00:00We're going to do. Senator Hassan. Well, thank you, Mr. Chair, and to both of our nominees.
00:08First, thank you and your families for your service, and congratulations on your nominations,
00:14and a special thanks to the families, because you both stepping up to do this work will be
00:21a test for them as well, and we're very, very grateful to you. And as Senator King and Senator
00:27Sheehy just said, we are all united here in serving veterans, and Mr. Workman, you and
00:32I talked about my dad served in World War II, your grandfather, and that was a really good
00:37discussion, and as I said, my father, having survived the Battle of the Bulge, I never heard
00:42him complain about a thing afterwards. Just a remarkable member of the greatest generation.
00:49But I also just want to address, Senator Sheehy and I would agree that community care is important.
00:55New Hampshire is the only state in the contiguous U.S. that doesn't have its own VA hospital,
01:00so community care has been very important. I would also say that some of the statistics
01:09that Senator Sheehy was talking about happened during the time when we passed and instituted
01:13the PACT Act, so there are a lot more people coming into the VA for health care. It was a
01:18big surge, and we still have work to do to implement the PACT Act effectively. And I'm also concerned
01:26because our community care in New Hampshire and across the country is also struggling.
01:31So to suggest that just by referring veterans to our community civilian health care system
01:37is going to solve their access to care problem, I think ignores the challenges that our community
01:43system, our civilian system, is going to have, especially in light of the reconciliation bill,
01:49the big, beautiful bill that is what President Trump calls it, that's going to strain our rural care even more.
01:57So I want us to all think about that in that context. I want us all to think about Senator King's concern
02:05about the way these contracts were canceled. It's just the way I think about it is, you know,
02:11good carpenters measure twice and cut once, and it seems to me that the VA went about this backwards.
02:17So I'll get to my questions now, but I just wanted to kind of level set us a little bit as I listen to the exchanges
02:26we've been going on. I am asking every nominee these days a straightforward question,
02:31and I'll start with you, Mr. Bartram, and then you, Mr. Workman. If directed by the president
02:35to take an action that would break the law, would you follow the law or follow the president's directive?
02:39Mr. Bartram.
02:41I don't anticipate ever being asked to break the law, but I follow the law.
02:46Thank you, and I should have said General Bartram. That's okay.
02:49Likewise, I don't anticipate the president asking me to break the law, but I would always follow the law.
02:55Well, I appreciate your commitment to following the law. I'd suggest that you review some of the things
03:00the president and his administration have done and consider the first part of your answer.
03:05Mr. Workman, I'd like to discuss an issue that I know we both care about a lot, ensuring that our nation
03:10fully supports the surviving families of our fallen heroes. I've been working with Senator Cassidy
03:16on a bipartisan bill that would help Gold Star and surviving spouses get employment assistance
03:21through DOL Vets, the office that you're nominated to lead. I'd like to work with you on this issue
03:26because I think we owe it to the families of the fallen to do everything that we can to support them
03:32and help them move forward. That's a debt we owe to those who sacrifice so much for our nation.
03:37Given your military experience, sir, can you talk to me about some of the sacrifices that military families make
03:43and the importance of supporting them, especially surviving spouses?
03:47Yes. Thank you for the question, Senator. And I do appreciate you taking that meeting with me.
03:52That was special to be able to look through your father's diary, and I appreciate that.
03:59But getting back to our Gold Star families, we owe these folks more than what—we owe them everything.
04:08Yeah.
04:09My wife, Jessica, is sitting right behind me. She could be the first one to tell you that
04:16staying at home while we are overseas doing our nation's work is, like I said in my opening statement,
04:23it's one of the toughest jobs in the military. We owe these folks everything that we have to offer,
04:30and if confirmed, I look forward to working with your office and providing technical assistance with—
04:36Well, thank you. That's what I was going to ask if you'd commit to working with us on this bill,
04:40and I look forward to working with you on that, too.
04:42General Bartram, in May, the President issued an executive order requiring the Secretary of the VA
04:48to create an action plan to support a full-service medical center in New Hampshire
04:52so that we're no longer that only state in the contiguous U.S. without a full-service VA hospital.
04:59I have long supported bringing a full-service hospital to New Hampshire,
05:03and I want to make sure that the VA is engaging with Granite Staters at every step of the way.
05:08If confirmed to be the VA's Undersecretary for Health, how will you work with New Hampshire veterans
05:13and our congressional delegation as the VA creates its plan for a full-service hospital in New Hampshire?
05:20Senator, I can certainly assure you that I will work with you and the state on that.
05:26We have already started a site survey process where we start the initial part of the site survey,
05:31and then down the road that will have a process where we engage with the state as we look at what we see as the need capabilities
05:40and capacities that are there and to work with the state on what right looks like as we move forward.
05:47Well, I appreciate that. We have understandably, like I think probably in every state,
05:52a very active group of veterans in New Hampshire. As you both have commented, veterans never stop the mission to serve,
05:59and that's true in New Hampshire as it is everywhere else, and they really want to engage directly with the VA
06:05about how to make this a successful planning scenario. So thank you, sir.
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