Transcripts For CSPAN2 House Hearing On The VAs Response To

Good afternoon. I call this meeting, i called the string to order. Without objection that shares authorized to declare recess at any time. We have a number of numbers participating remotely. Welcome. Before we proceed i like to go over some items for our members participating remotely. First, if you are having or expensing connectivity issues, please make sure you or your staff contact our designated Technical Support so those issues can be resolved immediately. Members participate in remotely must continue to use the video function for the duration of their participation in the hearing unless they expand connectivity issues or other technical problems that render the member unable to participate, to fully participate on camera. It is at the committees, it is Committee Policy that members participating remotely will remain muted when not recognized, just like turning her microphone on or off during an in person hearing. This is at a courtesy to all members on the committee and so that background noise does not interfere with another member who is recognized to speak. When youre recognized you will need to i mute your microphone and pause for a couple of minutes, or a couple of seconds, a couple of seconds, not a couple of minutes, pause for a couple of seconds before speaking so well be able to hear everything that you say. If you wish to be recognized, please raise your hand, ask to be recognized. I assume the raise your hand means raising your hand electronically. In order to ensure everything members say is captured on the live stream of this hearing, i ask that members pause for two to three seconds before beginning to speak. If you wish to have a document inserted into the record, please ask for unanimous consent and have your staff email the document to Veterans Affairs dot hearings. It will be uploaded to the Committee Document repository. Please keep in mind that you will need to refresh the repository page as it does not automatically update. Without objection members will be recognized in order of seniority for questioning witnesses today. Thisll this will make it easiee to ensure all members participating have an opportunity to be recognized. Does any member have a question about the conduct of this hearing with members participating remotely . I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Thank you, dr. Stone, to you, your team, and your team for being with us today to discuss departments ongoing response to the covid19 pandemic. During that hearing i asked whether the v. A. Need a supplemental appropriations to prepare for a major coronavirus outbreak, but secretary wilkie quickly said, quote, not at this point, mr. Chairman, end quote. He went on to discuss how vas past responses to natural disasters made a wellprepared for a Public Health emergency. I think if secretary wilkie were here today, we could probably agree that it was precipitous. Sadly, he is not here, despite her invitation at attempt to accommodate him virtually here i remember you, yourself, were a bit more cautious, dr. Stone saying that if the covid19 tud into pandemic and portions of the United States Health Care System broke down, the v. A. May need to come back and ask for additional funds. Since then congress has appropriated approximately 17. 2 17. 2 billion from dojs covid19 Pandemic Response. And i was glad to help advocate for that funding. Im not sure that many of us here on the dais and knew exactly what to expect during the february hearing noted we fully grasp the enormity of the Public Health and economic challenges that the American People which synthase from the pandemic. I think is important because the administration failed to recognize these risks and committed them to the American Public in advance of the crisis. Here we are a little more than three months later and exactly 90 days after the covid19 pandemic was declared a national emergency. Now we have almost 2 million confirmed cases of covid19 in the United States, and more than 16,000 of which are among veterans for use vha. More than 1400 veterans and 33 3 the al was have now lost their lives to this disease. Fortunately v. A. Very quickly took several key actions in the first months of this pandemic to upkeep veterans and v. A. Employees safe. We may never know how many veterans lives were saved by actions v. A. Took early in the pandemic. On march 10, the issued a no visitors policy at its Community Living centers or v. A. Operates Nursing Homes and spinal cord injury units. By march 13, all vha medical facilities have established screening processes at the entrances to assess potential exposure to covid19 for each employee, for each a veteran, employ, visitor entering the facility. On march 18, vha suspended all nonurgent elective procedures. This freed up staff, supplies, equipment and other resources to care for the expensive influx of veterans with covid19 and help control the spread of the virus. V. A. Clinicians increase the delivery of care for telehealth by 1000 as they replace canceled appointments with telephone calls and video visits as often as possible. I have been really encouraged by the fact that v. A. Has been able to use emergency expedited hiring authorities to rapidly hire staff. The a on boarded than 16,000 new employees in the most recent twomonth period. The pandemic has made clear just how vital our v. A. Housekeeping and custodial staff are to Infection Control. We need to make sure we pay them fairly and treat them as essential employees that they are. To be clear, a lot of things have gone right with vas response to the covid19 pandemic, and for that v. A. Is to be commended. This is also a testament to the wisdom of racing policy decisions on science and