Hack different products together and create what would become the iphone. Tonight after words on cspan two and 9 00 p. M. On wednesday, senator ted cruz held a town hall meeting in mckinney, texas. His is 55 minutes [applause] before we get into the audience questions, senator cruz, i wanted to ask you a couple of questions. The first one is kind of a Public Service question. When veterans are approaching me with problems at the v. A. , one thing i tell them is you should contact local congressman or senators office. They can help get you more information. Tonight, we have talked to veterans prior to coming in here that were having some issues with the v. A. Can you tell everyone how to get in touch with your office and what kind of services you can provide if they are having issues with the v. A. . Sen. Cruz thank you for hosting and the leadership you provide and for being part of this discussion. I hope we have a candid and frank and real discussion about the challenges veterans fac
The budget is . Do you feel like thats whats happening here . The increase in the budget is 9. 8 , but 12 of that is mandatory because we have made promises to those who serve in the military. That is not appropriations, it s something we have to do. Discretionary spendling, which is where you get runaway spending, is down. Under the circumstances, being down to 5 is ok. I am down with being with where they recommended. Have you seen the reforms they have had in their . Are they headed in the right direction . We have seen dramatic increases over the last few years or o. Is it sustainable to have money to this budget . You have to fulfill the promise you made to those who serve the country. We have enough growth in the number of fisheries, and a rate of decline. You have growth because of the throughput, but youre going to spend money more wisely. Were going to do away with some Surplus Properties in the next year which will bring money into the treasury. That otherwise was going out.
We have enough growth in the number of fisheries, and a rate of decline. Growth because of the throughput, but youre going to spend money more wisely. With someg to do away Surplus Properties in the next year which will bring money into the treasury. Their true to do some efficiency things to make the v. A. A streamlined as it can be. But not by sacrificing money for the benefits of our veterans. I wanted to ask, when it comes to the budget, the v. A. Has repeatedly asked for flexibility and how they move money around. As we saw last year, because of that inflexibility, there was almost a shutdown of the va Hospital Services in the fall. Mcdonaldand secretary found any Common Ground, is there anything that congress to free up fundso for the v. A. To manage within the year . That is a terrific question. Togives me a chance congratulate secretary mcdonald. Initially our relationship they want to flexibility without accountability, which i was not willing to defend, because the month mone
This is the third point of significance of collaboration in order to get this done. And its not even the subject of this hearing. And im wondering if you could just spend less than a minute talking about where you are and where you think that we are headed. I will be brief. Thank you for the kind words. Theres essentially two problems. And one is that we need relief from liability with the clean water act and we are making progress and then second of all we need more funding to clean that up. Thank you. I am from colorado. I am on the western end of the planes. The smoke is building and we know that we have a problem. All right, mr. Chairman. Thank you for holding this hearing. It is good to hear from stakeholders on this issue and its a really important issue which deals with budgetary impacts on threats to the National Resources on federal and state and private land. So i am pleased to have these wildlife communities who recognize the need for change in our current policies. And i th
Mr. Alexander mr. President i ask consent to vitiate the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Alexander thank you, mr. President. I ask consent to that the senator from colorado, senator bennet and i along with the sthor from maine senator king, the senator from new jersey, senator booker the senator from georgia, senator isakson and the senator from North Carolina, senator burr, be able to engage in a colloquy on Higher Education for the next halfhour. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Alexander thank you mr. President. And i i further ask mr. President , unanimous consent to use a piece of demonstrative evidence in my remarks. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Alexander thank you mr. President. Mr. President , the senator from colorado michael bennet, and i have been working for a year to make it easier for 20 million American Families who fill out a the federal Application Form for grants and loans for colleges to make it easier for them to