[Senate Hearing 118-174]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 118-174
TO CONSIDER THE NOMINATION OF
TANYA J. BRADSHER
TO BE DEPUTY SECRETARY,
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MAY 31, 2023
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
54-223 PDF WASHINGTON : 2024
SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
Jon Tester, Montana, Chairman
Patty Murray, Washington Jerry Moran, Kansas, Ranking
Bernard Sanders, Vermont Member
Sherrod Brown, Ohio John Boozman, Arkansas
Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Bill Cassidy, Louisiana
Mazie K. Hirono, Hawaii Mike Rounds, South Dakota
Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Thom Tillis, North Carolina
Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Dan Sullivan, Alaska
Margaret Wood Hassan, New Hampshire Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
Angus S. King, Jr., Maine Kevin Cramer, North Dakota
Tommy Tuberville, Alabama
Tony McClain, Staff Director
David Shearman, Republican Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
----------
May 31, 2023
SENATORS
Page
Hon. Jon Tester, Chairman, U.S. Senator from Montana............. 1
Hon. Jerry Moran, Ranking Member, U.S. Senator from Kansas....... 2
Hon. Patty Murray, U.S. Senator from Washington.................. 4
Hon. Sherrod Brown, U.S. Senator from Ohio....................... 9
Hon. Tommy Tuberville, U.S. Senator from Alabama................. 11
Hon. Margaret Wood Hassan, U.S. Senator from New Hampshire....... 13
Hon. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Senator from Connecticut........... 17
Hon. Angus S. King, Jr., U.S. Senator from Maine................. 18
INTRODUCTION OF WITNESS
The Honorable Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Senator from Illinois........ 8
WITNESS
Tanya J. Bradsher, Nominee to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans
Affairs........................................................ 3
APPENDIX
Nomination Material
Tanya J. Bradsher, Nominee
Prepared Statement............................................. 25
Response to Pre-Hearing Questions for the Record submitted by:
Hon. Jerry Moran............................................. 27
Hon. Jon Tester.............................................. 34
Response to Questions for the Record submitted by:
Hon. Marsha Blackburn........................................ 37
Hon. Kevin Cramer............................................ 47
Hon. Jerry Moran............................................. 49
Hon. Kyrsten Sinema.......................................... 54
Hon. Dan Sullivan............................................ 56
Hon. Thom Tillis............................................. 57
Response to Additional Questions for the Record submitted by:
Hon. Jerry Moran............................................. 60
Questionnaire for Presidential Nominees........................ 71
Statement for the Record
Hon. Kyrsten Sinema.............................................. 91
TO CONSIDER THE NOMINATION OF
TANYA J. BRADSHER
TO BE DEPUTY SECRETARY,
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
----------
WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2023
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 3 p.m., in Room
SR-418, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Jon Tester,
Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Tester, Murray, Brown, Blumenthal,
Sinema, Hassan, King, Moran, Cassidy, Blackburn, and
Tuberville.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN JON TESTER
Chairman Tester. Good morning. I want to call this hearing
to order to examine the qualifications of the President's
nominee to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
Ms. Bradsher, I want to first acknowledge your service to
this country, both in uniform and in government service. This
includes your national security and public engagement work at
the White House, your public affairs work at the Defense Health
Agency, and at the Department of Homeland Security, and your
tenure supporting our Nation's veterans at the VA.
I am especially proud to welcome you before our Committee
as the first woman nominated to this top position, a crucial
moment for our Nation's veterans and our country.
Today we will determine whether you are the right person to
be the VA Deputy Secretary. If confirmed, you will have
specific accountability to manage several large programs,
including the big one, electronic health records, which has
been an area of major concern of this Committee, and I think
you know that. You also will have broad responsibility for
strengthening the DoD-VA collaboration as the agency works to
implement the PACT Act.
In your role as Chief Operating Officer you will run the
day-to-day operations of the Department, a position for which
you have prepared by serving as the VA's Chief of Staff. I
expect the Committee is going to want to know what you have
learned in this role, how you have helped improve the delivery
of health care and benefits to veterans, and your plans for the
Department moving forward. And while the electronic health
record will take up a good portion of your time, VA needs a
leader who will not lose sight of the other critical management
responsibilities and service delivery functions of the
Department.
The bottom line is the VA needs a Deputy Secretary who will
improve collaboration and communication across the Health
Benefits, Cemetery Administration, and Chief Operating Officer,
all while ensuring those three entities are meeting the needs
of veterans and their families.
I hope your answers to the members' inquiries on these
matters will help this Committee make the determination whether
you are the right person to be confirmed as Deputy Secretary. I
very much look forward to our dialogue today, and I want to
thank you for your willingness to serve in this very, very
important role.
With that I will turn it over to Senator Moran for his
comments.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JERRY MORAN
Senator Moran. Chairman Tester, thank you very much. Ms.
Bradsher, welcome. I will start by saying how much I appreciate
the many years you have spent in service to our country,
particularly in the United States Army. I am grateful for,
since leaving the Army, that you have spent your time serving
in the White House and the House of Representatives and now the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
On this Committee we know that military service is family
service, and in some way high-level government service is
family service as well, and so I also want to recognize your
mother Linda, your husband John, and your three girls,
Charlotte, Catherine, and Christine. Thank you all for being
here. It was nice to shake most of your hands. Thank you.
The role of Deputy Secretary at the Department of Veterans
Affairs is a tremendously important one. The Deputy Secretary
serves as the VA's Chief Operating Officer and leads the
electronic health record modernization effort, which we have
needed leadership and which we have been working on for a long
time. That project is at a critical juncture now.
If confirmed to this position, Ms. Bradsher, millions of
veterans, caregivers, survivors, and dependents across the
globe will be counting on you to deliver the timely and high-
quality health care, benefits, and services that they need.
Hundreds of thousands of VA staff members will be counting on
you as well to provide a high-performing, safe, and accountable
place for them to come to work each and every day.
