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Written for the New York Times of Foreign Affairs and the new republic and other publications of that sort. Hes also an emmy nominated producer of a documentary series on showtime. Viewing in march. Its called the trade and its about International Human trafficking. William is a graduate of Columbia UniversityInternational Affairs and also abhe lives in new york and is a frequent contributor to the discourse around several hot button issues around the world. Please join me in welcoming William Wheeler to our discussion tonight. Thank you guys for coming out. Im going to read a little bit to give you a flavor of what we are talking about ....
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 ....
We have a lot seeking service and the arts program has been very popular. I understand that the veterans access choice and accountability act allows for continuation of that, but could you address for me how that will happen . Its important for our rural veterans. They like it and it works for them and i just wanted to get clarification in terms of how its impacted by the choice card. So the legislation extended the arts program. We have extended the contract temporarily while we are renewing the arch program so it will remain in place essentially as it has existed in the past Going Forward. Okay. I appreciate that. I yield back, thank you. Senator flores. Mr. Secretary i appreciate you joining us and i also appreciate the work that you and secretary mcdonald and the team are doing to work with congress and this committee in particular to build the va at the 21st century. A few weeks ago there was an article about the business of r ....
Please proceed with your testimony. Chairman miller, distinguished members of the committee, our goiding principles for implementation of the choice act have been to do whats right for veterans and to be good stewards of taxpayer resources. While our challenges are clear, were turning those challenges into opportunities to improve the care and service we provide to veterans. We are reorganizing v. A. For success to make sure we maximize those opportunities. We call that reorganization my v. A. , an associated Customer Service solution that goes along with it. Because we want veterans to view us as an organization that belongs to them. Providing quality care in the ways they need and the ways they want to be served. My v. A. Entails functions, operations, improving processes, leveraging technology and enhancing efficiency, increasing productivity and effectively implementing the choice act. A 360degree effort to provide veterans ....