[Senate Hearing 107-629]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 107-629
VARIOUS PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MAY 16, 2001
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
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COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania, Chairman
STROM THURMOND, South Carolina JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West
FRANK H. MURKOWSKI, Alaska Virginia
JAMES M. JEFFORDS, Vermont BOB GRAHAM, Florida
BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii
LARRY E. CRAIG, Idaho PAUL WELLSTONE, Minnesota
TIM HUTCHINSON, Arkansas PATTY MURRAY, Washington
ZELL MILLER, Georgia
E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska
William F. Tuerk, Chief Counsel and Staff Director
William E. Brew, Minority Chief Counsel
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
__________
May 16, 2001
SENATORS
Page
Collins, Hon. Susan M., U.S. Senator from Maine, prepared
statement...................................................... 5
Hutchison, Hon. Kay Bailey, U.S. Senator from Texas, prepared
statement...................................................... 3
Rockefeller, Hon. John D., IV, U.S. Senator from West Virginia,
prepared statement............................................. 1
Specter, Hon. Arlen, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, prepared
statement...................................................... 5
WITNESSES
Cragin, Maureen Patricia, nominee for Assistant Secretary for
Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, Department of Veterans
Affairs........................................................ 46
Prepared statement........................................... 47
Questionnaire for Presidential nominees...................... 47
Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Arlen Specter 50
Higgins, Robin L., nominee for Under Secretary for Memorial
Affairs, Department of Veterans Administration................. 30
Prepared statement........................................... 30
Questionnaire for Presidential nominees...................... 31
Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Arlen Specter 33
Lozada, Jacob, nominee for Assistant Secretary for Human
Resources and Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs... 58
Prepared statement........................................... 59
Questionnaire for Presidential nominees...................... 60
Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Arlen Specter 62
Mackay, Leo S., Jr., nominee to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans
Affairs........................................................ 7
Prepared statement........................................... 7
Questionnaire for Presidential nominees...................... 8
Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Arlen Specter 10
Mansfield, Gordon H., nominee for Assistant Secretary for
Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Department of Veterans
Affairs........................................................ 71
Prepared statement........................................... 72
Questionnaire for Presidential nominees...................... 72
Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Arlen Specter 74
(iii)
VARIOUS PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2001
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m. in room
SR-418, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Arlen Specter
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Specter, Rockefeller, Wellstone, and
Nelson.
Also present: Senators Hutchison of Texas and Collins.
Chairman Specter. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The
Committee on Veterans' Affairs will now proceed with nomination
hearings.
We are honored this morning to have two of our colleagues
to provide introductions. And before turning to Senator
Hutchison and Senator Collins, let me yield to the
distinguished Ranking Member, Senator Rockefeller, for whatever
he chooses to say.
Senator Rockefeller. Do you have an opening statement?
Chairman Specter. I do, but I am going to put it in the
record. I want to turn to our colleagues as soon as we can.
Senator Rockefeller. How shall I react to that?
Susan, I will take your advice. Shall I give my opening
statement, which is brilliant but long?
Senator Collins. Absolutely.
Senator Rockefeller. I think, in fact, I will do, Susan,
what you are thinking, and that is----
[Laughter.]
Senator Rockefeller [continuing]. That I will not give it
but borrow from it as I question. I know that is what you and
Kay Bailey Hutchison were thinking. I will put it in the
record, Mr. Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Senator Rockefeller follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV, U.S. Senator From
West Virginia
I join Chairman Specter in welcoming our nominees, their
family members, and friends to today's confirmation hearing.
The large number of nominees being considered at this single
hearing is a bit unusual, but I am certain that the nominees
are pleased that the Committee is moving so quickly to consider
them and to forward their nominations to the full Senate.
If all of you are confirmed--and at this time, I know of no
impediment to your confirmation--you will face, individually
and collectively, many challenges as part of Secretary
Principi's team at VA. I'll highlight just a few--first to you
as a group and then to each of you individually.
The overarching challenge you all will face in your new
positions is to become, with Secretary Principi and the other
top managers at VA, a true team, working together to make VA as
good as it can be. You must find ways to integrate new
technology and the Department's traditional commitment to
veterans to meet the legitimate needs and expectations of the
ever-changing veterans population.
To this end, the single biggest challenge will be to truly
function as one VA. Individual veterans and all who deal with
the Department must see a single entity, not disparate elements
sharing little more than a name.
One specific challenge that I believe touches each of you
in some way is to achieve maximum cooperation between VA and
the organizations with which you deal, most particularly other
units of government. Nowhere is this challenge greater than
with the Department of Defense. We no longer have the luxury--
if we ever did--of allowing the federal departments who deal
most directly with those who serve in the Armed Forces to act
as though there is no real need for cooperation.
VA and DoD simply must work together--for efficiency, for
effectiveness, and to best serve those who serve our nation. I
know that Secretary Principi is committed to seeing progress on
this front, and I believe that each of you will have a role to
play in that effort.
Now I'll highlight some brief, specific challenges to each
of you. Please don't suppose that this is an exhaustive list.
Rather, I see it as a starting point for further discussions.
Dr. Mackay, as the nominee for Deputy Secretary, you, of
course, have the broadest challenge, as you will surely be
expected to touch all parts of the Department. What will be
most vital is that you bring the management skills and
experience you have developed, especially in your recent time
in the corporate world, to bring to bear on the management of
VA. If VA is to function as I know we all want it to function,
it must, first and foremost, be well managed. Working with
Secretary Principi, you must be the one to see that that
happens.
Ms. Higgins, the National Cemetery Administration is in the
midst of a huge increase in demand and in scrutiny. You are
fortunate to inherit an excellent career staff, but you must
work very hard to figure where you want to take NCA and then
work with the Congress and the veterans' community to begin to
realize that vision. As you well know, nothing happens quickly
in government--yet the need for vision and for action in the
area of memorial affairs is now.
Dr. Lozada, VA must be able to attract and retain the very
best employees. VA's workforce is very much in flux right now,
with many, many new demands. I look to you to work with the
three departmental administrations and the other elements in VA
to make the prospect of working for VA as attractive and
appealing as it can be. VA must also be forward thinking on the
question of finding and training new employees as older workers
near retirement age. I am particularly interested in seeing if
VA can assume a leadership role in the area of nursing, to help
find ways to address the shortage of nursing personnel. Also, I
think your experience during your Army career may be of
particular importance in the effort to improve VA/DoD
cooperation.
Mr. Mansfield--Gordon--your biggest challenge will be to
use your great skills honed over the years as a staunch
advocate now to help educate and persuade the Congress to work
with the leadership of the Department on fulfilling its vision.
Your wealth of experience and personal credibility will be
great assets in that effort. I know we will be able to count on
you for timely and forthright advice and counsel.
Ms. Cragin, on the public affairs side of your position, I
believe your greatest challenge will be to educate those who do
not know the veterans' world about two things: first, the vital
role military veterans have played, and continue to play, in
the development of our nation; and second, the particulars of
VA programs and services. Far too often, the only news about VA
is bad news, thereby preventing the public from knowing about
the many successes VA enjoys. With respect to intergovernmental
affairs, you have a great responsibility to promote and advance
VA's homeless initiatives. I know Secretary Principi shares the
commitment of so many of us in Congress to aggressively attack
the problem of homelessness in the veterans' population. Much
has been done on that front, but more must be done.
As I noted earlier, this list of challenges you each will
face in your new positions, assuming confirmation, is far from
complete, but it gives you some sense of my immediate concerns
and priorities. I look forward to working with each of you in
the months ahead.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Specter. Thank you very much, Senator Rockefeller.
Protocol requires the Chairman to speak and the Ranking
Member to speak. And now that we have both spoken, when
Senators are here for introductions, we try to expedite that as
much as possible on the accurate presumption that you are very
busy.
Senator Hutchison, on the basis of seniority, I will ask
you to speak first.
Senator Hutchison. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it
because I do have another nominee in another committee at this
exact time that I want to introduce. But I wanted to be here
especially to introduce to you Dr. Leo Mackay and his wife,
Heather, who are Texans. Dr. Mackay has been nominated to be
Deputy Secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs. I can
truly say to you, having done a lot of introductions lately for
this administration, that this man's qualifications and
background and resume are so outstanding that I feel I must
tell you many of the key points, but I have never seen anyone
who has blazed as many trails as Dr. Leo Mackay and I want you
to know about this incredible individual.
Dr. Mackay has a master's degree in public policy from
Harvard University. He has a Ph.D. in political and economic
analysis from Harvard University. He was a Harvard MacArthur
Scholar, a graduate Prize Fellow, and a Research Fellow with
the Center for Science and International Affairs.
He also was a Top Gun Navy pilot. He is a graduate of the
Naval Academy where he was Secretary of the Navy Distinguished
Midshipman graduate. He then went on to complete the pilot
training, where he graduated at the top of his class, to become
an F-14 pilot. As a member of the Fighter Squadron 11, he spent
3 years completing operational deployments to the North
Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean. From 1993 to 1995,
he served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as a
Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for International
Security Policy. To this day, he is still the youngest officer
ever to have served as military assistant to an assistant
secretary.
Dr. Mackay left active duty Naval service in 1995 for the
corporate staff of Lockheed Martin and later joined Bell
Helicopter in 1997. Today, he is vice president of their
aircraft services business unit.
I believe that he has certainly shown his commitment to
public service. I think that we so need in the Department of
Veterans Affairs, and I believe we have in the Secretary and
will now have in the Deputy Secretary, is real caring for our
veterans, for those who have served our country that I think is
so important. We need to take care of these people, we need to
keep the promises that we have made to them, and we need to
honor them for being willing to serve. And that is what the
Veterans Administration is there to do. And I think with
Secretary Principi's leadership and the leadership of Dr.
Mackay, we will fulfill the mission of the Veterans
Administration.
I thank you and I commend him to you totally.