I want to hear this afternoon how your experiences prepared
you to take on these responsibilities and how you would achieve
success where your would-be predecessors have struggled. I also
want to hear how you would make certain that the actions you
take and decisions you make, if confirmed to this position,
would put the needs and interests of veterans above any other
consideration. That includes making certain that VA officials
from the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary on down to the
newest entry-level staffer in a VA medical facility, regional
office, or cemetery follow both the letter and the intent of
the laws of Congress, and that they are responsive and
transparent to veterans and their families and with this
Committee and with our colleagues in the Senate and House.
I will be listening to your testimony this afternoon, and I
know my fellow Committee members as well. Thank you again for
being here and for your willingness to be considered for this
role.
Chairman Tester, I yield back.
Chairman Tester. I would like you to stand and raise your
right hand as you receive the oath of office.
Do you, Tanya Bradsher, solemnly swear or affirm that the
testimony you are about to give before the U.S. Senate
Committee on Veterans' Affairs will be the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Ms. Bradsher. I do.
Chairman Tester. Let the record reflect the nominee
answered in the affirmative.
Hang on for just a second.
Okay. Well, we are going to do this a little differently
than what we had planned. The good Senator from Illinois,
Senator Duckworth, will be here to introduce you, but she is
going to introduce you after you get done with your opening
statement.
You may proceed.
And by the way, I would love to have you, if it is not in
your opening remarks, introduce your family so we know who is
who. With three girls I get the names confused.
STATEMENT OF TANYA J. BRADSHER
Ms. Bradsher. Absolutely, Senator. I have with me my mom,
Linda Keene, my daughter, Charlotte Bradsher, my husband, John
Bradsher, my middle daughter, Catherine Bradsher, and my
youngest, Christine Bradsher.
Chairman Tester, Ranking Member Moran, and distinguished
members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to
testify before you today and for your dedication to veterans.
And thank you, Senator Duckworth--oops, she is not here yet.
I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude to my
family, friends, colleagues, and mentors. To my late father,
Sergeant First Class Vaughn Keene, and my mom, Linda Keene, you
have always been my guiding lights. To my husband of 25 years,
Retired Colonel John Bradsher, and our three daughters,
Charlotte, Catherine, and Christine, your love and unwavering
support as we have served in Colorado, Korea, the Pentagon, and
both of our deployments to Iraq mean everything to me. And to
my uncle, late grandpas and great-grandpa, who served in World
War I, World War II, and the Korean War, your service and
sacrifice will never be forgotten.
As a fourth-generation Army soldier, it is a true honor to
be nominated by President Biden and Secretary McDonough to
serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans
Affairs.
Our mission at VA is to care for those who have served in
our Nation's military, and for their families, caregivers, and
survivors. I know the importance of this mission firsthand, not
only because I have served as VA's Chief of Staff for the past
two-plus years but because I have lived it. I have seen what it
looks like when one of my fellow soldiers transitions out of
the military and gets the support they deserve from the VA, how
they live happier, healthier, more fulfilled lives.
But I have also seen what it looks like when that does not
happen--with my own dad, who did not get the support he needed
and who, because of that, never quite found his way after 22
years of honorable service. Simply put, I know that VA can make
all the difference in the world for our Nation's heroes. I know
that it is VA's job to ensure that no veteran--no veteran--ever
slips through the cracks. And I promise you that if I am
confirmed as Deputy Secretary, I will do everything in my power
to ensure that every veteran gets the world-class care and
benefits they deserve.
Fortunately, throughout my life, I have been blessed with
opportunities and experiences that have helped prepare me for
this role. During my time at the VA, I know what it takes for
VA to deliver more care and more benefits to more veterans than
ever before.
From my 27 years of public service in Congress, the
military, and the executive branch--under Republican and
Democratic leadership--I have come to understand the critical
nature of the partnership between the Hill and the VA. And from
my deployment, I have even seen firsthand the importance of the
PACT Act. I was exposed to burn pits within Iraq, and I am so
grateful that because of you, veterans' toxic exposures are now
recognized and cared for.
The bottom line is during each of those experiences I have
strived to lead with compassion and integrity, creating teams
that perform well under pressure, and above all else, deliver.
And that is exactly what I hope to do as Deputy Secretary--
deliver for veterans.
To that end, I have three primary goals, if confirmed.
First, I will focus on transition. We need to ensure that
our military service members have access to all the tools they
need before they depart the service.
Second, I will ensure that we continue to build an
electronic health record system that improves care for
veterans, and that we only deploy it when it is fully ready.
And third, I will continue to build or rebuild trust with
veterans. I want to ensure that VA is reaching untethered
veterans--veterans who have never come to VA before--and
getting them care and benefits, including through the PACT Act.
As Deputy Secretary, I would do all of that and more with
one north star in mind, the same north star that Secretary
McDonough set forth when he was confirmed, to fight like hell
for veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors--
because they deserve the very best.
Thank you again for considering my nomination and for your
partnership. I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Bradsher appears on page 25
of the Appendix.]
Chairman Tester. Thank you for your statement. I will yield
to the senior Senator of the Senate, Senator Murray.
SENATOR PATTY MURRAY
Senator Murray. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and Ms.
Bradsher, thank you for being here. Thank you for your service.
Thank you for everything you have done for our country. Thank
you to your family for allowing you to do this and for, I know,
all the sacrifices they have to make in order for you to do
this, because it really is an important role. So thank you.
I want to start by talking about what I know will be a very
large focus for you if you are confirmed to this role, and that
is the electronic health record modernization. Now as you know,
the staff in Spokane and Walla Walla, where the EHR has been
deployed, has really worked hard and tirelessly to learn this
new system, and as you know it has really put a strain on our
providers and on our veterans. They are the current experts on
this system. But I continue to hear from people on the ground,
in my communities, that their feedback is not being taken into
account or even heard.
So I wanted to ask you, in this role you will have the
responsibility to oversee EHR implementation to make sure we
get this right. How will you make sure that our veterans
themselves and the providers are being heard and their feedback
is actually taken into account during this modernization
effort?
Ms. Bradsher. Senator, thank you very much for that
question. First and foremost, the Deputy Secretary is
ultimately responsible for the electronic health care record,
and if confirmed, that responsibility will fall fully on my
shoulders.
