[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 10413]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                          SHULKIN CONFIRMATION

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on the nomination 
of Dr. David J. Shulkin to be the next Under Secretary for Health for 
the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
  I was pleased that Dr. Shulkin's nomination was confirmed by the 
Senate last night. The Veterans Health Administration, which he will 
oversee, has not had a permanent leader for more than 1 year. In my 
view, it is important to have permanent leadership in place to address 
a number of ongoing issues at the Veterans Health Administration, 
including properly implementing the Veterans Access, Choice, and 
Accountability Act of 2014, to give veterans the option of accessing 
care in their communities and ensure managers are held accountable for 
any lapses in customer service; improving care and support for victims 
of military sexual trauma; helping to eradicate homelessness among 
veterans; ensuring that veterans have access to timely and adequate 
mental health care; reducing the systemic problems with over-
prescription of opioids; and providing appropriate gender-specific 
services for the growing population of women veterans.
  Dr. Shulkin has roughly 20 years of experience serving in leadership 
roles at hospitals and health care systems. I hope he can use that 
experience to provide the stability and leadership needed to start 
overcoming the serious challenges that the Veterans Health 
Administration continues to face. Providing a permanent leader is a 
significant step in ensuring that the Veterans Health Administration is 
providing our Nation's veterans with the level of care and service they 
have earned and they deserve.
  I thank my colleagues for their assistance in filling this important 
role at VA.

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