[The prepared statement of Senator Hutchison follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Kay Bailey Hutchison, U.S. Senator From
Texas
It is such an honor to be here today to introduce Dr. Leo
Mackay, Jr. as the nominee for Deputy Secretary of the
Department of Veterans Affairs. It's always a pleasure to
witness a dear friend--and especially one who is a Texan!--
receive recognition for all of his hard work and efforts.
Dr. Mackay has blazed trails at every stage of his life. In
fact, he probably has one of the most unusual resumes you'll
see for a deputy secretary candidate!
Not only does he have a master's degree in public policy
from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. Not
only does he have a Ph.D. in political and economic analysis
from Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Not only was he a Harvard MacArthur Scholar, a Graduate Prize
Fellow, and a Research Fellow at the Center for Science and
International Affairs. He was also a Top Gun navy pilot.
He is a graduate of the Naval Academy, where he was a
Secretary of the Navy Distinguished Midshipman Graduate. He
then went on to complete pilot training, where he graduated at
the top of his class, to become an F-14 pilot. As a member of
Fighter Squadron Eleven, Dr. Mackay spent three years
completing operational deployments to the North Atlantic,
Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean.
From 1993 to 1995, Dr. Mackay served in the Office of the
Secretary of Defense as a military 1assistant to the Assistant
Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy. To this
day, he is still the youngest officer ever to have served as
military assistant to an Assistant Secretary in OSD history.
Dr. Mackay left active duty naval service in 1995 for the
corporate staff of Lockheed Martin and then joined Bell
Helicopter in 1997. Currently he is vice president of their
Aircraft Services Business Unit.
Most important though, at least in my book, is that Dr.
Mackay is a native of San Antonio, the second largest city in
the great state of Texas.
Dr. Mackay's wealth of knowledge and experience more than
qualifies him for this position. But more important than his
professional background is his personal commitment, his vision,
and his character. Throughout his career he has been able to
not only overcome obstacles and challenges, but also to
empathize with those around him. And, especially pertinent to
this situation, he is a veteran and he understands the needs of
our veterans community.
It is my honor to introduce my friend Leo Mackay, and to
encourage all of you to support his nomination as Deputy
Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Fort Worth's
loss will be Washington's gain.
Thank you.
Chairman Specter. Thank you very much for coming, Senator
Hutchison, and for those words of suggestion to the committee.
We shall listen very closely.
Senator Collins.
Senator Collins. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Senator
Rockefeller, Senator Wellstone. I am delighted to be here this
morning. It is a great honor to introduce Maureen Cragin to you
as she is an outstanding selection to be the next Assistant
Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the VA.
I applaud the President for this nomination, and I respectfully
urge the committee to act quickly on her confirmation.
Maureen's impressive record, as you will see, really speaks
for itself. She is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, she
has served with distinction as a naval officer, and she has had
extensive experience in public affairs both in the military and
in civilian, governmental positions. She is also a member of
Disabled American Veterans and other service organizations
which advocate so effectively for the interests of those who
have served our Nation in uniform.
Maureen also has had the good judgment to marry a Mainer,
Charlie Cragin. They maintain a home in Raymond, ME, and
frequently return to our great State.
This committee has helped to ensure that our Nation keeps
faith with its solemn obligations to our veterans. But in order
to continue to do this, we need talented, capable, experienced
people at the VA. Maureen Cragin is such an individual. She has
a true dedication to public service. After she left her job at
the Hill, she went to work for a defense contractor for a brief
while. But she found that inevitably the call of public service
caused her to return to Government work. So I am sure that this
committee will be very proud of its action if it chooses to
confirm her.
I thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be here this
morning and for your courtesies in allowing us to go first.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Senator Collins follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Susan M. Collins, U.S. Senator From Maine
Mr. Chairman, Senator Rockefeller, members of the
Committee, it is an honor to introduce Maureen Cragin to you,
as she is an outstanding selection to be the next Assistant VA
Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. I applaud
President Bush for this nomination, and I respectfully urge the
Committee to act quickly on her confirmation.
Maureen's impressive record, as you will see, speaks for
itself. She is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy; she has
served with distinction as a naval officer, and she has had
extensive experience in public affairs--both in the military
and in civilian governmental positions. She is also a member of
Disabled American Veterans, and other service organizations
which advocate so effectively for the interests of those who
have served our nation in uniform.
Maureen also had the good judgment to marry a Mainer,
Charlie Cragin. They maintain a home in Raymond, Maine, and
return frequently to our great State.
Our nation must always keep faith with its solemn
obligations to our veterans. In order to do this, we need
talented, capable, and experienced people at the Department of
Veterans Affairs. Maureen Cragin is such a person. I am sure
that this Committee will be proud of its action if it chooses
to confirm her. Mr. Chairman, thank you again for allowing me
to be here this morning.
Chairman Specter. Thank you very much, Senator Collins.
Thank you for coming and we shall weigh your words very
heavily.
We have expedited these hearings at the request of
Secretary Principi because we know how necessary it is to have
these important positions filled. We have held this hearing on
an expedited basis, and it is our intention to have these
confirmations completed, if at all possible, before we break
for recess. We did the same thing with VA's nominated General
Counsel.
I am going to put my full statement in the record.
[The prepared statement of Chairman Specter follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Arlen Specter, U.S. Senator From
Pennsylvania
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure for me
to be here to welcome the highly-capable nominees who will
testify before the Committee this morning. It is also a
pleasure for me to welcome two Senate colleagues to the
Committee's Hearing Room. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas
graces us with her presence to introduce Dr. Leo S. Mackay,
most recently a resident of Mansfield, Texas, who has been
nominated to serve as Deputy Secretary of VA. And Senator Susan
Collins of Maine has joined us to introduce Mrs. Maureen P.
Cragin, a resident of both Maine and the District of Columbia,
who has been nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of VA
for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. I welcome you,
Senators. And I welcome the five nominee-witnesses.
This is an extraordinary group. Two of the witnesses will
have their backgrounds and qualifications summarized by the
Senators who will introduce them. The other three will not be
introduced by their home-State Senators--but no one should draw
a negative inference from that. I will have the pleasure of
summarizing for the Committee their backgrounds.
Ms. Robin Higgins is already known to the Committee's
members since she served in the Labor Department's Veterans
Employment and Training Service during the first Bush
Administration, and has served Governor Jeb Bush since January
1999 as the Executive Director of the Florida Department of
Veterans' Affairs. And all will remember--with anguish and
outrage--the setting in which we have also come to know Mrs.
Higgins. It was her husband, Colonel William R. (``Rich'')
Higgins, USMC, who was struck down by terrorists in Lebanon in
1989 as a supposed spy, it was said, for a ``criminal America
and the Zionist enemy.'' We have mourned with you, Mrs.
Higgins, since Rich was struck down--but we can only imagine
your suffering. I am honored to join you in keeping the memory
of your husband's service alive.
Mr. Gordon Mansfield served his country in Vietnam with
distinction and valor similar to Colonel Rich Higgins'. On his
second tour in Vietnam as a young 1st Lieutenant and Rifle
Company Commander in the 101st Airborne Division, was hit by
rifle fire twice during a three day period during the Tet
offensive in 1968. This service earned him the Distinguished
Service Cross, the Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts, and the
second ``hit'' he sustained during Tet placed him in the
wheelchair he occupies today. Mr. Mansfield will join VA--and I
do expect that he will be confirmed--after a distinguished
career as a lawyer and veterans advocate for the Paralyzed
Veterans of America where he served, most recently, as
Executive Director.
Finally, we turn to Dr. Jacob Lozada. Dr. Lozada, like Mr.
Mansfield is an Army veteran. But he served for over 25 years
as an Army officer--the majority of those years as an officer
in the Army's Medical Administration Service. He retired from
active military service in 1993 and, since then, has served in
the private sector as a management consultant focusing on
health care management issues. He has a Masters Degree in Heath
Care Administration and a Ph.D. in Education, and is a Fellow
in the prestigious American College of Healthcare Executives.
These qualifications are directly relevant to the challenges
facing VA health care today--and they are qualifications sorely
needed by VA at the senior levels. Welcome, Dr. Lozada.
I now turn to the witnesses and ask that they provide us
with brief statements.
Chairman Specter. I would yield now again to you, Senator
Rockefeller.
Senator Rockefeller. I have already done that, Mr.
Chairman.
Chairman Specter. OK. If you all will rise and raise your
right hands, I would appreciate it. Do you solemnly swear that
the testimony you will give before the Senate Veterans'
Committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth, so help you God?
[Witnesses affirm.]
Chairman Specter. You may be seated.
Senator Wellstone. Mr. Chairman, since I will have to leave
early, can I in 10 seconds say that I just came here to show my
strong support for these excellent nominees. Secretary Principi
has done an outstanding job. How about that for brevity.
[Laughter.]
Chairman Specter. Right. [Laughter.]
Senator Wellstone. That is even better from you.
Chairman Specter. That was a direction, not a
characterization. [Laughter.]
We welcome Mr. Leo Mackay, vice president of the Aircraft
Services Business Unit of Bell Helicopter. Mr. Mackay has
general management responsibility for the company's commercial
sales, worldwide distribution logistics, aircraft completions,
and revenue. He is a native of Texas, and is a 1983 graduate of
the Naval Academy. We have two graduates from the Naval Academy
already iconfirmed; we are getting a little heavy on Annapolis,
but I am sure for good cause. He has a very distinguished
academic record, a Ph.D. in political and economic analysis
from the Kennedy School of Government, and a very extensive
resume which we will put in the record, Dr. Mackay, in the
interest of proceeding with your hearing.
We welcome any comments you care to make at this time, Dr.
Mackay.
STATEMENT OF LEO S. MACKAY, JR., NOMINEE TO BE DEPUTY SECRETARY
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Mr. Mackay. Following the precedent established by you, Mr.