First and foremost, we have to ensure that our veterans get
the health care record they need. When I retired I hand-carried
my medical records from the Pentagon to my VSO, and we simply
have to have the electronic health care record that our
veterans can rely on.
So first and foremost, going on, boots on the ground is how
I have always led. Go to all five sites, listen to our
veterans, do listening sessions, along with listening to our
clinicians. I agree with you--our clinicians have not seen the
results of their comments come back and executed within the
electronic health care record. So we have the opportunity now,
with the reset of the five sites, make sure that we are able to
incorporate those recommendations enterprise-wide, because we
cannot have five different records. We need to have enterprise-
wide changes and ensure that we hold Cerner Oracle accountable
so that those changes actually happen. And then be able to make
those changes and also scale to a large, because right now we
are at medium and small facilities. We need to be able to also
scale it to a large facility.
Senator Murray. And as you mentioned, we are in a reset,
and I just want to know how you are going to use your oversight
role during this reset period to make sure we can deliver the
care that we have promised.
Ms. Bradsher. Thank you, Senator. First and foremost, what
we have with the reset is being able to hold Oracle Cerner--we
have 30 times stronger penalties. So for any challenges we
have----
Senator Murray. In the new contract.
Ms. Bradsher. In the new contract. I am sorry. On May 16th,
we have a new contract. Also, we have five 1-year contracts.
That allows us to hold them accountable each year and to make
sure that we set those markers that we need for them and then
go to the next contract. So those are the two great changes
that we have with this new contract that will allow us to hold
them accountable.
And also the changes that we will make do not just benefit
VA. They will also benefit DoD, and being able to ensure,
especially with the outages--we have had definitely some issues
with consistency and keeping the system up--we now have much
tougher penalties for those outages.
Senator Murray. Okay. Well, as you know I will be in very
close touch with you on this as we work through it. But I just
want to make it very clear, staffing cuts are unacceptable, and
I hope and expect for there to be a timely resolution to the
concerns on the ground from the providers that we are hearing
about that as well.
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator, if confirmed.
Senator Murray. And just real quickly, as you know women
make up nearly 17 percent of active duty military forces and 19
percent of National Guard and Reserves. That number is rising.
Talk to us about how you are going to use your role to make
sure that VA is accessible and responsible to our women
veterans.
Ms. Bradsher. Thank you, Senator. Even this nomination
hearing right now is historic, and if confirmed to serve as
Deputy Secretary, I would take reaching out to all veterans,
first and foremost, but especially for our women veterans. I
have met so many women in the last couple of years who do not
recognize their own service, who minimize their time, who tell
me, ``I only did 4 years. My husband did 20,'' and they will
fight for their husband's benefits more than they fight for
their own, or they will not even acknowledge their own service.
So one of the things is being creative, reaching out to
platforms that VA has not touched into before, and I hope, if
given the opportunity, that would be first and foremost, is
doing that outreach.
Senator Murray. Thank you very much. I really appreciate
it.
Ms. Bradsher. Thank you, Senator.
Chairman Tester. Senator Moran.
Senator Moran. Chairman, thank you. Ms. Bradsher, tell me
how your nomination came about. What happened at the Department
of Veterans Affairs? What was the process by which you were
chosen to be the nominee?
Ms. Bradsher. Senator, Deputy Secretary Remy had let the
Secretary know that he was looking to move on, and so the
Secretary asked me if I would be interested in serving, and I
told him yes, and then the White House worked it from there.
Senator Moran. Pretty straightforward. Let me ask a couple
of process questions. If you are confirmed, do you agree to
testify before this Committee and our counterpart committee in
the House whenever you are asked to testify?
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator.
Senator Moran. If confirmed, do you agree to make certain
that requests for information from Congress are fully responded
to in a timely manner without regard to political party or
committee status?
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator.
Senator Moran. Thank you for that answer.
If confirmed--this is a substantive question--if confirmed,
would you commit to preserving or expanding the access to care
that veterans have currently, including the options given to
them under the MISSION Act and the existing access standards,
and to take no action that would restrict a veteran's ability
to choose the provider and care setting of their choice and
make their own health care decisions?
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator. If confirmed, I will definitely
look into being able to expand the care for our veterans as
much as possible.
Senator Moran. I am not trying to trick you into answering
a question differently than you want to answer it, but I am
trying to make certain that you have an appreciation for the
value of the MISSION Act and its ability to serve veterans in
rural and other circumstances, special need care. And so the
crux of that question I will ask in this way. I want to make
certain that you will work to preserving and expanding the
access to that care under the MISSION Act.
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator, I will.
Senator Moran. And is there anything that--and let me do
one more. If you are confirmed--this is important. I bring a
complaint or concern to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and
I get an answer that is certainly pleasing to me, either a
problem we solve, something that is being incorrectly handled
at home or at someplace else across the country is occurring.
Policy does not work well. The VA, the leadership offices here
tell me that it has been corrected. I then discover that that
communication apparently has not occurred back to the state of
Kansas or to the local VA hospital.
So I would indicate that there is a significant opportunity
for the VA to make certain that the decisions it makes here in
Washington, DC, which I hope are informed by input from those
at home, that once the decision is made, a correction has
occurred, that the folks at the local community health clinic,
the folks at the VA hospital, and the folks in the benefit
world, that they then conduct themselves based upon the
policies that I have been told are corrections that have been
made.
So if confirmed, how would you help break down the silos
between the VA central office in Washington, DC, and VA
entities across the country, to make certain that the
directives from program offices and leadership officials are
responsive to the needs of, and faithfully executed by the
field staff?
Ms. Bradsher. Senator, thank you very much. If confirmed,
one of the areas, obviously, and you see Secretary McDonough,
who is on the road today, going out in the field, is the
absolute best way to get that real-world information and making
sure that the policies we are setting are actually being
executed on the ground. Obviously, we cannot get to everything
immediately, so one other way that I want to break down the
silos is similar to what I have done as Chief of Staff, and
that is I have taken all the chiefs across the administrations
and the directorates and we meet weekly to have conversations,
to make sure that implementation, best practices, any issues
that we are able to handle at the lowest level possible, I want
to replicate that same platform across the deputies and being
able to ensure that we are getting that information down.
