens. Conrad flickrs child. Frank fazio. Patrick warrick. Darryl bishop. Ronald chapman. Robert steadman. Greg james. John block on. Michael taylor. Jim willis. John thomas p. William weaver. James holland. Carlton patterson. Dennis brandon. Gary drennan. We have made it to the last page. John keyes. Robert hensley. Don mathis. John mckinney. Richard written. Tomas bo. Walter. Thank you. [laughter] edward cal sawyer. John morris. David sherman. Donald sherman. We are going to leave the American Legion conference at this point. You can watch the earlier speeches by senator mccain and secretary David Shulkin. Ive American Legion and the search bar. The u. S. Senate is about to gavel and for debate for congressman ryan zinke to be secretary. The confirmation about the comments the confirmation vote could come as late as 2 00 a. M. Tomorrow morning. Senators will be joining house members tonight to air president chuns first address to congress. Later in the week in the senate, work on hud and Energy Secretary nomination. Now to live coverage of the u. S. Senate huron