engaging healthcare experts. As a healthcare organization, vha should be positioned to lead during a national Public Health crisis. Tens of thousands of dedicated frontline v. A. Employees have worked tirelessly and heroically over the last three months to care for veterans and nonveterans alike. And i want to thank them for their Tremendous Service to our nation. To date, v. A. Has provided assistance to more than 60 formal and informal engagement and 46 states and the district of columbia. However, the pandemic has also exposed some vulnerabilities, some alarming vulnerabilities and gaps in vas pandemic readiness especially in the area medical supply chain and Inventory Management. I have also been concerned about the extent to which v. A. Has fully and equitably, has been fully and equitably and limiting telework and paid leave for its employees throughout the pandemic. V. A. Officials have often told us that they have observed lowr rates of absenteeism and request for leave during the pandemic than they did during the same time last year. It is clear that v. A. Employees have acted in good faith by showing up to work. They deserve a greater flexibility from the employer and the attempt to keep themselves and their families healthy while continuing to carry out vas mission. A few weeks ago v. A. Announced its threephase plan for gradually resuming facetoface care, and 20 the Medical Centers begin the process the week of may 18. The committee is watching closely as v. A. Moves forward with this plan to ensure that this is done in a way that keeps veterans and employees safe. Finally before a close i want to say that the committee originally planned to conduct a fully remote hearing today in accordance with House Resolution 965. The resolution we adopted on may 15 15 authorizes house committees to a virtual hearings during the period of the covid19 Public Health emergency. This is so we can continue to do peoples business while maintaining the social distancing and safety precautions of the healthcare experts recommend. Yet here we are in this committee room, and my colleagues and the public may be wondering why. Just a couple of days ago v. A. Informed the committee that its witnesses would only participate in the searing fi and at least one member of the minority would gather in the hearing room to listen to v. A. s testimony in person. It is my understanding that this reflects a directive from the white house. I am concerned that this decision has needlessly put Staff Members and witnesses at risk. We have the tools to undertake our constitutional obligation to conduct oversight. In 2020 the technology exists to engage with v. A. Just as v. A. Has engaged with tens of thousands of veterans via telehealth. Right now vha hasnt even reinstated it critical in person exams which is contrary to our growing backlog of more than 125,000 pending disability claims. Vas attempt to inhibit congressional oversight by demanding that we sit in this room rather than conduct this young virtually while v. A. Continues to tell veterans they must stay home and continue waiting for benefits that they learned perplexes me. V. A. s unwillingness to contribute with unwilling to corroborate with the committees original plan is also strange because the department generally has positive things to tell this body. This is good news because we have appropriate more than 17. 2 17. 2 million to try and get this Pandemic Response right. I reluctantly agreed to conduct todays hearing in a hybrid format because we did not want negotiation with the administration to delay it. However, i would like remind the administration that congress is a separate and coequal branch of government, and it is the obligation of the administration to be accountable to congress. Playing games and threatened to withhold witnesses unless we submit to the administrations terms is disrespectful. This pandemic is long from over and we must remain humble in the face of the danger it poses. With that i conclude my remarks and then i recognize dr. Roe for five minutes for his opening remarks. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Before we start today we were informed late yesterday evening by the house Recording Studio we needed your permission to obtain a direct feed of todays hearing so we could stream at from the minorities you to page and other social media accounts. You may know this is common practice to we extreme the committees hearings and markups from a minorities accounts all congress to include last weeks subcommittee held virtual hearing. We do it regularly. We both served on the Labor Committee. We do it there. Im unaware of any problem that is greater and your permission has never been needed before. My staff sought your permission this morning in our request for access to todays hearing stream was denied. No. No justification for that denial was provided. House rule 11 states that quote, to maximum extent possible each Committee Shall provide audio and video coverage of each hearing or meeting for the transaction of business and the map that allows the public to easily listen to and view the proceedings. This rule is designed to maximize coverage and transparency of committees work. Deny minority to stream from our social media accounts ventures as many veterans and taxpayers as possible have access to the work were doing on their behalf. I can imagine that as chairman of the Veterans Affairs committee you integrate and support that. I will note that your decision today to deny us access to the video feeds of the searing that only goes against past practice but it also is only coming up now after the partisan vote last month to change change the hous to allow for Virtual Committee work. During the debate on those rules senior Democratic