Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing today and I’m especially thankful that the weather has finally cooperated enough to allow us to meet and discuss the Veterans Health Administration’s Fiscal Year 2011 Budget. I think one thing we can all agree on is the immense pride we feel in the brave men and women who have served our nation so honorably in uniform and our commitment to ensuring that they are adequately cared for when they return home from battle. Proper funding of VHA is vital to achieving this goal.

This year, the Administration is requesting funding for health care in the amount of $51.5 billion, an increase of $4 billion from last year’s request. Among the many worthy goals included in this budget are initiatives to improve mental health care, to better meet the unique needs of female veterans, to expand health care eligibility to Priority 8 veterans, and to improve access to care for veterans in rural areas. I look forward to working with my esteemed colleagues in both parties on these important issues in the coming months.

However, while I support this budget request overall, I do want to express my disappointment that funding has still not be appropriated for the “Charleston Model” – a joint venture between the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center and the Medical University of South Carolina to design, construct, and operate a co-located, joint-use medical facility in Charleston, South Carolina. It has been five years since Congress authorized $36.8 million for this project in the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Informational Technology Act of 2006. If properly funded, this partnership would not only ensure high quality care for veterans in the Charleston area, but could also be used to improve access and quality of care in areas across the United States. Such an endeavor is too important for this committee to overlook and I strongly encourage we allow this enterprise to go unfunded no longer.

I’d also like to take a brief moment to congratulate Dr. Petzel, who recently took the oath of office to become the new VA under secretary for health. Dr. Petzel has been with us as acting under secretary since last May and before that served veterans as Director of the Midwest Health Care Network and Chief of Staff for the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. Dr. Petzel, I’m glad to have you with us officially and I look forward to working with you.

Once again, thank you, Mr. Chairman and all of our witnesses for appearing here this afternoon. I look forward to a fruitful discussion and I yield back the balance of my time.