But having an open door for you, for our staff, and for our
leadership to make sure that we say that communication piece.
It is definitely a challenge with 427,000. But it has worked so
far with the chiefs. I would like to try it also with the
deputies.
Senator Moran. The question I asked makes sense to you? I
mean, the circumstances I described you would understand that
they happen too frequently. That makes sense to you?
Ms. Bradsher. Yes.
Senator Moran. I would indicate that what I generally know
about the concerns and needs of veterans is what I hear when I
am walking down the street or the email that I get, the
conversations I had on Memorial Day. And it is important, one,
to make certain that when a correction, a solution is found
that it is actually implemented, so it is not just conversation
to me. We have taken care of the problem. And then secondly,
usually those problems are something experienced by many other
veterans. In many instances it is not an isolated instance, and
we need to make certain that the rest of the VA, across the
country, is complying with the fix. Again, that makes sense to
you?
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator, it does.
Senator Moran. Thank you, ma'am.
Ms. Bradsher. Thank you.
Chairman Tester. Thank you, Senator Moran.
We have now been joined by the honorable Senator from
Illinois. Senator Duckworth, you have the floor for a post
introduction.
INTRODUCTION BY THE HON. TAMMY DUCKWORTH
Senator Duckworth. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I apologize
for being a little bit late. It would have never happened in
the Army. It happens all the time in the Senate, though,
unfortunately.
Chairman Tester and Ranking Member Moran, thank you for the
opportunity to speak before the Senate Committee on Veterans
Affairs today. I am so deeply honored to introduce today's
historic nominee, Ms. Tanya Bradsher, who is nominated to be
Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
In a moment you are going to hear her explain why she
answered the President's call to help lead the VA in fulfilling
one of our Nation's most sacred obligations--caring for
America's veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.
But first I would like to address why Ms. Bradsher is the right
choice to help lead the VA as we seek to modernize the
Department to best serve multiple generations of veterans.
Like many military families, including mine, the history of
military service in Ms. Bradsher's family runs back
generations, both on her father's side, where she is a fourth-
generation soldier, and on her mother's side, where her
grandfather's service so inspired her mother that her mother
was the driving force behind the nominee's military service. In
fact, a mom encouraging her daughter to speak with recruiters
and, in turn, Ms. Bradsher's mother supported her daughter's
family when Ms. Bradsher deployed to Iraq.
Like her mom, Ms. Bradsher is also a military spouse, and
she raised her children while on active duty as well. In fact,
Ms. Bradsher was pregnant with her second of her three
daughters and in the Pentagon on 9/11 itself.
Ms. Bradsher and her family have never shied away from
serving our great Nation. In the course of her service she
earned numerous awards, including the Legion of Merit and the
Bronze Star, among other commendations. I mentioned these
achievements and tributes not just because they outline her
unique experience, but because they demonstrate how her own
service in uniform enables her to understand the challenges
facing today's generations of post-9/11 veterans.
As veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars continue to
grow older, the VA must proactively reach out to these veterans
and bring them into the VA system. Though some veterans may
minimize their service or shift focus to others they may see as
more deserving, we need to make sure that the VA properly
recognizes historically underserved veteran populations and
draw them in.
Our VA must serve all who served. Tanya Bradsher is just
the combat veteran to make that happen. Though it is not the
reason for her nomination, if confirmed, Ms. Bradsher would be
the highest-ranking woman veteran at the VA, ever. The first
woman, the first woman veteran, the first woman combat veteran,
the first woman of color to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans
Affairs.
Public servants like Ms. Bradsher do not take on these
challenges. They do not answer this call because they want to
be a first, or in Ms. Bradsher's case, many firsts. Though she
may pave a path for those who come later, it is a selfless
commitment to serving others that motivates people like Tanya
Bradsher. For the past two years, she has served as the
Department's Chief of Staff as the VA delivered an
unprecedented level of benefits and health care services to our
veterans and began to implement the historic PACT Act.
I am proud to introduce Ms. Bradsher today, and I am
confident that she is ready to serve as Deputy Secretary. Thank
you again for this opportunity, Mr. Chairman, and I strongly
urge this Committee to support this impressive and patriotic
nominee. Thank you.
Chairman Tester. Thank you, Senator Duckworth, for those
kind remarks about the nominee, and you are welcome to stay as
long as you would like. We might even throw you in for a few
questions if you really want.
Senator Duckworth. I do not know. My adult supervision is
right here, and they are probably going to pull me.
Chairman Tester. I will now take the Chairman's privilege--
sorry, Senator Hassan--to recognize Senator Brown.
SENATOR SHERROD BROWN
Senator Brown. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Two American heroes
sitting in front of us, so thank you both for serving in
slightly different capacities but serving this country, so
thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman mentioned the PACT Act, as did Senator
Duckworth. When we talked earlier, Ms. Bradsher, on the phone,
you told me about a conversation with a young veteran, a woman
whom you met in a store, who told you that she, quote, ``used
to be a veteran.'' Talk to us, if you would, how we help ensure
that veterans, particularly women veterans, understand the VA
is there for them. I hear repeatedly from people from the
roundtables I do on the PACT Act, that, ``Well, somebody else
deserves it more than I do. I do not really need these
benefits.'' So talk about that.
Ms. Bradsher. Thank you, Senator. There are so many
veterans who, for many reasons, think that if the apply for
their benefits then it is taking benefits from someone else,
and the only way I have been successful in getting them to at
least listen a little bit is for them to realize that it is
also for their families.
Veterans definitely have a mission and purpose, and they
have that from the military, and when they get out some of them
really have these misperceptions on what the VA offers. And so
working through that, the PACT Act has been helpful. We have
been able to have unprecedented numbers. We are at a 30 percent
increase for claims, and we are also seeing a great uptick for
the toxic exposures. But we still have veterans who think that
because they did not go to war, they do not qualify for VA. We
have women veterans who think that because they only served one
term that they do not qualify for the VA.
And I know you talked about the roundtables that you are
doing, Senator, at home. I do the same thing. I go out and
speak as much as possible, and I am always surprised at how
many women just do not recognize the service that they have
provided, and they minimize it. So it is definitely a
challenge.