Leaders repeatedly promised that they would not disadvantage of the minority. Your decision is a direct contradiction to that claim. I am simply i urge her in the strongest possible terms to reconsider, and just as an affront to this virtual hearing, congress of the United States has never had a virtual hearing in the war of 1812 the civil war, the spanishamerican war, the flu epidemic of 1918, world war i, world war ii, the polar academic, the korean war, h2 into epidemic of 1957, the h3n2 epidemic of 1968 which i remember very, very well. Guilt over 100,000 americans. The vietnam war, and so on. We have never done this and theres not not any reason we should be doing now. This committee has was operate on a bipartisan basis before and i never wouldve dreamed of making a a decision like this n i was chair. I would assert absolutely do it. When you approve along the minute access to the searing stream now so we can broadcast veteran from our social Media Channels as well as yours and would you commit to ensuring our continued access to video streams for future hearings and markups . Dr. Roe, would you in the future afternoon, Going Forward. Thank you. I accept that. Thank you, mr. Chairman. As i said before, virtual hearings are a poor substitute for the oversight engagement that occurs in in person congressional hearings or even ones like this. Our constituents collectivist represent them in washington, and our work year has never been more essential than it is during this critical juncture in our countrys history. For those reasons im glad to finally be back in d. C. With you today, and appreciate your accommodating my request the numbers be allowed to attend the Committee Hearings from the Committee Hearing room. It would be an understatement to say that a lot has changed into her last anderson together 91 days ago. In that time our country and the world has faced an unparalleled challenge with respect to covid19 pandemic which has taken the lives of more than 100,000 americans and threatened the livelihoods of millions more. Before going any further want to express my condolences to all those of lost loved ones to this virus. My heart particularly gazetted them for more than 1300 veterans and 34 Veterans Health administration employees who have died from covid19. Each one of them is in my prayers. Im also praying for those veterans of lost their jobs come is is is, investments and nest eggs they for their entire lives to build because of the economic shutdown through no fault of their own. And who find themselves isolated from friends and family and support systems due to stay at home orders and event left reeling from this unprecedented events over the past three months. There is no doubt that these are incredibly difficult times, but in any community is prepared to weather the storm, it is this one. Carnations veterans are hardworking, courageous, creative, Community Minded leaks it dont back down from a challenge. It is the department of Veterans Affairs job along with the committee and our counterparts in the senate to support our veterans in being this challenge and i assure you we are up to the task. As we grieve the death and destruction of covid19 is rot, i find hope in the tremendously good job that v. A. Employees across the country have performed. V. A. Doctors, nurses, Emergency Management personnel, food service workers, custodial staff, i. T. Technicians, Police Officers and others, up to and including the Senior Leadership right here in d. C. Have remained steadfast in making sure our nations veterans are safe, protected and well taken care of throughout this crisis. Thanks to the dedication v. A. Has been able to fulfill not only the departments primary mission to care for veterans also the departments mission to care for those in the records of veterans status during times of national emergency. From New Hampshire to why and beyond, v. A. Has provided beds, staff, personal protective equipment tests, supplies and other needed support to state, local, and tribal entities in almost every state and territory. V. A. Has been taken active in state veterans homes and private Nursing Homes, helping to protect those most vulnerable to the coronavirus and raising the level of care provided to the oldest and most at risk among us, wherever they reside. Just as an aside, about 42 of all deaths in this country have come from the nursing home longterm care facilities, chronic care facilities, which make up only. 6 of the population of the country. So i want to thank the v. A. For the work. I think youve saved countless lives. Theres no doubt that the work has been lifesaving and improve the provision of care for those communities for years to come. Working handinhand with the office of Personnel Management come v. A. Has undertaken an incredibly successful recruitment higher time to i just three days and on boarding more than 16,000 new hires since march. This absolutely ought to continue, this process that were using, and not the old method. V. A. Has also successfully expand the availability of telehealth by more than 1000 on some platforms so that veterans can remain safely at home without delaying or sacrificing the care that theyve earned. Together, these efforts have caused veteran trust scores to reach historic ties during the pandemic. In april veteran trust and v. A. Region overall 80 veteran trust and v. A. Outpatient services in particular, reached 90 . V. A. Should be incredibly proud of those accomplishments. We all should. However, theres more work to do. While the rate of infection for v. A. Health Care Workforce is markedly lower than the rate of infection among nonv. A. Health Care Workforce in the United States and abroad, v. A. Employees continue to express serious concerns abo