UPDATE: VA Secretary Shinseki Testifies Before Congress

On Tuesday, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki testified in front of the House Veterans Affairs Committee about the state of the Department of Veterans Affairs.  The hearing was generally cordial and there were no real surprises, but the Secretary provided some interesting information as to the current state and the direction of the VA.  I live blogged the hearing via twitter (@TomTarantino) [1], and you can read the transcript below for some highlights.

@tomtarantino: [1] Attending House Vets Affairs hearing re: State of the VA. Sec. VA is the only witness. Should be interesting.

@tomtarantino: [1] Shinseki: In the next 5 years, the VA will be a different org than the one that exists today.

@tomtarantino: [1] Shinseki wants to separate housing and tuition payments so future vets can get checks before verifying enrollment.

@tomtarantino: [1] Shinseki: We need to be able to cover veterans seeking vocational training as well as degrees.

@tomtarantino: [1] Shinseki: VA must improve care for women, and rural veterans and needs to invest in tele-medicine

@tomtarantino: [1] Waltz: Don't you think that seamless trans is worth you and Sec. Gates standing side by side?

@tomtarantino: [1] Shinseki: Seam trans initiative began when he and Gates were talking standing in line to be sworn in. This is a personal priority

@tomtarantino: [1] HVAC: with expansion of pri 8, why have there been only a 10% increase of 20,000. Shinseki: Estimate that 266,000 included by end of 2010

@tomtarantino: [1] Shinseki: seen a massive increase of pri group 5 & 7 over the last few years. Is holding up expansion of pri 8 to maintain capacity

@tomtarantino: [1] HVAC: skeptical that record 92,000 claims processed in july focused on quantity over quality.

@tomtarantino: [1] HVAC: does the VA receive any info from DOD about blast exposures? Shinseki: Mostly when sm  was treated at DOD hospital. It's not standard.

@tomtarantino: [1] HVAC: skeptical that record 92,000 claims processed in july focused on quantity over quality.

@tomtarantino: [1] Shinseki: VA should be focused on helping vet put in the best possible claim. VA should be vet's advocate not adversary

@tomtarantino: [1] Shinseki: VA has a trust problem with claims processing. Need to develop better systems to get better results