I did a roundtable at church, and I had a gentleman who had
a Navy hat on, and I said, ``Well, have you applied for PACT
Act?'' and he said, ``No, no. I cannot apply for VA because I
never went to war.'' And I said, ``What do you mean? Of course,
you did how many years?'' and he said, ``Seven years in the
Navy.'' I said, ``Well, seven years, you definitely qualify.''
But even--and I will not mention any of the members--even staff
who have served here, who have deployed to Kuwait, did not
realize that her time in Kuwait, even though she is a
Guardsman, qualifies her for PACT Act.
It is a conversation, and working through and trying to
figure out unique ways to communicate with our veterans, it
cannot just be through just MSOs and VSOs. We are going to have
to get creative, and we are going to have to reach the veterans
where they are.
Senator Brown. Thank you. Thank you for that answer, Ms.
Bradsher.
You had talked about your own transition--I know Senator
Murray asked about that too--from service to veteran status, if
you will. I am particularly concerned about veterans' mental
health during the transition process. We are working on
legislation. I would just like a commitment from you if you
would pledge to work with us on that bill.
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator. If confirmed, I would.
Senator Brown. Thank you.
Last question. Senator Murray talked about the problems
with the rollout. We know that the botched electronic record
rollout has contributed to four veterans' deaths. I am glad the
VA has taken the right steps to fix the system. We obviously
must prevent these kinds of incidents. However, while VA works
toward these changes there are five VAs still working on the
current system. You, of course, know that. One of those is in
Columbus. I have had extensive conversations with the Secretary
of the VA about this.
Tell us, if you would, what steps you will take to protect
veterans getting care from the VA that are currently using
Oracle Cerner while working through the necessary fixes.
Ms. Bradsher. Senator, first and foremost, making sure that
our clinicians there know that we will support them and that
also any of the changes that they are seeing, that we now,
through Dr. Evans and through our leadership with the
electronic health care record team, being able to address those
issues so that we can quickly look at resolution, especially
dealing with downtime. That seems to be a challenge that we are
still working through.
So keeping those open lines of communication, making sure
those five locations have the support that they need to be able
to continue to execute to take care of our veterans, because
that is the most important mission that we have.
Senator Brown. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Senator
Hassan.
Chairman Tester. Senator Tuberville.
SENATOR TOMMY TUBERVILLE
Senator Tuberville. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Bradsher,
thank you for being here today. I enjoyed our time visiting
yesterday. That was very good. Thank you for your service and
your husband's service, and your entire family's service. You
have got a beautiful family.
Ms. Bradsher. Thank you.
Senator Tuberville. And I know you are proud of them. I
know you are glad they are here supporting you today. That is
important.
For this Committee to act as an effective oversight entity
for taxpayers, the VA must act in an open and transparent
manner. I have experienced, in the last few years, several
instances--and we talked about this--of the VA not providing
data and information I have requested in a timely manner,
through questions for the record, formal letters, and other
things.
As Deputy Secretary, do you commit to righting these errors
and working with me and my staff providing information so we
can work together?
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator, if confirmed.
Senator Tuberville. Thank you.
A majority of your career has involved strategic
communications and outreach. As Assistant Secretary of Public
Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security you oversaw
public outreach for the entire department, and prior to that,
when you worked at the White House, you served as Assistant
Director of the Office of Public Engagement, where you led
veteran, wounded warrior, and military family outreach
initiatives.
Given your decades of experience in communication and
engagement, how involved have you been in the VA strategy to
educate and reach veterans on the PACT Act? You talked a little
bit about that, but kind of explain it a little bit. How will
you help with that?
Ms. Bradsher. I do my best to stay out of Assistant
Secretary Fulton's hair. It is really hard since I had that job
over at DHS, Senator. But we have a strategic outreach, we have
the Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs, but we have really
looked at PACT Act as our main mission across the Department,
and making sure, because of the deadline of August 9th, we want
to make sure that all veterans know about the PACT Act. So
between outreach with our veteran service organizations, all of
our various platforms, and outreach, we have done something
unprecedented for us. We have done over hundreds of events
across the country in order to make sure that our veterans know
about the PACT Act.
Senator Tuberville. The PACT Act included a 1-year open
enrollment period for the post-9/11 combat veterans.
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator. So they can backdate the claim
to August 10, 2022.
Senator Tuberville. Yes. So 10 years past the separation
from service of 9/11, that 1-year period will end on September
30th. I am concerned that the VA still does not have a
mechanism to track the veterans who have enrolled under the
authority thus far. You know, why, nine months after such
significant legislation has passed, does the VA not have a
better way to track these people?
Ms. Bradsher. Senator, I think part of the challenge is we
have some that file for PACT Act and they will also file for
other claims that they had that may not be directly PACT Act-
related. And then we have others who have seen the press from
the PACT Act, who may not be impacted directly from the PACT
Act but have decided to go ahead and apply. And so that is part
of the challenge is pulling those together. But we do have some
data in regard to how many PACT Act claims we have received so
far.
Senator Tuberville. How many veterans were eligible to
enroll under the 1-year open enrollment period when the PACT
Act was enacted? How many of them have enrolled at this point,
do you think?
Ms. Bradsher. We had 3 million we think are eligible. My
understanding is we are about 800,000 have enrolled so far.
Senator Tuberville. What steps is the VA taking to improve
this tracking process, that you know of, of veterans that have
not enrolled?
Ms. Bradsher. Continued outreach, Senator. You know, trying
to reach out to our untethered veterans, our Veteran Experience
Office, trying to do as many events as possible, and looking
for new ways to be able to reach our veterans.
Senator Tuberville. You had an interesting story yesterday
about your burn pit experience in Afghanistan. Correct?
Ms. Bradsher. Iraq.
Senator Tuberville. About jogging. And I would hope in the
future, and I have talked to Secretary Austin about this, about
burn pits being close to our camps and things like that. Could
you tell your story there, about your jogging?