Chairman, and the Ranking Member, for brevity I will submit my
opening statement to the record. I would just like to say that
I am very honored to appear before this committee today as a
designee of President Bush. I am also very honored to be, if I
am confirmed, in partnership with Secretary Principi. I have
great confidence in his leadership and we have already begun to
establish a rapport that will blossom I think into a true
partnership.
I am ever grateful to my wife, Heather, who is with us
today, and to my children Sarah and Josiah for allowing me to
take them from the paradise we call Texas back to the DC area
for public service.
I look forward, if confirmed, to serving with not only
Secretary Principi, but with the fine people at Veterans
Affairs, with the veteran service organizations that are so
necessary and vital to delivering benefits and services to our
veterans, and to the members of this committee, its counterpart
on the House side, and the appropriators.
Once again, I am deeply honored to be here today. And I
look forward to your questions.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Mackay follows:]
Prepared Statement of Leo S. Mackay, Jr., Nominee To Be Deputy
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Chairman, I am honored to appear before you and the members of
the committee today as President Bush's designee to be Deputy Secretary
of Veterans Affairs. Military service is an honored tradition in my
family. My father made a career of service in the Air Force, and my two
older brothers served in the Army--one made it a career. I was proud to
serve in our nation's Navy for twelve years. Through uncles and
cousins, my family also includes a doughboy who saw duty in France in
World War I, a soldier with Patton's Third Army in WWII, and veterans
of the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Our nation's veterans are not an
abstraction for me, they are an integral part of my family and a vital
part of my being.
I am especially indebted to President Bush for the opportunity to
serve in his administration. I think the President has signaled very
qlearly the high priority he places on the well being of this country's
veterans. All veterans, and all those who serve and care about them,
will benefit from his clear and steady leadership.
Veterans will also benefit from the leadership of Secretary
Principi. He is a man who has, in the short time I have known him,
deeply impressed me with his veterans and the institution that exists
to serve them. We have already struck up a healthy working relationship
and established a close rapport. He has made it clear that the only
filter for all decisions is the greater good of veterans--that's a good
standard. The Secretary has also begun to lay out and pursue a clear
and concise agenda. I look forward to serving alongside him on behalf
of America's veterans.
Perhaps the greatest debt I owe, however, is to my wife Heather and
our children, Sarah and Josiah. Without their support, warmth, and love
it would be impossible to accept this challenge. I want to thank them
for their willingness to move from the paradise we call Texas back to
the D.C. area, and to put up with the demands of public service. Like
all husbands in my position, I can never repay nor scarcely acknowledge
the true dimensions of the debt I owe to my wife for gracing my life. I
do hope, however, that the mere mention of that fact, in this setting,
will tell her again of my devotion and love. I also hope that my
nomination will serve as an inspiration to my children: to spur them
into episodes, if not a life, of public service.
The Department of Veterans Affairs finds its most eloquent mission
statement in the words of President Lincoln, ``to care for him who
shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan.'' It is
a testament to the generosity and largeness of spirit of the American
people that this great organization exists to provide benefits and
services to those who have served all of us so well. I am beginning to
get to know the people of the Department . . . and I like what I see
very much. There are many able, eager, and knowledgeable professionals.
I look forward to the day when I may be privileged to call them
colleagues.
The Department is also supported by an invaluable network of
Veterans Service Organizations that are an integral part of a team
dedicated to the well being of our veterans. I look forward especially,
should the Senate consent to the judgment of the President, to working
with the fine professionals and volunteers of these organizations.
Finally, I recognize the critical oversight role of both this
committee and the House Veterans Affairs Committee. They have provided
leadership and support to VA and veterans programs. You have my
commitment that I will work with you to achieve a common goal of
serving veterans in a prompt, efficient and dedicated manner. Together
we must tackle a diverse set of issues: reducing the large backlog of
benefits claims; defining a clear overarching information technology
architecture with uniform standards and metrics; coordinating with the
DoD healthcare system to deliver ever-greater efficiencies and savings
while maintaining the distinctive character of the VA system;
rationalizing and updating the capital infrastructure and physical
plant; attracting and retaining a quality workforce imbued with 21st
century skills and motivated for career service. All of these, and so
many more, are pressing needs of the Department.
I am not a long-service veteran of the Department of Veterans
Affairs. I do not have great detailed knowledge of the Department's
programs, people, and culture. But, I will learn . . . and quickly. I
do have, however, the perspective of the outsider and the experience of
having been in a number of organizational and cultural settings.
Secretary Principi and I will undoubtedly have to make some very tough
decisions, and quickly. I commit to you that we will make those
decisions with alacrity, but also with judiciousness. And, I will
further commit to you that we will make those decisions with one, and
only one question in mind: ``what is best for America's veterans?''
In closing, let me say again what an honor it is for me to appear
before this committee as the designee of the President. I stand ready
to serve and I look forward to any questions you may have.
______
Questionnaire for Presidential Nominees
part i: all the information in this part will be made public
1. Name: Leo S. Mackay, Jr.
2. Address: 1004 Hilton Dr., Mansfield, TX 76063
3. Position: Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs
4. Date of Nomination: April 30, 2001
5. Birth date: August 15, 1961
6. Birth place: San Antonio, Texas
7. Marital status: Married
8. Children, age: Sarah, 8; Josiah, 3
9. Education: Institution (city, state), dates attended, degrees
received, dates of degrees.
U.S. Naval Academy; 7/79-5/83; BS; May 25, 1983
J.F. Kennedy School of Government, Graduate School of Arts and
Sciences; 9/89-6/91; MPP; June 1, 1991
Harvard University; 9/91-6/92; Ph.D; June 1, 1993
10. Honors: List all scholarships, fellowships, honorary degrees,
military medals, honorary society memberships, and any other special
recognitions for outstanding service or achievement.
U.S. Treasury Dept., Medal of Merit, Feb. 2000
Council on Foreign Relations, International Affairs Fellow (term
not served), Mar. 1995
Department of Defense, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, July 1995
Department of Defense, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Nov. 1988
Department of Defense, Navy Achievement Medal, Aug. 1989
MacArthur Foundation, Harvard MacArthur Scholarship, Aug. 1991
Kennedy Fellowship, JF Kennedy School, Harvard University, Sep.
1989
US Naval Academy, Distinguished Midshipman Graduate Award, May 1983
11. Memberships: List all memberships and offices held in
professional, fraternal, business, scholarly, civic, charitable, and
other organizations for the last 5 years and other prior memberships or
offices you consider relevant.
Trustee, Cook Children's Medical Center and Foundation, Ft. Worth,
Tex.
Trustee, Jarvis Christian College, Hawkins, Tex.
Board Member, Henry L. Stimson Center, Wash. DC
Advisory Board Member, DFI-Int'l. Wash. DC
Executive Committee and Board Member, Arlington (Texas) Chamber of
Commerce
President, Lutheran Inter-City Network Coalition--DFW
Member, US Naval Academy Alumni Association
Life Member, US Naval Institute
Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Chairman, Ft. Worth Geographic Region, 1999 US Savings Bond Drive
National Committee
President of the Congregation, St. Martin's Lutheran Church ('96-
97) Annapolis, Md.
12. Employment Record: List all employment (except military
service) since your twenty-first birthday, including the title or
description of job, name of employer, location of work and inclusive
dates of employment.
05/97-05/01, Vice President, Bell Helicopter, Textron Ft. Worth,
Texas
07/95-05/97, Director, Market Development, Lockheed Martin,
Bethesda, Md.
13. Military Service: List all military service (including reserve
components and National Guard or Air National Guard), with inclusive
dates of service, rank, permanent duty stations and units of
assignment, titles, descriptions of assignments, and type of discharge.
05/83-07/95 Active Duty Service, US Navy, Honorable Discharge, 07/
95
07/93-07/95 Military Assistant to Asst. Sec'y of Defense,
International Security Policy, assigned to the Pentagon. Coordinated an
organization of 200 responsible for U.S. defense policy in the areas of
U.S. nuclear forces, export licensing, counterproliferation, defense
conversion and arms control policy. Promoted to Lieutenant Commander
08/93.
09/92-07/93 Instructor, Department of History, US Naval Academy.
Taught courses in Western Civilization and modern military/naval
history. Sail instructor and AO-in-C for open-ocean training cruise
from Annapolis to Halifax, Nova Scotia and back.
07/92-09/92 VF101. NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, Va. Assigned various
administrative duties after switching designator from pilot to general
unrestricted line.
06/89-07/92 Attached to NROTC unit, MIT, Cambridge, Ma. Assigned to
graduate study at J.F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
('89-'91) and at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard
University in residence at the Center for Science and International
Affairs ('91-92).
07/86-06/89 VF11. NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, Va. Fighter pilot
completing three deployments on USS Forrestal, with 235 carrier
landings, and 1000 hours in the F-14. Promoted to Lieutenant 06/87.
9/85-07/86 VF101. NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, Va. Fighter pilot
under instruction at Fleet Readiness Squadron for F-14.
07/84-08/85 VT26 and VT24. NAS Chase Field, Beeville, Tx. Naval
flight school basic jet and advanced jet training. Promoted to
Lieutenant, j.g. 06/85.
01/84-07/84 VT27. NAS Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Tx. Naval
flight school primary training.
06/83-11/83 Naval Aviation Schools Command. NAS Pensacola,
Pensacola, Fla. Naval aviation indoctrination course.
07/79-05/83 Assigned to US Naval Academy as a midshipman. Graduated
with merit and BS degree. Commissioned as an Ensign.
14. Government experience: List any advisory, consultative,
honorary, or other part-time service or positions with Federal, State,
or local governments other than listed above: N/A
15. Published writings: List titles, publishers, and dates of
books, articles, reports or other published materials you have written.
Post-Cold War Frameworks for United States Nuclear Policy. Ann
Arbor, Mi.: UMI Dissertation Services, A Bell & Howell Company, 1993.
``Bombs, Cities, and Civilians: American Airpower Strategy in World
War ll,'' Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute, (review of a book of
the same title by Conrad C. Crane), 119, 12, (December 1993): 97-99.
