Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

It is a pleasure to be here today as we gather together to hear from our new Secretary of the VA, General Shinseki, about his vision for transforming the VA into a 21st Century organization.  I look forward to hearing his testimony this morning and to supporting him in his capacity as VA Secretary.  It is a difficult job, but the General is certainly well qualified, and I know our nation’s veterans are looking forward to seeing some key changes and improvements to the VA system that they so heavily rely on.

This morning I would like to briefly touch on a few issues which stand out to me as priorities – these are obstacles the VA must overcome in the next few years.  Firstly, the VA must deliver timely health care benefits to our veterans.  We are facing some serious management challenges at the VA, particularly with health care delivery, benefits processing, and financial management, and new leadership is needed in these key areas.

On that note, the VA does provide health care for over 5 million of our nation’s veterans and operates a network of 153 medical centers – this is tremendous.  And overall, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) gets universally high marks for the quality of medical care it provides to our veterans.  In fact, the VHA holds down costs-per-patient while providing quality care better than any other comparable public or private sector system and the VA deserves to be commended for this.  However, the VHA is facing major financial challenges which are being compounded as thousands of new wounded warriors return from Iraq and Afghanistan, so I would certainly welcome the Secretary’s comments on this matter.

Additionally, I think we need to pay particular attention to the increasing number of our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who suffer from TBI and PTSD, and it is essential that we take all necessary steps to remove the stigma associated with these mental health issues so that our nation’s servicemen and women will feel comfortable reporting any behavioral or health issues they are experiencing.  Our men and women need to know the VA is here for them and can provide timely, comprehensive help in a confidential manner. 

Furthermore, we must take great care to reintegrate our members of the National Guard and Reserves, who are returning from OEF and OIF missions, back into civilian life and to monitor any injuries they may have incurred in combat.  It is particularly difficult for members of the Guard and Reserves to adjust back into the civilian life they were accustomed to prior to deployment, especially when they are coming back after being deployed three and four times.  Unfortunately, we typically don’t begin to see behavioral or health related issues surface until months after these soldiers are demobilized, so this is an issue that is deserving of our full attention. 

I would also like to speak briefly about the need for VA infrastructure modernization.  The average age of a VA hospital is over 55-years-old compared to 20-years-old in the private sector.   I worked for years to get funding for new construction projects in my district which were desperately needed.  During the summer of 2008 I was proud to take part in two groundbreaking ceremonies in my district – one for a new VA Bed Tower at the Malcom Randall VA hospital in Gainesville, FL, and one for a state-of-the-art Outpatient Clinic in the Villages, FL.  But, truth be told, more hospitals and trauma research centers are needed in my home state of Florida which is home to nation’s second largest veteran population, and I know this need exists in other parts of the country, as well.

Finally, as Deputy Ranking Member of this committee, I am glad to lend my support to Ranking Member Buyer’s “Noble Warriors Initiative”.  I think it’s important that this committee have a focused legislative agenda, and one that addresses the needs of today’s veterans.  I know myself and my colleagues on this committee also intend to introduce important, forward-thinking legislation for our veterans as well, but I think it’s important that we craft legislation that is workable and fully respects the use of taxpayer dollars.

Thus, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to a productive two years, to working in a bipartisan manner with my colleagues on this committee, and to working with our new Secretary of the VA, General Shinseki, whose extensive list of accolades speaks to his high potential to transform the VA into a high functioning and extremely efficient organization that our veterans can trust and rely on every step of the way.