[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 25 (Monday, February 13, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1121-S1123]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to the following nomination, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of David J. Shulkin, of 
Pennsylvania, to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 10 
minutes of debate, equally divided in the usual form.
  The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I want to make a statement that has not 
been heard much around these Halls or these Chambers in a couple of 
years. But on February 7--this month--the Veterans' Affairs Committee 
reported by a vote of 17 to 0 the name of David Shulkin to be the next 
Secretary of Veterans' Administration. That is a unanimous vote. Nine 
Republicans and eight Democrats--everybody voted for this man to be 
Secretary of the VA. I am going to ask each Member in the Chamber 
today: Let's do it as an entire body and find one person, one thing we 
agree upon.
  They are not Republican veterans or Democrat veterans; they are 
American veterans who went to the battlefield and fought for us. It is 
time we fought for them.
  Dr. Shulkin is the right man at the right time for the Veterans' 
Administration. On March 15, 2015, we hired him to come in and take 
over and be Under Secretary of Veterans Health. The President looked 
around to find the best man to run the VA and found him in David 
Shulkin.
  David Shulkin is committed to the following: fixing the problems at 
the Veterans' Administration, making sure the Choice Program works, 
making sure every veteran gets the care they deserve, the care we all 
want them to get, and seeing to it they get it from us.
  I am going to ask each Member to cast their vote today for David 
Shulkin but also cast their vote for our veterans. This is a time for 
us to send a message to them: We don't want to privatize the VA. We 
don't want to reorganize the VA. We want to make the VA work, to give 
our veterans access to every bit of care they can possibly get, and 
follow in the line of the great leaders who have been in the Veterans' 
Administration before.
  I am very pleased to serve with Jon Tester of Montana as my ranking 
member. We have worked together as a team--Democrats and Republicans--
to make this happen.
  I yield the remainder of my time to Jon Tester of Montana on the 
nomination of David Shulkin to be Secretary of the VA.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise, as did the Senator from Georgia, 
in support of the nomination of Dr. David Shulkin to be Secretary of 
the VA.
  First, I wish to take this opportunity to thank Senator Isakson for 
his leadership of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and throughout this 
confirmation process--and throughout the many processes--as chair of 
the committee.
  Look, I think it is critically important that we have a Secretary of 
the VA to serve our veterans. I think Dr. Shulkin is the perfect person 
for that position. The solutions to the VA's problems should be based 
on common sense rather than partisanship or an extreme agenda. I think 
Dr. Shulkin recognizes that. He is committed to our Nation's veterans 
above all. Through the conversations I have had with him over the last 
year and a half, I think he understands the challenges ahead of us in 
the VA.
  The Choice Program, for example, which has been a wreck by anybody's 
standards, is looming with dramatic funding shortfalls and is a program 
we need to work on here in Congress--and we will on the Senate 
Veterans' Affairs Committee--to fix, and I think Dr. Shulkin is on top 
of it.
  I have many letters from veterans across Montana about how the Choice 
Program has not worked. It is not that it isn't a good idea. When we 
passed it, we all agreed that it was a good idea. But it needs to be 
changed to fix the needs of our veterans and make it more workable.
  One other thing is a big problem, and that is the workforce problem 
we have within the VA. The hiring freeze has made this problem even 
worse. We all talk about the backlog, and the backlog is real. But we 
need to make sure the VA has the people they need to serve the veterans 
in this country, whether reducing that backlog or whether it is making 
sure they get the care they need.
  Finally, and Johnny talked about this: privatization. He has 
reassured me he will oppose efforts to privatize the VA. Typically, 
this isn't a problem, but the administration has talked about it 
extensively. I think it would

[[Page S1122]]