``Voices from the Central Blue,'' Proceedings of the U.S. Naval
Institute, (article commentary), 119, 3, (March 1993): 23-24.
``Naval Aviation, Information, and the Future,'' Naval War College
Review, Spring, 1992: 7-19.
``Greek to Me,'' New Republic, 2 March 1992, p. 6.
``The Poverty of the American Liberal Consensus,'' Samizdat,
(Kennedy School student newspaper), vol. I issue 2, 27 April, 1990.
``Why I'm Black, Not African-American,'' Samizdat, vol. I issue 1,
4 April, 1990.
``War, Morality, and the Military Professional,'' Proceedings of
the U.S. Naval Institute, (commentary), 110, 1, (January 1984): 89.
16. Political affiliations and activities
(a) List all memberships and offices held in and financial
contributions and services rendered to any political party or election
committee during the last 10 years:
Dole for President--$150, defense and foreign policy committee
(wrote policy papers)
Bush for President--$150, defense policy adviser (wrote several
policy papers)
Lazio for US Senate--$200
Republican Party--approximately $500
(b) List all elective public offices for which you have been a
candidate and the month and year of each election involved: N/A
17. Future employment relationships
(a) State whether you will sever all connections with your present
employer, business firm, association, or organization if you are
confirmed by the Senate: Yes
(b) State whether you have any plans after completing Government
service to resume employment, affiliation, or practice with your
previous employer, business firm, association or organization: I have
no such plans.
(c) What commitments, if any, have been made to you for employment
after you leave Federal service? None
(d) (If appointed for a term of specified duration) Do you intend
to serve the full term for which you have been appointed? N/A
(e) (If appointed for indefinite period) Do you intend to serve
until the next Presidential election? Yes
18. Potential Conflicts of Interest
(a) Describe any financial arrangements, deferred compensation
agreements, or other continuing financial, business, or professional
dealings which you have with business associates, clients, or customers
who will be affected by policies which you will influence in the
position to which you have been nominated:
I will receive a separation bonus from Bell Helicopter, Textron,
Inc. in recognition of my performance during my tenure with the firm.
The bonus is customary for departing executives who have performed well
and are going on to a non-competitive status. The bonus will be a one
time cash payment of approximately six months of base salary.
(b) List any investments, obligations, liabilities, or other
financial relationships which constitute potential conflicts of
interest with the position to which you have been nominated:
I will have a continuing financial interest, through stock
ownership, with Textron, Inc.
I also own a modest amount of stock in Tyco, Int'l.--a firm which
does some business with the VA.
(c) Describe any business relationship, dealing, or financial
transaction which you have had during the last 5 years, whether for
yourself, on behalf of a client, or acting as an agent, that
constitutes as potential conflict of interest with the position to
which you have been nominated: N/A
(d) Describe any lobbying activity during the past 10 years in
which you have engaged for the purpose of directly or indirectly
influencing the passage, defeat, or modification of any Federal
legislation or for the purpose of affecting the administration and
execution of Federal law or policy. N/A
(e) Explain how you will resolve any potential conflicts of
interest that may be disclosed by your responses to the above items.
(Please provide a copy of any trust or other agreements involved.)
I have recused myself from any VA matters pertaining to Textron,
Inc. and Tyco Int'l. for as long as I own assets in either of these
firms.
19. Testifying before the Congress
(a) Do you agree to appear and testify before any duly constituted
committee of the Congress upon the request of such committee? Yes
(b) Do you agree to provide such information as is requested by
such a committee? Yes
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Arlen Specter to Leo S.
Mackay, Jr.
Question 1. Have you discussed with Secretary Principi the duties
he would like you to perform, or the role he would like you to assume,
as Deputy Secretary if you are confirmed? If so, what has he asked you
to do? Will you have a policy making role at VA? Will you be the VA's
Chief Operating Officer--a role which the Secretary assumed when he was
Deputy?
Answer. Secretary Principi has asked me to assume the role of Chief
Operating Officer: the day-to-day manager of the Department of Veterans
Affairs with responsibility to ensure we fulfill our commitment to
veterans and their families. Additionally, he has asked me to partner
and assist him with his roles as representative of the Department to
Congress, the White House, and the public. I anticipate, within the
bounds of a close partnership, to have an integral role in the creation
of policy.
The Secretary himself describes his style as `hands-on' and
decisive. He is intimately familiar with the Department, its people and
policies. While he will not be divorced from the affairs of the
Department, I will be the driver of day-to-day operations, and on
issues of strategic importance. As Deputy Secretary I will drive the
formulation of options and be a vital part of their consideration.
Secretary Principi, like any CEO, will make the ultimate decision.
I fully expect to have a strong voice regarding matters including
resource allocation, human resource planning and development,
information technology planning and deployment, and strategic and
performance planning and reporting. I plan to work with the Secretary
and VA leadership to formulate an effective legislative program and
develop a deliberative and inclusive policy formulation process that
will result in detailed policy analysis, option development, and
recommendations to the Secretary for his consideration.
Question 2. Independent of what the Secretary might have discussed
with you in terms of duties, have you formulated any thoughts on how
you will approach your new responsibilities? What do you see those
responsibilities as being? What vision of this job motivated you to
accept it when the President called?
Answer. I will approach my responsibilities with bottom-line
tangible results as the ultimate arbiter of the success of this
administration. My responsibility is to ensure the viability of the
Department's processes, the effectiveness of its people, and the
quality of its decision-making constantly improves so that its
provision of health care and benefits to the veterans' community is
further enhanced. As I said in my opening statement, the greater good
of our nation's veterans will be the ultimate standard by which the
Secretary and I will measure our success.
I am motivated to come to this job for three reasons: 1) I have a
strong tradition of service in my family (virtually all the males in my
family's preceding generations are veterans), and a great personal
desire to serve our Nation and our Nation's veterans; 2) I was
convinced of the desirability and reasonability of Secretary Principi's
vision for the Department of Veterans Affairs and his overriding
commitment to veterans, and 3) I have, by dint of education, previous
experience and management training, the requisite skills to help
implement that vision.
Question 3. Based on your understanding of the issues which
confront VA, is there anything in particular you would like to
accomplish as Deputy Secretary?
Answer. The Secretary and I are in agreement on the overall goals
of the Department. I join the Secretary in committing myself to the
improvement of claims processing and in the delivery of accessible,
high-quality health care. I am committed to successful performance of
all vital department missions.
As Deputy Secretary and COO, I will have responsibility for
addressing operational process/policy issues facing the Department of
Veterans Affairs. Workforce planning and VA/DoD collaborative endeavors
will be among my responsibilities. I intend to support workforce
planning initiatives to ensure long-term, quality benefits delivery by
VA. I also recognize that improved coordination with the Department of
Defense and integration of some overlapping functions will both improve
the quality of service for our beneficiaries and allow us to make the
best use of limited federal funds without diminishing our commitment to
our respective obligations.
As Deputy Secretary I intend to bring to the department a unified
decision-making structure that integrates planning, budget formulation
and policy development. My vision for this structure is one that is
both inclusive and critical. I also intend to bring a management
structure where veteran's needs are first and strategies to achieve
them are based on data, consultation, and sound judgment.
Question 4. How would you describe your management style? Do you
believe that your style--however you describe it--is suited for the
position you are seeking? If so, how?
Answer. My management style is disciplined and analytic. My style
is suited to this position principally for two reasons: because the
Department of Veterans Affairs faces complex transformational
challenges, and because, like any bureaucracy, it has cultural and
inertial impediments. As VA completes its change to outpatient-based
health care, refreshes and retools its physical plant, overhauls its
benefits claims process, moves to incorporate long-term care, and
contemplates its role in a closer partnership with DoD health care it
will necessarily make decisions and take actions with long-term
consequences. These decisions and actions must be based on a thorough,
rigorous, yet timely evaluation of the relevant facts. Driving that
process calls for strength and discipline, but also processes rooted
analytically. Though I will not claim to be the tonic for entrenched
culture, I have been in institutions of strong culture and I have
witnessed and participated in both successes and failures to produce
change. I bring the wisdom of this experience. Lastly, I have the habit
of rigorous follow up and attention to metrics. These are the basis of
producing current performance, e.g. producing in accordance with and at
the direction of a strategic plan, following budgets, and producing on-
time performance. Management is about clear goals, even clearer
metrics, and the doggedness to attain both.
My management style is also one of informed action. As I mentioned,
I would develop a structure that is inclusive and internally critical.
The structure would also be based in action and not support long delays
when decisions vital to service delivery are at stake. I believe my
style is ideally suited to this position, and in support of the
Secretary Principi's priorities.
Question 5. Did your training as a fighter pilot prepare you for
this assignment? Can such training prepare one to prod and fight
bureaucratic inertia? Do people who seek out the job of F-14 pilot--
people of action, I should think--have the disposition to spend their
days pushing against a bureaucracy like VA's?
Answer. Lessons learned in the cockpit and, especially in carrier
flying, are useful in management: discipline, performance, and
judgment. Management and leadership are active vocations and require
people of action to succeed at them. The Secretary and I intend to lead
the Department of Veterans Affairs actively, and to meet its myriad
challenges. I think that requires a disposition not unlike that of a
fighter pilot.
The VA operates under strict rules as a government agency, but I do
not believe it is an insurmountable bureaucracy. The VA employs many
motivated and talented people who are ready for action. Together I
believe we can effect continued improvement in the Department.
Question 6. How did your training at Harvard prepare you for this
job? Did your scholarly work assessing the United States strategic
policy give you any training for this? Did your course work focus on
systems or business processes analysis, or similar disciplines, that
would serve you well at the VA?
Answer. In my academic training at Harvard, I studied public
management as one of my fields for the doctorate. As well, I studied
organizational implementation and leadership in the master's work. This
work was valuable, primarily, in giving me a framework through which to
view the subsequent years I have spent in large organizations in the
private and public sector. The skills and knowledge acquired in my
education will contribute to my abilities to successfully perform this
job.
