[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
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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.
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