be a path that is reckless for our veterans, and I think the veterans 
service organizations would tell us that.
  Again, I express my support for the nomination of Dr. Shulkin to be 
VA Secretary. I believe he will stand up for our veterans. I believe he 
will put them above politics.
  Moving forward, I look forward to working with him and other Members 
in this body to make sure we serve our veterans the best we possibly 
can. Our veterans deserve no less.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, as the Senate has spent the last few weeks 
considering controversial nominee after controversial nominee, it is a 
refreshing break to consider Dr. David Shulkin to lead the Department 
of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Shulkin is a man defined by his 
professionalism, competence, and dedication to the mission of the 
agency he is tapped to lead.
  The son of an Army psychologist and an experienced hospital system 
administrator, Dr. Shulkin was selected by President Obama to restore 
trust and confidence at the Veterans Health Administration after years 
of struggles punctuated by the horrible scandal of wait times in 
Phoenix. Under his leadership, the VA has made great progress. Amid a 
sea of questionable Cabinet nominations, Dr. Shulkin is one about which 
I have no question.
  Of course, Dr. Shulkin will face immense challenges. The VA needs 
significant overhaul, not just in its practices and policies, but in 
its facilities and technology. In eliminating the backlog for access to 
health care and in the midst of tackling the backlog in claims, 
facilities have been short-changed with respect to needed improvements 
and upgrades, while experiencing increased usage. New technologies 
provide new opportunities for providing care, but they also require new 
investments.
  Areas that are finally receiving the attention required include 
mental health, posttraumatic stress, and other lingering invisible 
wounds of war. It has been one of my priorities to ensure that the best 
science and practices with respect to mental health and posttraumatic 
stress can be spread to the communities where veterans live and work, 
like the rural communities of Vermont. Only then will we see progress 
in improving the lives of veterans in those areas.
  Dr. Shulkin must also rebuild the confidence of a VA workforce that 
has been unfairly targeted and vilified by some for the actions of a 
few. The Federal employees who work at the VA are among the most 
dedicated anywhere. Their devotion to improving care for veterans is 
inspiring, but their jobs have been made more difficult by both the 
disappointing actions of some individuals and the frustrating policies 
and organizational structures that sometimes get in the way of them 
serving veterans.
  I believe that Dr. Shulkin is up to this challenge. It is evident 
from his testimony before the Veterans Affairs Committee and through 
his public statements that he believes in the VA and in the importance 
of its mission. It is evident that he understands the value of looking 
to the community for health care answers when that makes sense and that 
he also understands that the Nation should never ignore its solemn 
responsibility to care for veterans through all possible avenues. I am 
also reassured by his pledge not to dismantle the VA or turn its 
delivery of care into a voucher system. It is evident that he intends 
to speak his mind about what makes the most sense for leading a missive 
health care system focused on providing quality care to each individual 
veteran.
  I will support Dr. Shulkin's nomination, and I look forward to 
working with him.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am proud to support Dr. David Shulkin's 
nomination for Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The Department of 
Veterans Affairs, VA, faces massive challenges in delivering care to 
our veterans, but I believe that Dr. Shulkin is well equipped for the 
task at hand.
  Dr. Shulkin has committed to fully implementing the Veterans Choice 
Program as Secretary and will work to expand this program to provide a 
network that meets the needs of veterans, their families, and providers 
in the community--every veteran deserves access to care, whether that 
be at the VA or in the community.
  Through the Veterans Choice Program, we have seen more than 7 million 
appointments made for veterans in their communities, a network expanded 
by 350,000 providers and over 1.5 million veterans that have benefitted 
from using the Choice Card. I will seek to build and expand upon this 
progress and look to Dr. Shulkin's support for legislation that would 
bring care in the community under an integrated and coordinated system 
that utilizes a Veterans Choice Card. This will ensure access to 
timely, flexible, and quality care that our veterans have earned and 
deserve.
  I believe that Dr. Shulkin is the person that can repair the culture 
of the VA to focus on the veteran and restore honesty and 
accountability to the Department. I thank him for accepting this 
challenge to serve our Nation and look forward to working with him in 
the days ahead.
  Thank you.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I support the nomination of David 
Shulkin to be Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  President Obama nominated Dr. Shulkin, a medical doctor, to be Under 
Secretary for Health for the Department of Veterans Affairs and Chief 
Executive of the Veterans Health Administration. The Senate confirmed 
Dr. Shulkin in June 2015 by a voice vote. Since then, he has led the 
VA's health care system, with more than 1,700 care sites and 9 million 
veterans using the system each year.
  Before joining the VA, Dr. Shulkin served as president and CEO of 
Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City and president at Morristown 
Medical Center, Goryeb Children's Hospital, and Atlantic Rehabilitation 
Institute, and the Atlantic Health System Accountable Care 
Organization. Dr. Shulkin also previously served as the chief medical 
officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the Hospital 
of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University Hospital, and the 
Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital. He had been chairman of 
medicine and vice dean at Drexel University School of Medicine. And Dr. 
Shulkin founded and was the chairman and CEO of DoctorQuality, a 
consumer-oriented source of information for quality and safety in 
health care.
  Veterans groups are cautiously optimistic that Dr. Shulkin will 
continue to improve the timeliness and quality of medical care our 
veterans receive. They are also hopeful that he will begin much-needed 
reforms in the administration of veterans' benefits, including the 
reform of the appellate review process.
  The Department of Veterans Affairs provides important services, care, 
and peace of mind for our Nation's 21 million veterans. The VA has more 
to do to make sure that the care that it provides is worthy of those 
who served our Nation. I believe that Dr. Shulkin's experience and 
training has prepared him well to continue that effort, and I support 
his nomination.
  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of our time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic time has been yielded back.
  The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Montana and urge 
every Member of the Senate--Republican, Independent, Democrat--to cast 
their vote for our veterans, cast their vote for our country, and cast 
their vote for David Shulkin to be the new Secretary of the Veterans' 
Administration.
  I yield back the remainder of our time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Shulkin 
nomination?
  Mr. BARRASSO. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 100, nays 0, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 64 Ex.]

                               YEAS--100

     Alexander
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boozman
     Brown

[[Page S1123]]


     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Harris
     Hassan
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Strange
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the President 
will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
  The majority leader.

                          ____________________