Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

And I thank you both, Chairman Filner and Chairman Akaka, for holding this joint hearing for the second session of the 11th Congress. I am always encouraged to see the two chambers unite for the single goal of providing the highest attention and respect to those who have served to protect our nation.

I also would like to thank The American Legion National Commander David Rehbein and American Legion Auxiliary President Desiree Stoy for coming to testify before this Joint Committee, today. Their service to our nation's veterans is truly remarkable.

I would like to thank The American Legion for their leadership and tremendous support for the Post-9/11 Veterans Educations Assistance Act of 2008. We promised a higher education to our service members when they joined, and we are finally following through on that promise. As a former teacher, I know that education is a powerful tool. Together, we are now making it possible for all our veterans - active duty, National Guard, and Reserves -- to empower themselves by furthering their education.

Throughout the country, and in my district, The American Legion serves as one of the strongest advocates for veterans of today's wars as well as those from previous generations. They are doing this with their expansive network of over 900,000 members. The American Legion members and their national representatives are well aware of what it takes to welcome veterans and service members home from overseas.

As we sit here today, we are all aware of the bureaucratic red tape facing disabled veterans in our country. We have commissioned numerous studies, heard hours of testimony, and devoted billions of dollars toward fixing these problems. Yet they have persisted.

As Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, I have had the opportunity to explore issues from sharing of medical records to disability rating disparities. I am proud of the progress we are making, and with the support of veterans support organizations like The American Legion we can do better.

Last year, Congress passed the largest appropriations increase in the 77-year history of the VA. Building on this historic support, in August the House passed legislation to raise the VA's funding level by an additional II percent. This appropriation surpassed the President's request by $2.9 billion and included $3.6 billion in new funding for VA medical care. Our nation's veterans served honorably to protect us and our country. The least we can do is fight to provide for them when they come home.

I yield back the balance of my time.