Question 7. As you know, the Secretary has more or less staked his
reputation on improving the timeliness and quality of VA's adjudication
system. As someone who proposes to come to VA with business management
experience, please give the Committee your assessment of VA's claims
adjudication system. Based on performance data you have seen, do you
agree with the Secretary that improving timeliness and quality
pertaining to VA claims processing is the principal challenge facing
the VA? What changes would you recommend?
Answer. I agree with the Secretary that the most pressing immediate
challenge is the claims processing backlog. It represents not only a
disservice to the nation's veterans, but it threatens the credibility
of VA as a responsive, productive organization. The ongoing Claims
Processing Advisory Task Force headed by Admiral Cooper is studying
this issue in depth. Its results are anticipated in the August
timeframe. That study will define the parameters of our internal
response to this situation. I look forward to its release and to being
an integral part of its evaluation. Ultimately I intend to bring my
management and business talents to bear in the successful
implementation of the submitted recommendations.
Question 8. Secretary Principi has asked his Claims Processing
Advisory Task Force to focus on proposed reforms that can be
implemented within the bounds of current law. Do you agree that
internal VA operation--not the law VA is entrusted to implement--should
be the focus of the task force? Even so, do you have thoughts or
recommendations on how Congress might modify the law to improve or
streamline VA's claims processing system?
Answer. Internal reform is the focus of the Task Force and the
Department's immediate concern. Once we address issues within our
sphere of influence, we can better turn our attention to other issues,
such as the potential need for legislative reform.
Question 9. In just four years, Congress has increased the maximum
monthly Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) education benefit by some 87 percent.
However, there is some belief--even consensus--that MGIB benefits
should be increased even further. What do you feel the appropriate
benefit level should be?
Answer. I believe that any individual who serves in one of our
military services and who honorably discharges his or her duties,
deserves a viable education benefit. A benefit that would permit a
veteran to cover expenses to attend a four-year public institution is
generally higher than the current MGIB benefit of $650. 1 realize
support for any increase must be balanced with fiscal constraints.
Secretary Principi, with my full support, plans to fully explore all
options for enhancing education benefits as the Department develops a
legislation program in the coming months.
Question 10. I note from your biography that from 1989 until 1993
you studied at Harvard University where you earned both a Master's
degree and a Ph.D. I also noted that, during this time, you were a
Kennedy Fellow and a MacArthur Scholar And I believe, it is true that
you also incurred some student loan debt to finance your graduate
education. One reason--I assume--is because service academy graduates
are not eligible for educational assistance benefits which other
service members can access. Do you think service academy graduates
should be eligible for educational assistance benefits?
Answer. The law provides that an individual who after December 31,
1976, receives a commission as an officer upon graduation from a
service academy is not eligible for MGIB education benefits. I believe
this policy is understood by those service academy graduates accepting
commissions. As the VA evaluates program outcomes and considers
enhancements to the MGIB benefit, the Department may revisit this
issue.
Question 11. If I understand the situation correctly, you incurred
no additional service obligation by attending Harvard because the Navy
did not pay your way. Am I correct?
Answer. I did incur an additional service obligation. I attended
Harvard initially under the Advanced Education Program that provided
for a two year period to complete a degree with no help from the Navy
with tuition or other fees. This was extended for an additional year.
Harvard awarded me a Kennedy Fellowship that provided for all tuition
and fees for the first year. I incurred a personal debt to finance the
second year. Once I advanced to doctoral candidacy the Graduate Prize
Fellowship and Harvard MacArthur Scholarship covered all fees
associated with attending the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and
with being a Fellow at the Center for Science and International
Affairs. The Navy additional service obligation was 3 for 1 for the
first year and 1 for 1 for additional years. I incurred a five year
additional service obligation. After I left Harvard, I changed my
designator from 1310 (pilot) to 1300 (general unrestricted line) for
reasons I will explain in question 12. Subsequently, I served three
years in two different capacities in which I used my graduate education
while on active duty, what the Navy calls ``payback tours.'' These
tours are generally of only a two year duration. When I applied to
resign my commission in 1995 it was the peak of the draw-down, and the
Navy needed to reduce its 1300 force. I inquired about continuing Navy
service in the Reserves, but the only paid drilling positions were for
medical doctors. While I did not complete the specified duration of
additional service, I did complete more than the usual time of service
in a `payback' tour.
Question 12. Why, following such an obviously outstanding Navy
career, did you choose to leave active duty services after 12 years?
Can you provide the Committee with any insights on how the Navy--and
the other branches--can prevent the premature departure of outstanding
young officers like yourself?
Answer. My reasons for leaving the Navy were basically personal
although the effects of the post-Cold War downturn contributed to my
exit from active duty. I grew up wanting nothing more than to be a Navy
pilot. By God's grace, I achieved that dream. In fact, I had an
excellent experience in my first squadron. We won battle efficiency and
safety awards, cruised in two oceans and the Mediterranean Sea, and
forged lifetime friendships. That said, I also harbored other
interests--namely in public policy and business. My time at Harvard
stoked those interests. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, I
met my wife, Heather, at Harvard. Heather spent her entire childhood
and adolescence on the edge of a farm, and had no experience of the
Navy life with its separation and other hardships (my previous marriage
had ended in divorce when six of our first seven months of marriage
were spent with me at sea). I simply became interested in things
outside the Navy and I chose not to subject my wife and children to the
rigors of service life. Additionally, the effects of the post-Cold War
draw-down on the force were obvious: smaller fleets, older planes,
fewer ships covering the same expansive deployments. The fleet of 1992
was not the same as the one I joined in 1983, and neither was I.
Accordingly, in 1992 I changed my designator from pilot (1310) to
general unrestricted line (1300) and, while continuing to serve,
purposed to pursue the earliest opportunity to resign my active-duty
commission. I still retain a deep love and commitment to the Navy. I
have served on Senator Hutchison's selection committee for the service
academies, been a trustee of the Naval Academy's Alumni Association,
and, as an outside expert, helped critique drafts of the Navy's current
Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) submission. In brief, my reasons for
leaving the service had to do mainly with me, but the effects of the
draw-down also contributed.
Question 13. I am concerned about reports that many of VA's Health
Administration Network or ``VISN'' offices are becoming ``staff
heavy.'' I am concerned because bloated bureaucracy diverts needed
health care resources from hospital centers where veterans receive the
services that they need. Do you believe that a review of the staffing
levels at the network offices would be an appropriate activity for the
Deputy Secretary? Will you conduct such a review?
Answer. VA is actively involved in monitoring organizational and
staffing changes. The Executive Resources Board in VHA approves all new
senior executive service (SES) and GS-15 positions both at the facility
and VISN level and, the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health
approves all VISN organizational charts and increases in GS-14, GS-15,
and SES ceilings at the VISN level. VA determined that an assessment of
organizational effectiveness should be conducted to promote best
practices and to decide if additional guidelines are needed.
A VA taskforce to review field organization structures was convened
on May 11, 2001 with a report due in 90 days. As Deputy Secretary, I
intend to closely monitor this initiative and work with the taskforce
and VHA management to ensure that resources are appropriately directed
to serve our veteran patient population as efficiently as possible.
Question 14. Last year, VA central office provided supplemental
funding to four of VA's 22 health care networks because they were not
able to get through the year with the funding allocation they were
originally assigned. Do you see a funding allocation problem here? Or
do you see a mismanagement issue here? Will you work with the Chief
Network Officer to monitor the progress of these networks to assure
they operate successfully this year without diverting funding from
other networks?
Answer. I do not believe that the presence of four VISNs coming in
for supplemental funding in FY2001 clearly indicates that there is a
funding problem or mismanagement. No allocation model is 100 percent
perfect. Every model, especially one so new, has a certain margin of
error or variance. The key is to identify the issues and minimize the
magnitude of variance.
VA continuously reviews the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation
(VERA) model for potential improvements. As Deputy Secretary, I expect
to stay engaged and have a voice in future adjustments and corrections
to this model.
Question 15. ``One VA'' has been a rhetorical trade mark of
speeches by VA officials for many years now. Yet, there still seems to
be--to understate the issue just a bit--some residual coordination
issues that VA's three major subagencies (VHA, VBA and NCA) have yet to
resolve. Do you believe that the line authority position you hope to
occupy could play a role in assisting these three organizations in
their efforts to make the ``One VA'' vision a reality? More directly,
do you see yourself--as Deputy Secretary--as having sufficient
authority over VA's three Under Secretaries to force them to move
toward actual fulfillment of the ``One VA ``philosophy?
Answer. I don't believe the issue of furthering the ``One VA''
philosophy is one of authority, but rather one of leadership.
Collaborative efforts, like the VA Enterprise Architecture initiative,
bring together senior leaders from throughout the VA to develop
solutions that cross administration lines with service and access for
veterans as their ultimate goal. In my support of the Secretary's
vision, I hope to identify other opportunities for such collaboration
and corporate success. The ``One VA'' philosophy, in pursuit of
providing seamless, quality service to veterans, without being confined
by internal departmental lines, will be the trademark of this
administration, regardless of what it is called.
Question 16. Do you have any conflicts of interest which you have
not fully disclosed to the Committee or do you know of any other matter
which, if known to the Committee, might affect the Committee's
recommendation to the Senate with respect to your nomination?
Answer. No.
Question 17. Have you fully and accurately provided financial and
other information requested by the Committee, and do you now affirm
that that information is complete, accurate, and provided in a form not
designed to evade?
Answer. Yes.
Question 18. Do you agree to supply the Committee such non-
privileged information, materials, and documents as may be requested by
the Committee in its oversight and legislative capacities for so long
as you serve in the position for which you now seek confirmation?
Answer. Yes.
Question 19. Do you agree to appear before the Committee at such
times and concerning such matters as the Committee might request for so
long as you serve in the position for which you now seek confirmation?
