Nixon had a movie on the wall that showed the campaign. He had an idea that people would write down the questions and pass them on and they would answer just the questions the staff wanted them to answer, but it looked like they only came from the audience. So these are all yours. I might put them in a certain order, but i promise not to edit them. So one of the questions that we have is would the Civil Rights Act have passed if nixon had won in 1960 and 64 . I think it probably would have, because in 1957 when the Civil Rights Act was pending on the senate floor and lbj scaled it back and compromised, dropped entirely this provision that would have allowed the attorney general being sued and compromised the jury panel, effectively all white juries in the south, nixon was close to tears. It seems so paradoxical now, but he had a good record on civil rights. In 1960 when Martin Luther king was in jail, nixon didnt do it because he thought it would look like a grandstand play and he didn
Reestablish our integrity. I think we can do that, and i think we can salvage a system which does provide good care, and we can make that system provide timely access. I am stunned that you would call this, with all the information thats come out, and i dont think were at the bottom of all this yet, that you would call this a good system. I think its absolutely stunning. And i think that the Veterans Administration is the most mismanaged agency of the federal government, and i think that it is not has not been there to serve those who have served this country, but the leadership of the va has been there to serve themselves, and weve had testimony from this committee about all the bonuses, all the bonuses, despite the incredible bureaucratic incompetence and cultural exception. Thats all you seem to be capable of doing is writing checks to yourself. Mr. Chairman, i yield back. Mr. Kirk ps. Kirkpatrick, yo recognized for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and i want to thank you and
Security will come to order. The committee is meeting today to examine the Current Crisis at the border regarding unaccompanied children. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Today on the southwest border we are facing an escalating refugee crisis. Parents are handing over their Young Children by the thousands to cartels who are profiting by smuggling these kids to the United States. Many are under the age of 10. Including some barely old enough to walk. These children with no parents, relatives or legal guardians risk a perilous and sometimes fatal journey riding buses and trains from Central America via mexico. As a father of five, its unimaginable to me that what would compel a parent to risk the lives of their children on such a dangerous passage. Not to mention the risk of sexual assault, exploitations and the potential to be trafficked. When they arrive at the border, the children are simply turning themselves into the nearest Border Patrol agent. However, patrol stat
Items that have to be addressed. Obviously, we must pave the way for the va to use nonva care to expand veteran access and clear the current backlog. But we cant just fix the problem by simply throwing more money at it. The va has had more medical care funding than it could spend during each of the last four fiscal years. To include 1. 4 billion as recently as 2010 and was set to carry over 450 million this year before dipping into those funds for the current accelerated access to care initiative. This is led to multiple testimonies by both va and nonva witnesses who have noted that the Biggest Issue is not a lack of funding but a welcome of accountability. For this reason, the legislation that we mold must hold individuals accountable who fail to meet performance standards and oversee mismanagement and neglect. The perverse incentives that led to the manipulation of scheduling data and secret lists must be eliminated. Any incentives Going Forward must have an impact on improving patie
The United States. This is a good start. But a lot more needs to be done. In addition to a robust and Effective Public Service campaign, we should also engage with the government of mexico to step up their efforts to secure their southern border. I call on the president of mexico and his interior minister to do just that. Im very concerned that this recent surge is weakening our Border Security efforts here at home. Border patrol agents and officers who are looking after these children are being taken away from their main duty, their mission of tracking down drug and weapon smugglers as well as criminal aliens. Operation control of the Rio Grande Valley, the busiest sector in the nation, may be suffering. And cartels will no doubt exploit this situation. Recently the state of texas announced that it would surge Border Security operations along the border to fill a void left by the federal government. Securing the border is a responsibility of the federal government. States should not n