Ms. Bradsher. Absolutely. I picked a horrible time to pick
up running, and so I was at Diwaniya which is in Iraq, and the
burn pit was located right in the center, so as you would run
you would basically run around the burn pit. But it was not
just that. It was also going to the TOC, going to get chow, any
time you would always go by the burn pits. But runs were really
tough because you were out there for the longest time, or at
least I was, and so your eyes would water. And then after your
shower you would spend the next five minutes coughing and
getting the gunk out that you breathed in while you were
running.
Senator Tuberville. I can imagine how many veterans we have
today that are having those problems.
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, sir.
Senator Tuberville. And hopefully we can help them with the
PACT Act. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Tester. Senator Hassan.
SENATOR MARGARET WOOD HASSAN
Senator Hassan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to
our nominee. Ms. Bradsher, I really appreciate your service. I
appreciate your family and their support of your service as
well.
And before I turn to my questions I just want to let you
know I really enjoyed our visit in my office a couple of weeks
ago, I think it was, and our discussion about the difficulties
that New Hampshire is having with its aging VA infrastructure.
And I just will continue to follow up with you and Secretary
McDonough to ensure that those critical updates to the
Manchester VA Medical Center are completed as quickly as
possible. It is on the minds of all of the veterans in New
Hampshire.
I also wanted to just start my questions by thanking you
for all of your discussion of and talking about the PACT Act. I
am glad we were able to pass it last summer. As you know, and
have talked about, it allows more veterans accessing more
benefits that they have earned and deserved.
In New Hampshire alone, since the passage of the PACT Act,
veterans have already filed more than 2,000 PACT Act-related
claims, and more than 1,200 veterans have enrolled in VA health
care.
In your testimony, you highlighted the importance of the
new benefits provided under the PACT Act as well as the need to
reach out to veterans who have never come to the VA before. So
you have talked a little bit with Senator Tuberville and others
about this, but how will you ensure, if you are confirmed, that
all veterans are able to access their health care and benefits
under the PACT Act?
Ms. Bradsher. Senator, thank you so much, and I enjoyed our
conversation as well.
First and foremost, we have been able, but we still have to
do more, working through our Public Affairs Office, our
outreach offices, and also just continuing to do the events.
But we also need to hit the major platforms. We need to get
creative. We need to talk to Peloton, and we need to be able to
get to the women's magazines for our ladies, and we need to
talk about cars, and be able to get VA in those different
niches where we are going to find veterans who may or may not
get their American Legion magazine. I get my American Legion
magazine--I should say that up front. But we just need to go
beyond just our VSOs and getting super creative.
Senator Hassan. Well, please also feel free to reach out to
us so we can be part of that creative work with you, because we
just know how important it is to our veterans.
Your nomination is a truly historic opportunity, as Senator
Duckworth has noted, to bring the perspective of a woman
veteran to top leadership within the VA. So I want to bring to
your attention the example of the importance of that
perspective.
Some women veterans who served on cultural support teams in
Afghanistan have faced challenges in getting their combat
engagements documented in their service records and getting
their injuries recognized by the VA. These women served an
important role in ensuring that our special forces were able to
communicate with local Afghan women. We needed our women in the
field there, in combat situations, to make that communication
happen. Yet upon returning home they received little
recognition for their role in combat. Many struggle still to
get support for the injuries that they sustained during their
service.
How will you ensure that the VA learns from the perspective
of veterans like these women and addresses the obstacles that
they face in accessing health care and benefits?
Ms. Bradsher. Senator, if confirmed, and quite frankly,
even in my current role, I would love to meet with them to look
for what the challenges they are having and what they are
finding that PACT Act does not cover because that is the piece.
You know, we have 27 presumptives that really have 276
conditions. And so if there are areas that we are not able to
cover them----
Senator Hassan. So forgive me for interrupting. The issue
here is that their work as cultural support teams is not being
documented in their record as combat service.
Ms. Bradsher. Gotcha.
Senator Hassan. And I think it would be great to facilitate
this conversation in this meeting. But this is where I think
having women in leadership is so critically important for the
mission of the VA.
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator.
Senator Hassan. And lastly, as we discussed when we met, we
both understand the importance of the successful transition
process for service members separating from military service.
Last year, my bipartisan Solid Start Act was passed into law,
which makes sure that the VA's Solid Start Program will
continue to be a resource for service members when they are
leaving active duty. I continue to believe that the VA can do
more to connect veterans to their VA benefits and their local
community support networks during this critical period of such
enormous change, and you have talked about it a little bit.
But if confirmed, how will you work to support veterans
during this transition?
Ms. Bradsher. For transition we have to reach our veterans
much sooner, Senator. They should understand what they are
entitled to for the VA. And it is also a little confusing when
you have Department of Labor for one piece, VA for another, and
DoD for transition. So if confirmed, I would love to work with
all three, with the DoD and Department of Labor, to ensure that
we get one-stop shopping for our veterans, because it can be
really confusing when you are not sure exactly what you are
looking for, and we need all those resources in one location.
Senator Hassan. Okay. Thank you very much, and thank you,
Mr. Chair.
Chairman Tester. Thank you, Senator Hassan, and thank you
for your flexibility.
Look, many of the questions that I am going to bring up you
have already touched already, but I am going to start at the
beginning. You have an admirable background in both military
and civilian service. You are currently Chief of Staff of the
VA, which is not exactly a job of chopped liver. It is pretty
damn important. Why do you want this job?
Ms. Bradsher. Senator, being in a Senate-confirmed
position, I can help more veterans. And I have thoroughly
enjoyed being Chief of Staff, but being able to implement in
ways that, as Chief of Staff, I influence, I think would be a
wonderful opportunity. And at the end of the day, I just want
to take care of veterans, and I can take care of more veterans
as Deputy than I can as Chief.
Chairman Tester. Okay. This Committee, on a bipartisan
basis, has pushed the Department to hold Oracle Cerner more
accountable, and secured an EHR contract that not only works
for our veterans but also works for VA medical personnel and
the American taxpayer.
It has already been pointed out the new contract, I
believe, in the middle of May, May 16th, was signed. Can you
tell us about this new contract? Are you familiar with it?
Ms. Bradsher. Senator, I am familiar with it, but I was not
part of the negotiations.
