Executive Session

Floor Speech

Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I rise today in strong support of the nomination of Robert McDonald to serve as Secretary of Veterans' Affairs.

I also thank Majority Leader Reid for moving this important nomination forward as quickly as he has, and I very much hope that later this afternoon, with a very strong vote, the Senate will vote to confirm Robert McDonald as Secretary of the VA.

Before I talk about Mr. McDonald's qualifications, I wish to take a moment to express my sincere thanks to GEN Eric Shinseki for his dedicated service to our Nation, first as a soldier and then as head of the VA, working tirelessly to provide for those injured during war and the families of those who perished on the battlefield. He set very ambitious goals, and under his leadership VA made significant strides in reducing veteran homelessness and transforming a paper-based claims system to one fit for the 21st century. I thank him and his family very much for his service.

It is my strong belief that Robert McDonald will bring two very important qualities to the position of Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

First, he is familiar with the military as well as the needs of veterans and their families. Mr. McDonald and his family have a history of service to our Nation. Mr. McDonald began his service as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1975 in the top 2 percent of his class with a degree in engineering and went on to serve as an infantry officer in the Army's 82nd Airborne, earning Airborne and Ranger qualifications during his military service. His father served in the Army Air Corps after World War II. Additionally, his wife's father was held as a POW after being shot down over Europe. Her uncle served in Vietnam and still receives care at the VA. Also, Mr. McDonald's nephew is currently serving and deployed with the U.S. Air Force. In other words, Mr. McDonald and his family have a deep understanding and service with the U.S. military.

Upon hearing Mr. McDonald at the hearing we held in our committee for the confirmation process, I was convinced that he has a deep passion to do everything he can to protect our veterans.

The other quality Mr. McDonald brings to this job is that he has been the CEO of one of America's leading corporations, a company which has tens of thousands of employees. His more than 33 years with Procter & Gamble gives him the tools to create a well-run and accountable VA. In other words, he will bring the tools of a CEO and a private corporation to the VA--a huge bureaucracy that needs a significant improvement in accountability and in management.

As we begin debate on Mr. McDonald's nomination, I believe it is important that my colleagues understand the realities he will face in leading the VA.

The VA operates the largest integrated health care system in the United States, with over 1,700 points of care which include 150 hospitals, 820 community-based outreach clinics, and 300 vet centers. In fiscal year 2013 the VA provided 89.7 million outpatient visits each day--today, tomorrow, yesterday. The VA conducts approximately 236,000 health care appointments. In other words, it is a huge system.

VA's problems, which Mr. McDonald will have to address immediately, have been widely reported in recent months. In my view, Acting Secretary Sloan Gibson has done an excellent job in taking a number of critical steps to address the problems confronting the VA, but clearly there is much more to be done.

We now know, among other issues, there is a significant shortage of doctors, nurses, and mental health providers within VA, as well as the physical space necessary to provide timely access to quality care. This is a major problem because at the end of the day, no matter how well run the VA is or any health care system is, we are not going to be able to provide quality, timely care unless there are the doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel available to do that work. As a result of the shortages, we know that we have tens of thousands of veterans today in many parts of this country on lists that are much too long in order to gain access to the VA. We also know that hundreds of thousands of veterans who have appointments scheduled are waiting too long to be seen and receive care.

I think it is important that everybody recognize that as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in the last 5 years 2 million more veterans have come into the VA. This is on top of an aging population of VA patients who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam--patients who often need a whole lot of care as they age. So combine new people coming into the VA, often with very serious problems--including some 500,000 veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD and TBI--and an aging population with difficult problems, and that is where we are, and those are some of the issues the VA is going to have to address.

While I am on the subject, let me say that most people understand--and that includes many of the veterans I talk to every day in Vermont, veterans across the country, and the national veterans organizations that represent millions of veterans--that once people get into the VA system, in general the quality of care is good. That is not just what veterans and their organizations say; that is what a number of independent studies show. Our problem right now is how to figure out a way that when people apply for VA health care, they get into the system quickly and that once they are in the system, they get the appointments they need in a timely manner. That is our job. It is not going to be an easy job, but that is the job we face.

My hope is that tomorrow or Thursday the House and the Senate will be voting on a comprehensive piece of legislation authored by Congressman Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, and me. I think it is terribly important that we pass that bipartisan legislation with a strong vote in both Houses because that legislation will give the new Secretary the tools he needs to go forward aggressively in addressing many of the problems facing the VA.

I hope every Member of the House and Senate understands it is unacceptable that veterans in this country are on terribly long waiting lines and cannot get the health care they need in a timely manner.

This legislation, which I hope will be passed this week by the House and the Senate, provides $10 billion for emergency health care so that if a veteran can't get into the VA, that veteran will be able to go to a private physician, a community-based health center, a military base, or whatever but will be able to get timely care.

In addition, the legislation puts $5 billion into the VA so that they will be able to hire the doctors, the mental health counselors, nurses, and other medical personnel they need so that as soon as possible, when veterans apply for VA health care, they will get not only quality care but timely care.

In addition, this legislation addresses an issue many veterans around the country, especially in rural areas, are worried about--that if they live long distances away from the VA, they will not have to travel 100 miles to get the health care they need; that if they live 40 miles or more away from the VA facility, they will be able to go to a doctor of their choice in that community. This is an important step forward.

This legislation will also do some terribly important work in making sure that widows--women who lost their husbands in battle--will be able to get the education they should be entitled to under the post-9/11 GI bill.

This legislation deals with an issue passed by the House; that is, instate tuition for veterans who today may not be able to take advantage of the post-9/11 GI bill.

This legislation also addresses a very serious crisis within the military today; that is, the issue of sexual abuse and providing women and men who have been abused sexually in the military with care at the VA.

We are at a very important moment in terms of the Veterans' Administration. We will have new leadership at the VA after Mr. McDonald is confirmed. We have a significant piece of legislation that I hope and expect will be passed this week to give the new leadership the tools it needs to start addressing the problems facing our veterans.

It seems to me that if this Nation stands for anything, it must protect and defend those who have protected and defended us. When people put their lives on the line and they come back wounded from war--either in body or in spirit--it seems absolutely immoral if we turn our backs on those men and women.

The legislation we will pass this week begins to address those concerns, and I hope we will do so under the new leadership Mr. McDonald will provide.

Madam President, I yield my remaining time to Senator Brown to hear his comments on the nomination.

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