Answer. Yes.
Chairman Specter. Senator Nelson, would you care to make
any opening statement?
Senator Nelson. First of all, I want to thank you for the
opportunity to speak. And in the spirit of brevity today, I
would like to say that I am very impressed with the quality of
the nominees before us. In each and every case, I think you
bring the right kind of experience and certainly the right kind
of background to be able to do your jobs. I am looking forward
to passing favorably on your nominations as soon as we have
that opportunity. Thank you very much.
But one question I do have for Dr. Mackay, and maybe for
others as well. In Nebraska, because it is a geographically
challenged State in terms of distance from major locations to
the rural part of the State, we have had some experiences where
two rural inpatient hospitals in Nebraska were closed in recent
years, and also, veterans from the western part of the State
are forced to travel all the way to Omaha for care. That may
not seem like quite a distance, but it is as far from the
western edge of Nebraska to Omaha as it is from Omaha to
Chicago. So it is a journey that requires considerable time and
inconvenience. I hope that you will think about the provision
of services to these individuals in the rural areas as you
encounter your responsibilities and that we will find
satisfactory arrangements to continue to provide where we can
convenient as well as quality medical services and other
services to these individuals.
As you get into your positions, I hope that you will make a
concerted effort to do that, but also be able to get back to me
and assure me, specifically on Nebraska, as well as other
States, but particularly on Nebraska what your plans are to
make sure that the services are provided in an accessible
manner for the veterans in Nebraska.
Chairman Specter. Thank you very much, Senator Nelson.
Dr. Mackay, what do you seek to accomplish as Deputy
Secretary of the Veterans Administration if you are confirmed?
And address that question in the context of your reasons for
leaving your current important position to take on this new
job.
Mr. Mackay. Yes, sir. Senator, you raise a very good point.
I came to Washington and spent time with Secretary Principi.
There are a number of challenges in front of the Department
with regard to information technology, the backlog in benefit
claims processing, forging a close coordinating relationship
with the DoD health care system while retaining the special
character of the VA health care system, challenges that are
well known to you. I think that by dint of experience and
management capabilities that I can contribute to that. And I
also think that the veterans community requires and needs the
kind of services that are provided by VBA and VHA.
Chairman Specter. Do you have any insights or experience
with the veterans community which you believe require action or
correction by the Department of Veterans Affairs?
Mr. Mackay. No, sir, I do not. What I have is a bit of
track record of working with organizations facing challenges.
Chairman Specter. Do you have any specific challenges in
mind for service to veterans? To put it differently or more
expansively, do you know anything about the duties of the
Veterans Administration which gives you some special pause or
some special concern about what is going on, things you would
like to correct, see improved?
Mr. Mackay. Yes, sir. The list that I started out with and
I started this answer with respect to some of the IT
challenges, the benefit backlog, those are areas where I think
we are----
Chairman Specter. What do you know about the backlog, Dr.
Mackay?
Mr. Mackay. I know that it is large and that our processing
times are expanding.
Chairman Specter. Do you have any ideas as to how to deal
with that problem?
Mr. Mackay. Specifically, at this time, no. But I have been
taking briefings, educating myself about the dimensions of the
problem.
Chairman Specter. What other problems do you look forward
to tackling if confirmed?
Mr. Mackay. If confirmed, I think that there is some
potential to do a lot of beneficial cooperation in close
coordination with the DoD health care system.
Chairman Specter. Such as what? What would you like to see
accomplished?
Mr. Mackay. In areas of data sharing, I think that there
are beneficial coordination that can be made. I think that----
Chairman Specter. Data sharing?
Mr. Mackay. Yes, sir.
Chairman Specter. What kind of data would you like to
share? What I am trying to get at, Dr. Mackay, is how much do
you know about this job? How much do you know about the sort of
problems you will be facing? I ask this to give you an
opportunity to give us some insight as to your level of
interest, your level of experience, and your best projection as
to what you could accomplish.
Mr. Mackay. Senator, at this time, one of the things that I
bring is an outsider's perspective. I know the general
dimensions of some of the problems. I have----
Chairman Specter. Quite a few people, Dr. Mackay, would
bring an outsider's perspective. That would not be a hard
perspective to acquire. What we are looking for is what you
know and what you can hit the ground running with, so to speak.
Mr. Mackay. One area that Secretary Principi and I have
discussed is in budgetary areas, in running through the budget
cycle and making sure the priorities of this administration are
reflected in the spending of the budget, in the day to day
general management of the Department.
Chairman Specter. Tell us a little bit about your prior
relationship with Secretary Principi.
Mr. Mackay. Actually, I have no prior relationship with him
before we met in the January timeframe when I sat down with him
and discussed the dimensions of this job.
Chairman Specter. What was the background of your selection
by the administration to be Deputy? My red light is on, so this
is my last question.
Mr. Mackay. I am not privy to the inner-workings. I was
solicited for my resume and background material in connection
with----
Chairman Specter. You just got a call to send in your
resume and background material?
Mr. Mackay. Yes, sir, from a political contact in Texas.
Chairman Specter. Senator Rockefeller?
Senator Rockefeller. Dr. Mackay, you have a terrific
background, but you are going to have to do a lot better than
what you have done so far to convince us why you think that you
deserve this job. Somebody, a political contact, called you up.
I have served in two branches of the executive branch of
government, but you do not just say I am glad to be here, I am
honored to serve. Your testimony is, if I might say so with all
due respect, kind of a cliche. It is just about how happy you
are, how proud you are, and how much you look forward to
working with the Secretary.
Who do you think ought to be the chief operating officer of
the Department of Veterans Affairs?
Mr. Mackay. Someone with----
Senator Rockefeller. Who?
Mr. Mackay. Me, Senator Rockefeller.
Senator Rockefeller. Well, then, say that. Say that.
Mr. Mackay. I think I should be the chief operating officer
and Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Senator Rockefeller. But why did you not say that before?
In other words, the chairman was trying to elicit from you some
sense of intensity about 220,000 employees and you are going to
be the No. 2 person; and you said you worry about the benefit
backlog and all the things that we all worry about, but you did
not talk about the most important thing of all, either in your
testimony or in your statement, until I forced it out of you,
saying that you are going to run the Department. The Secretary
is going to worry about policy and you will be subject to his
orders, but I assume you are going to be in his face when you
think he is wrong. Will you?
Mr. Mackay. Yes, sir. Very definitely.
Senator Rockefeller. But nothing that you have said gives
that indication. I am perplexed by this and already disturbed
by it, because you seem to be intelligent and gentle, but not
laser-like. You cannot do this job, nobody can do this job
unless they have a brutal intensity. There was a fellow named
Derwinski who was fired from the job because he made a decision
that was very unpopular with the veteran service organizations.
But at least he made a decision. I guess I want you to tell me
how you are going to be the chief operating officer, how you
are going to run that place. What is the difference between
what you do and what Secretary Principi does?
Mr. Mackay. I will concentrate on the day to day
management, specifically in forcing decisions up to the
policymaking level, which is where the Secretary and I are,
decisions about budgets, about programs, about business process
redesign, decisions about an over-arching IT scheme that will
forge the VA from a VHA and a VBA and other culture into one
unified single whole that is wholly dedicated to providing the
kinds of benefits and services that the taxpayers of this
country pay to have provided. I will look for places where
there are inefficiencies, places where there is waste, places
where we are not performing to the standards that are
appropriate in procurement.
Perhaps I had misinterpreted or misled you on who I am and
what I can do. Believe me, Senator Rockefeller, I am intense, I
am focused, I am a general manager of the first rank, and I can
do this job.
Senator Rockefeller. I am glad to hear that. I am just
sorry that I had to get you a little bit annoyed in order to
get you to say that. This is the second largest department of
the Federal Government, second only to the Pentagon. It is a
health care system with a budget, a health care system and a
benefit system which is destined to not be able to do what it
needs to do. And it needs not only a very good top guy,
Principi, but it needs a really, really good chief operating
officer. You did not indicate that in your written statement,
you did not indicate that in your testimony, you did not
indicate that in answer to the chairman's questions, but you
did indicate that finally when the chairman and I conspired and
agreed on the deficiencies in your presentation. And now you
have come out and you have said something which is pretty
useful.
Do you understand what the VA is like? Do you understand
the frustrations in that? Do you understand what a bureaucracy
it is?
Mr. Mackay. Yes, sir, I do.
Senator Rockefeller. And with the chairman's indulgence,
could you just please tell me once again why you are, by nature
and by experience, suited to be tough enough, intense enough,
mean enough, and strong enough to stand up to anybody that you
have to to get your job done in the way that it needs to be. In
a way, the chief operating officer, in my judgment, is the most
important position in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Mr. Mackay. Other than my track record, because we have no
prior knowledge of one another, I can point to no other record
but my record of success. I can assure you, however, that it is
my only goal to succeed in this job, to bring to the Department
of Veterans Affairs the kind of focus that a sprawling
bureaucracy, as you pointed out, needs in order to coalesce
around a single mission, and to deliver in a coordinated
fashion the kinds of services, benefits that our veterans
deserve.
I am in an organization that faces some of the same
challenges now at Bell. We had a large hiring boom, kind of the
pig and the python effect, in the Vietnam War. We produced a
lot of the H-1 series aircraft. Those people are now leaving.
We are ramping up to build the tilt-rotor series aircraft. We
have huge challenges with regard to the acquisition of a work
force with the proper skills and motivation to put in a career
to build those aircraft. We have expanded with a brand new
facility in Amarillo. I have seen this kind of organization.
I have been in the other great bureaucracy, as you pointed
out, the Pentagon. I have had some experience in trying to get
that bureaucracy to move in the nuclear review of 1994.