Chairman Tester. That is fine. Can you tell me how this
contract puts VA in a better position, from an accountability
standpoint?
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator, absolutely. The original
contract was a 5-year contract, so we did not have the ability
to bring Cerner, now Oracle Cerner, back to the drawing board
until every five years. The changes that they made under Acting
Deputy Secretary Guy Kiyokawa and the leadership team with Dr.
Evans is to be able to have five 1-year contracts, so every
year we can hold Oracle Cerner accountable.
Second, the penalties are now 30 times greater for outages,
and they are now incremental versus just a day. So we have the
ability to hold Oracle Cerner accountable in ways that the
previous contract did not.
Chairman Tester. You came out of the military. Your husband
did too. You guys understand how this outfit works. When it
comes to electronic health records or the PACT Act
implementation, you are very much dependent on the DoD to do
good work, for you to do good work. And I will say this. You
did not say this. Sometimes the DoD kind of big-foots you guys
out of the road.
You, as Deputy Secretary, would serve as co-chair of the
VA/DoD Joint Executive Committee. That committee, Joint
Committee, recently made the development and implementation of
the Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record as number one
priority, and thank God, because it is critically important if
we are going to get these in PACT Act implementation.
Thinking back to your previous times, thinking to this
position, how could DoD be more engaged in this interagency
process as it pertains to PACT Act implementation, and how you,
as Deputy Secretary, could force them to be more accountable to
the veteran?
Ms. Bradsher. Thank you very much for the question,
Chairman. If confirmed to serve as Deputy Secretary, I would
hope to work with the JEC to be able to interact with all
service members who have deployed so that they have PACT Act
information before they ever get out of the military. They do
not. We really need to have them identified so that they are
able to understand what PACT Act is, what those presumptives
are, and how VA can assist them so that when it is time for
them to go, when it is time for them to transition, be it they
retire or they get out, they know the next step is us, and that
we are going to not only be able to take care of them but take
the research that we are able to get from ILER and also make
sure that we can take care of these veterans, not just right
when they get out but throughout their lives.
The other piece is to focus on how we can work with the
electronic health care record, making sure that the
interoperability, that we are able to work through that so the
smooth transition, as much as possible, when we are able to
expand Oracle Cerner beyond just the first five sites.
The other piece is facilities. How do we look at facilities
to get VA access to some of the military facilities so that we
are able to have our physicians there, share space, be able to
take care? Maybe we partner in ways where we can also take care
of active duty while taking care of retirees simultaneously. We
have some very unique opportunities.
Chairman Tester. So on this Joint Executive Committee you
are going to be dealing probably with people that have a few
stars on their shoulder, and maybe many stars on their
shoulder. Does that intimidate you?
Ms. Bradsher. No, Senator.
Chairman Tester. Good.
Senator Hassan talked about this. Senator King is also very
passionate about it, the transition. We have had a bunch of
hearings on transition. You have probably watched most of them
on TV. But one thing that is absolutely obvious to me is that
if we do not do a better job of transitioning we are never
going to get our arms around the veteran suicide issue.
Ms. Bradsher. I agree.
Chairman Tester. The transition starts long before they get
out of the military. Once again, getting back to the Joint
Executive Committee, how do you intend to use that position to
influence some military who, by the way, its main job is to go
out and fight and win, to influence to put attention to
transition? And as I believe you have already pointed out,
early transition is key. Talk to me about how you are going to
get this done.
Ms. Bradsher. Senator----
Chairman Tester. Because we talked about suicide almost
every meeting, in some form or another. It is a huge issue.
Losing one soldier to suicide is too many, and we are losing a
hell of a lot more than one. And so how do you deal with this
issue, from your position, assuming you are confirmed?
Ms. Bradsher. Senator, you are absolutely right. Death by
suicide is a huge concern with veterans, and the biggest
challenge I have seen is when veterans transition it is that
sense of purpose. It is being able to find their niche when the
military is gone and they are out. And it is just so incredibly
vital.
Partnership with the Department of Defense is key because,
as you can see, veteran families, we usually raise more
veterans, or more military, and so being able to work with the
Department of Defense, being able to identify any service
members who have struggles so that when they transition we are
able to work with them and know, being able to ensure that they
know that the VA is there for them is so vital, and that they
are not by themselves. We have to break through a little to get
to the active duty service members and the Guard and Reserve so
that they know that VA is a welcoming home for them. But we
also have to make sure that we are that welcoming home.
Chairman Tester. I think one of the things, and I believe
you brought it up too, was the one-stop shop experience. I
think that can make a big difference in simplifying their lives
and knowing that we have their back----
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator.
Chairman Tester.--Once they get out of the military.
Last question before I get to Senator Blumenthal. The VA
has reached a number of long-awaited agreements with its labor
partners. Tell me how these agreements are going to help
support the VA of improving recruitment and retention across
the enterprise.
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator. Exactly. We are super
fortunate. Senator McDonough went down to Durham to sign that
for our nurses, and our nurses are our backbone for our health
care system. So they will be able to help us with recruiting,
help us with retention, and also raise any issues so that we
are able to address them before we have a nurse walk out the
door. That is why the unions are so vital and important for us
to have that communication.
Chairman Tester. Very good. Senator Blumenthal.
SENATOR RICHARD BLUMENTHAL
Senator Blumenthal. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for
having this hearing, and sorry to be late getting here. But I
appreciated our conversation yesterday and enjoyed it. And as I
indicated then I am really delighted that you are going to be
assuming this position. I think we need this kind of
leadership, especially from someone who has your experience, 20
years in the Army, and who knows what it is like to be a female
veteran. I know that Senator Murray asked you about plans to
improve access to care for our female veterans. Connecticut,
for example, has a new facility for them. But how would you
assess the current state of care for female veterans around the
country?
Ms. Bradsher. We have some locations, Senators, who are
doing an amazing job taking care of our women veterans. I do
think that we need to ensure that that incredible care is
across the board. The VA that I entered 10 years ago, which is
down the road, out-processed at the VA medical center, is
totally different than the organization in 2013, than when I
went to visit last year and this year.
So I do think culturally competent care across the board.
