Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this legislative hearing.

Today, we will hear testimony on three legislative proposals –

H.R. 3051, which would require VA to establish a program to train, certify and compensate family members of veterans and service members with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as personal care attendants;

H.R. 6153, the Veterans' Medical Personnel Recruitment and Retention Act of 2008; and

H.R. 6629, which would require that veterans in the 48 contiguous states have access to full service medical care through at least one VA hospital in the state, or through a contract with other health providers in the state.

Providing the highest quality of care for our wounded warriors suffering with a TBI, the recruitment and retention of the very best VA health care providers, and access to care for every veteran regardless of where they live are issues that our Subcommittee has been focusing on throughout the year.

VA has recently developed and implemented many new programs and policies to address the needs of veterans with TBI, help recruit and retain its corps of health care professionals and enhance access to care.  I want to commend the Department for their ongoing efforts.  However, during this critical time, we must continue to look at where gaps in services still exist and what more can be done to ensure that our veterans receive the highest quality health care services.

I want to thank all of our witnesses for being here today.  I look forward to a productive discussion and the opportunity to fully examine the legislative proposals before us.  I am hopeful that this debate will help guide our actions on developing legislation that will best serve our nation’s veterans.  

Thank you Mr. Chairman, I yield back.