I have experience both in the private sector and in the
public sector with organizations that are struggling with these
self same issues. And I commit to you here and now and before
these witnesses that I will be the tough, no nonsense, day-to-
day manager of this Department, in partnership with Secretary
Principi, who has the vision, the experience and the leadership
to lead this Department. I will be his right hand. We will
forge a partnership. And if I am confirmed, that is the job I
will do for you and for the taxpayers and veterans in our
country, Senator Rockefeller.
Senator Rockefeller. OK. Mr. Chairman, my time is up for
the moment. I do not know if we are going to have a second
round or not, but I thank you.
Chairman Specter. Senator Nelson?
Senator Nelson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dr. Mackay, I
think you are probably getting a sense here that people know
that you are smart enough, you are experienced enough, and now
you are in the process of telling us you are tough enough to do
the job.
I think the reason that the Senators are asking questions
that would get to the point of being tough enough is that very
often veterans are fighting all kinds of odds working against
them--for funding, for benefits, for access to care. They need
to know, and I think we need to know, that somebody is going to
be there on a day-to-day basis fighting that fight, making
certain that every effort is made, that must be made to make
sure the benefits and the services are available. I think that
is what this is all about.
I am sure it has to be a little bit frustrating and you
feel like you are being roughed up. But I think the whole point
here is just to make sure that when the chips are all down that
we know and the veterans know that you are going to be there
fighting for them, you are going to be working for them in
every way possible. I think that is what this is really all
about.
That is why I made just a general statement with sort of an
over-arching concern about can we count on all of you, but
particularly the chief operating officer of the agency, to make
certain that these services are accessible and that every
effort is made to be sure that they are available to people in
rural areas, in particular. Because if you think that we are
just worried about whether the agency will be tough enough for
veterans overall, my worry is even stronger, can we be tough
enough for the veterans in rural areas that have even more
special challenges.
Having enough resources, of course, is a problem for
everybody in the veterans organizations. But it is even a
greater challenge when you are from a rural State to be sure
that that is the case. As a matter of fact, to give you an
example of some numbers, the consolidations that are going on
and the closing of rural hospitals, I do not have the
statistics for 2000, but in 1999 29,500 veterans sought care in
Nebraska, which was a 17 percent increase over the previous
year and one of the highest growth rates in the Nation. People
in Nebraska live longer. That is the good news. But as veterans
live longer, they have less access to services. This will
continue over the next several years as the pig and the python
example is used to say this is what is going to happen when the
Vietnam veterans actually come through the system as well. Yet,
the policy seems to have been that there are fewer veterans
coming into the system, therefore, we can reduce the number of
opportunities for service, or that because we are losing a
certain number of World War II veterans every year, that the
number of veterans may be going down. But, in fact, the access
requirement is going to be even greater as time goes by.
I guess I am explaining what my colleagues might be doing,
at least from my perspective.
Mr. Mackay. Yes, Senator. The issue is, as I understand it,
not just the size of the veterans community but that the
demographics are changing. The ways we deliver services are
changing. The big change is with VHA going from inpatient
hospital-based to community-based services is one. And it
certainly is of a piece with getting out into the community
making health care more available. We are also looking at
infrastructure restructuring. That will be another thing that
will be uppermost in my mind as we restructure our
infrastructure both in the VBA and the VHA is to provide access
to veterans where they are as our demographics change and as we
change the types of service that we give in accordance with the
Millennium Health Care Act and other things that are coming.
Senator Nelson. I see my time is up. I guess I would say it
this way. I trust you to be tough enough, but I will also
verify. I want to make sure that when it is appropriate you are
going to pound on the table to fight for veterans.
Chairman Specter. Senator Rockefeller has one more
question.
Senator Rockefeller. Actually, one and a half, Mr.
Chairman. How many people have you fired, Dr. Mackay?
Mr. Mackay. Senator, I have never totaled it up, but I
would think it is in the region of about a dozen, maybe a dozen
and a half.
Senator Rockefeller. OK. Second, you mentioned the
Millennium Act. There has not been any attention paid to long-
term care in this country since the passage of Medicaid. So the
result is either that you have to be very, very rich, like
Senator Specter----
[Laughter.]
Senator Rockefeller [continuing]. Or you have to be on
Medicaid, like Senator Nelson----
[Laughter.]
Senator Rockefeller [continuing]. To get long-term care.
Otherwise, you do not get it. And nobody has ever seemed to
take any interest in what I consider to be one of the two great
unresolved health care problems of this country.
In the very Millennium Act which you mentioned, we changed
that and we gave long-term care on a noninstitutional basis to
certain veterans. That was a good year and a half, 2 years ago,
and it has not been implemented. And it has not been
implemented because the VA was very slow on the rules and
regulations, and then the President came in and abolished all
rules and regulations that had been previously submitted. That
is not something that I expect you to know about, but it is
something I really do expect you to care about because that was
a promise made to veterans, done for good reason, done in
conference. It is a huge step. It is the first time long-term
care has been done in any way by this Government in 36 years to
help the American people, in this case the American veterans.
So this is the kind of thing where if the White House is
being slow on reacting, if the VA is being slow in writing the
rules and regulations on long-term care which veterans were
voted by the Congress to have, funded by the Congress to have,
and do not have at least a year and a half later, I think that
is outrageous and it is something that I hope that you would
see as an outrage and is the kind of thing that you would
pounce on. I do not expect you to know that now. But I do
expect you to know it next week.
Mr. Mackay. Yes, sir. That is fair.
Senator Rockefeller. Thank you.
Chairman Specter. Dr. Mackay, as you see from our concerns,
there has to be a certain level of intensity, passion for
governmental service generally, but especially for the Veterans
Administration which has so many problems and such heavy
responsibilities. Your record suggests that you are a quick
study. This committee has oversight functions and will be
watching.
There are 14 questions that I have which are going to be
submitted to you. We would appreciate your having them in no
later than, say, Monday morning.
The committee would like to have a report from you within
60 days on the 10 key problems which you have identified in the
Veterans Administration and what action you propose to address
them. Senator Rockefeller has posed one of the key issues, that
of long-term care, but there are many, many others. I think 60
days ought to give you time enough to at least identify and get
a start on the proposed solutions.
[The information referred to follows:]
issue 1: processing of veterans claims for benefits provided through
the department of veterans affairs
Problem:
The Department of Veterans Affairs has a growing backlog of claims
pending. For example, during the three-month period from November 24,
2000, to February 23, 2001, the inventory of pending claims grew from
329,278 to 459,572. As of May 2001, the Veterans Benefits
Administration (VBA) has 515,768 Compensation and Pension (C&P) claims
pending nationwide; on average it is taking 179 days to process C&P
claims. Much of the current backlog is attributed to passage of Public
Law 106-475, which instituted the ``Duty to Assist'' requirement. That
Public Law requires VBA to readjudicate 98,000 claims that had
previously been denied under the old claims standards based on
decisions rendered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. In
addition to the number of claims that must be readjudicated, VBA
expects 35,000 claims for presumptive service connection for diabetes
Type II resulting from exposure to Agent Orange.
Plan for resolving problem:
Secretary Anthony J. Principi has identified this problem as one of
the top issues that needs to be corrected. In addition to acknowledging
the extent and nature of the problem, he has directed senior management
to develop strategies for dealing with the problem.
VBA has undertaken an aggressive claims inventory reduction plan.
The plan began in late March when the average processing time for C&P
claims was 185 days; the May 2001 processing time has now decreased to
179 days. VBA is planning to conduct centralized training for 1,349 FTE
by October 2001--this is the first time national training has occurred.
VBA will implement National Performance standards on October 1, 2001.
In April 2001, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs established the
Claims Processing Task Force (the Task Force) to assess and critique
the VBA organization, management and processes. As part of their
charge, the Task Force will develop recommendations and propose actions
to increase efficiency, shrink the backlog and reduce processing time.
The Task Force has been charged to develop immediate, intermediate and
longer-term solutions, which can be accomplished through policy,
operational and regulatory changes and which will not require
legislative action.
On June 18, 2001, the Under Secretary for Benefits instructed all
VBA Regional Offices and Centers to implement interim recommendations
made by the Task Force. To ensure that the recommendations of the Task
Force are implemented consistently throughout the organization,
conference calls will be held and work will be reviewed during site
visits. The Task Force will deliver its final report and full
recommendations to the Secretary later this summer.
As Deputy Secretary, it is my responsibility to ensure that the
Secretary's directives are carried out. This involves establishment of
goals and objectives and review of measuring devices to track
achievement. As the Claims Processing Task Force develops
recommendations and proposes actions, I will be involved in integrating
these into the management requirements of the Veterans Benefits
Administration and other relevant elements of the Department. This
integration will include defining time lines for measurement of
progress.
One further effort, which I will undertake, is to ensure that the
total resources of all VA administrations and offices needed to correct
this problem are identified and applied.
issue 2: procurement reform
Background:
The Department contracts annually for over $5.5 billion in goods
and services.
VA's Office of Acquisition and Materiel Management (OA&MM) provides
program planning, guidance, policy and oversight for VA's contracting
officers throughout the Department. In addition, OA&MM provides
centralized acquisition support for most information technology,
pharmaceutical, high tech medical equipment, consulting, prime vendor,
and nursing home contracts and for VA-administered Federal Supply
Schedule (FSS) contracts. VA administers the leveraged purchase of
approximately $1.5 billion annually for VA and DoD pharmaceuticals.
Each medical center has a local purchasing and contracting office
that buys against national contracts (VA and FSS) and awards local
contracts. Authorized individuals in VA facilities use the Government-
wide purchase cards to make local purchases costing below the micro-
purchase threshold ($2,500). In excess of 90 percent of all VA
acquisitions are below the micro-purchase threshold, and 95 percent of
those are accomplished using the card.
Public Law 100-322, Section 8125, restricts local procurement of
health care items to no more than 20 percent of the total healthcare
procurement. For the past five years, VA has reported local procurement
well below 20 percent; however, some purchase card transactions may not
be included with the data.