Every facility has a specialist there, but making sure that it
is uniform and that our veterans, our women veterans in
particular, feel welcomed in each facility that they enter.
Senator Blumenthal. We spoke yesterday about the K2
veterans and about the need to expand care for our K2 veterans
who worked, as you know, in Uzbekistan, in a former Soviet air
base, have been exposed to toxic chemicals and potential
radiation. Will you commit to working with me to expand care to
those veterans and also to secure, from the Department of
Defense, the records that are needed to assess the potential
exposure that they have?
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator, if confirmed.
Senator Blumenthal. Let me ask you about the VA facility in
Connecticut. As we discussed yesterday, Secretary McDonough has
visited that facility. I hope you will as well. I am inviting
you to come and see it and actually see for yourself the need
to rebuild it. It is a 1950s structure. Like many across the
country, many VA facilities, it has some of the best docs,
nurses, staff in the world. They are working with facilities
that areout-of-date, and they are extraordinarily dedicated and
expert professionals. But we need the new rebuilding, which is
ongoing--new parking garage, new surgery clinic--but the entire
facility. So I would suggest that you come see it for yourself.
Let me ask you about electronic health record
modernization, another topic we discussed. What can be done to
make sure that these systems are completed to be interoperable?
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator. First and foremost, during the
reset we are going to have to focus on those first five sites
and make sure that we have listened to our veterans, that we
have listened to our clinicians, and that we are able to take
those best practices and those concerns and work with Oracle
Cerner to make the changes that we need in order to be able to
fix the record at those five sites.
We also need to ensure that the record is scalable so that
we can get it deployed to larger sites, including Level 1
sites.
But we are not going to do anything until it is fully ready
to go. We will work with the firm. I will work with, if
confirmed, also our EHR team and Department of Defense, the
JEC, to ensure that we have those changes and that we have the
health care record our veterans deserve.
Senator Blumenthal. Thank you. I want to again thank you
for your service and thank your family for their support, and
their service, and look forward to working with you. Thank you
for taking this very, very important position. I look forward
to working with you. Thank you.
Ms. Bradsher. Thank you, Senator.
Chairman Tester. Senator King.
SENATOR ANGUS S. KING, JR.
Senator King. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome to the
Committee. Nice to see you this afternoon.
As you know, an issue I have been involved with is
domiciliary care in veteran homes generally. We passed a
statute on this. It has now been 28 months. We still do not
have a rule. And I would appreciate a timeline to get that
done. Twenty-eight months is too long for a rule. And by the
way, that rule should be retroactive, given the time that has
elapsed. This is a real hardship to our veteran homes.
Something like $3 million a year being lost because they are
doing the right thing by taking care of veterans with dementia.
So I hope you will attend to that issue.
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator, if confirmed, I will definitely
do that.
Senator King. Thank you. Number two, I know various people
have talked about the electronic medical records. I want you to
be really obnoxious on this contract. I do not know if you have
it in you, but try, because so far we have not held the
contractor to their obligations. I know it has been changed to
a year-to-year. That gives us substantial leverage. I hope you
will use it, because if we have specific goals in terms of
metrics, approval rating by the users, all of those kinds of
things, timeliness, lack of crashes, and if they are not
meeting them there should be penalties, and that should be part
of the contract. They should have costs if they do not meet
those metrics.
I am concerned that we are sort of drifting through this
process and not holding the contractors accountable. There are
billions of dollars at stake here, taxpayer money. This has
been a drama that we really ought to be bringing to a close. So
I want you to call on your inner bear to go after this issue.
Ms. Bradsher. Senator, I am a mother of three from ages 23
to 17. I have bear in me, and I am happy----
Senator King. You know what I am talking about.
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator.
Senator King. I am serious, though.
Ms. Bradsher. No, and I agree. I do not mean to make light,
but absolutely, it is vital for our veterans.
Senator King. Thank you.
Chairman Tester. Senator King, I might add that she just
told me earlier that she is not afraid of people with stars on
their shoulders either.
Senator King. Thank you, sir.
Transition. I am going to be submitting several amendments
to the National Defense Authorization Act on the Armed Services
Committee. One would be to change the opt-in to an opt-out on
notifying the state veterans service officer on the DD 2648.
That is number one, because now only 15 percent of
transitioning veterans opt in, and the whole idea of transition
is to have somebody there to welcome them. But we cannot do
that if we do not know who they are and that they are coming.
That is number one.
Number two, we would allow transitioning veterans to enroll
in the VA before they actually leave, so that there is an
enrollment that takes place before they leave service. They can
maybe even set up appointments.
And the third amendment is to make the Department of Labor
a full member of the Joint Executive Committee. Now they are
kind of an advisory. I think they ought to be involved.
Can you support those three amendments?
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator.
Senator King. Thank you. I will relay that to the Armed
Services Committee.
And finally, and I think this question may have come up,
women veterans are still reporting to me that they do not feel
fully empowered in the VA system. They are 11 percent. Now they
will be 20 percent in a few years. Can we somehow deal with
that issue to be sure that our VA system adequately represents
the interests of female veterans?
Ms. Bradsher. Yes, Senator. That would be one of my key
goals, if confirmed.
Senator King. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will yield back.
Chairman Tester. Well, I want to thank the Committee
members for being here. I want to thank the nominee for being
here, and I appreciate your very direct answers to the
questions and not filibustering. And I mean that. Thank you. I
think it speaks to you as a person.
I would ask that any of the questions that are put forth to
the Committee be at the Clerk no later than 5 p.m. on Friday.
And with that----
Ms. Bradsher. Senator, can I correct the record? I
apologize. I did make an error when I was talking to Senator
Tuberville. The new enrollees for PACT Act, the population is
84,000. I apologize. I said 800,000, so it was my error. I
apologize.
Chairman Tester. Let the record reflect that correction.
All right?
Thank you for being here. I thank your family for being
here. And I would love to give you a timeline on when we hope
to kick you out of Committee, but let us just put it this way--
we will do it as quickly as we possibly can.
This hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:59 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
Nomination Material for
TANYA J. BRADSHER
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Statement for the Record
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