Problem:
Past acquisition issues that have been raised throughout Government
and in GAO and IG reports include Performance-Based Contracting,
pricing safeguards, adequacy of the acquisition work force, and work
force training and competency. In addition, the Senate Governmental
Affairs Committee is conducting a review of how procurement reforms of
the 1990's, such as the 1994 Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act and
the 1996 Clinger-Cohen Act have been used by agencies.
Plan to resolve problem:
Secretary Principi has chartered a task force to review all facets
of VA's acquisition system and to make specific recommendations that
will optimize that system. The task force is charged with completing
their review and developing their recommendations within 120 days.
Once we have the task force's recommendations, I will be
responsible for ensuring that needed changes are communicated to the
appropriate people in responsible positions in the Department. A
preliminary review shows that VA is well-positioned to effect
procurement reform within the Department and to participate in Federal
acquisition reform.
VA is bringing its acquisition work force into compliance with the
Clinger-Cohen Act. Our acquisition training program consists of eleven
core acquisition courses and supplemental and continuing education. We
have a contracting excellence program and an online university.
Recently established, the Center for Acquisition and Materiel
Management Education Online (CAMEO) allows online course registration
and training at the desktop of all acquisition personnel and will
collect training records in one database.
Senators Thompson and Lieberman of the Governmental Affairs
Committee have asked GAO to determine if recommendations in a 2000
Defense Department report (Shaping the Civilian Acquisition Work force
of the Future) could be applied to civilian agencies. VA is proud that
many of the report recommendations are already in place in OA&MM.
issue 3: va/dod functional alignment
Problem:
As resources for the provision of health care to members of the
active duty military, veterans and their families are constrained, the
call for review of possible sharing opportunities between DoD and VA
healthcare organizations has increased.
Plan to resolve problem:
We need to improve review of existing sharing opportunities in the
areas of procurement, data sharing, IT systems, and integrated service
delivery needs. Executive leadership from VA and DoD have been meeting
for several years to improve and expand sharing. Dr. Garthwaite
recently testified before the House Armed Services Committee (HASC)
Subcommittee and noted barriers and challenges that impede VA and DoD
coordination including budgeting processes, timely billing, cost
accounting, information technology, and reimbursement.
The Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans Transition Assistance
(chaired by Secretary Principi) made a series of recommendations in the
January 1999 report related to VA and DoD activities. Specifically, the
Commission identified a number of issues and made recommendations to:
Restructure budget, appropriations, and policy processes
to increase healthcare delivery;
Use combined purchasing power for medical products;
Coordinate medical research;
Leverage information to strengthen VA/DoD partnership;
Improve cost accounting to improve resource utilization;
Increase VA use of DoD's TRICARE;
Review how VA and DoD conduct graduate medical education;
Streamline the disability physical evaluation process; and
Coordinate information management.
One of the requirements of the Capital Asset Realignment for
Enhanced Services (CARES) process is to assess VA/DoD sharing
opportunities. Expanded VA/DoD sharing is recommended in each of the
four options being considered for Chicago area facilities under Phase 1
of CARES.
In recent months, congressional and executive branch interest in
issues related to VA/DoD functional alignment has increased
significantly, especially as it pertains to the sharing of resources
between the two departments. Staff members from the House Veterans
Affairs Committee (HVAC) and House Armed Services Committee (HASC) have
traveled during the year to VA and DoD facilities to assess missions,
infrastructure and facility needs, and workload and capacity (both
present and future.) Staff have visited or received briefings about
facilities in Charleston, SC; Los Angeles, CA; Fayetteville NC, Las
Vegas, NV; San Antonio, TX; El Paso, TX; San Diego, CA; Albuquerque,
NM; Chicago, IL; and the Washington DC area. HVAC staff hope to
complete a staff report early this summer on their findings. HVAC and
HASC staff are developing legislation that will likely require VA and
DoD to plan to jointly provide health care at selected sites.
On Memorial Day, the President announced the creation of a task
force to improve the way VA and DoD work together to provide health
care. The taskforce's goals are to improve access to veterans benefits
and strengthen VA/DoD partnerships for healthcare services. The task
force will study budgeting processes, billing, reimbursement,
procurement of supplies and services, data sharing and information
technology. The task force has nine months from its first meeting to
give the President an interim report. The final report is due at the
end of the second year of operation.
VA will continue to review existing situations for opportunities to
expand our sharing agreements. We will continue meetings at the senior
management level as appropriate. I will continue to oversee ongoing
efforts and make every effort to promote further discussion and
information exchange at my level. As the two departmental leaders,
Secretary Principi and Secretary Rumsfeld continue discussions, and as
the Presidential Task Force issues reports and recommendations, we will
follow-up at VA and with our DoD counterparts.
issue 4: departmental governance
Problem:
To ensure that a major cabinet Agency with over 200,000 employees
and multiple administrations and staff offices establishes a process
and procedures by which the development of recommendations for the
Secretary regarding policy, planning, budgeting, and management issues
are formulated, implemented and monitored.
Plan to resolve problem:
In consultation with the Secretary, we have established a decision-
making process to incorporate the Administrations, offices, agencies,
boards, or other sub-units of the Department. The process creates two
new entities, the VA Executive Board (VAEB) and the Strategic
Management Council (SMC).
The VA Executive Board is the Department's senior management forum
and is chaired by the Secretary. VAEB's mission is to review, discuss
and through the decisions of the Secretary, provide direction on
Departmental policy, strategic direction, resource allocation, and
performance in key areas. VAEB implements its responsibilities by
reviewing and approving proposals for new or revised policies.
The Strategic Management Council is chaired by the Deputy Secretary
and serves as the operational management body for the Department. It
has a broader membership and will be responsible for reviewing all
major policy and management issues, assessing options, and making
recommendations to the Secretary through the VAEB. The Council's
mission is to review, discuss, and provide recommendations to the
Secretary through the VAEB on Department-wide policy, strategic
direction, resource allocation, and performance in key areas. The SMC
oversees the implementation of the Department's Strategic Management
Process. The SMC implements its responsibilities by:
Reviewing proposals for new or revised policies, with or
without financial implications, from VHA, VBA, NCA, staff offices,
program offices, individuals, work groups, task forces, committees,
etc. It also reviews the Department's Strategic Plan and other major
management documents required by legislation, the annual budget
submission, the annual legislative program, the prioritized list of
capital investment proposals, and human resource plans and proposals.
Assuring proposals and issues are fully developed and
debated prior to review by the VAEB; and
Forwarding recommendations to the Secretary through the
VAEB.
I believe that the process will provide the mechanism to ensure
fair and effective departmental governance. My responsibility will be
to ensure that the senior management echelon of the Department works
through this new process. Also, we must ensure that the decisions
reached are communicated to all of our employees, and that they
understand and accept the decisions reached. This will allow us to more
completely carry out our mission of assisting veterans, their
dependents, and survivors.
issue 5: efficient use of capital assets for healthcare
Problem:
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has moved from a hospital-
based health care system to an integrated delivery system that
emphasizes a full continuum of care, and Veterans Health
Administration's infrastructure was designed and built decades ago for
an older style of medicine, and for a younger population with different
geographic concentrations of veterans. As a result, VHA's capital
assets often do not align with current health care needs for optimal
quality, efficiency and access. Moreover, the cost to maintain and
operate VA health care facilities that cannot provide efficient and
accessible services substantially diminishes resources that could
otherwise be used to provide better care in more appropriate settings.
A March 1999 GAO Report concluded that VHA could significantly reduce
funds used to operate and maintain its capital infrastructure by
developing and implementing market-based plans for restructuring
assets.
Plan to resolve problem:
The Department of Veterans Affairs has established a program
designated CARES--Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services.
The CARES program will assess veteran health care needs in VHA
Networks, identify service delivery options to meet those needs in the
future, and guide the realignment and allocation of capital assets to
support the delivery of health care services. CARES will, thereby,
improve quality as measured by access and veteran satisfaction, and
improve the delivery of health care in the most accessible and cost-
effective manner, while maximizing positive influences and minimizing
any adverse impacts on staffing and communities and on other Department
of Veterans Affairs' missions.
VA embarked on its CARES initiative to ensure that its capital
infrastructure would meet veteran's needs for health care services in
2010 and beyond. CARES is a program that will assess veteran's health
care needs, identify service delivery options to meet those needs in
the future, and guide the realignment and allocation of capital assets
to support the delivery of health care services. CARES teams work at
the network level to develop options for restructuring based on
consistent, objective criteria to ensure a cost-effective healthcare
system. Those criteria include;
Demographics: Determine the number and health care needs
of veterans in the market areas of the networks
Sites: Maximize accessibility to veterans where they live
Health care quality: Measure veterans' satisfaction
Future direction of health care: Take into account new
technologies and modern systems of health care delivery
Functions: Analyze facility capacity and array of programs
for special disability groups
Work force and community assets: Availability in the
market area
Support other VA missions: VA must continue to support
research, sharing agreements with DoD, education, and One VA
initiatives
Resources: VA should achieve optimal use of resources.
The implementation of the final results of CARES process reviews
will be a realignment of facilities intended to provide veterans better
access to improved care in more efficient settings. It is my goal to
ensure that we use the resources we are provided to deliver the best
possible health care to those eligible veterans in a patient-focused
system that optimizes outpatient care integrated in a full continuum of
care.
At the present time, the Department is conducting a pilot CARES
study in a single Veterans Integrated Service Network to validate the
process and ensure that it will be an efficient, timely and productive
process to be used over the balance of the VA facilities nationwide. It
will be one of my responsibilities to ensure that a full review of the
process is completed and that necessary changes to the process are
incorporated as we move forward.
issue 6: transition to performance based budgeting
Background:
The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, P.L. 103-62,
also called ``the Results Act,'' or GPRA, encourages greater
efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in federal spending, and
requires agencies to set goals and to use performance measures for
management and, ultimately, for budgeting.
The Department transmitted to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) and to Congress long-range strategic plans, beginning in 1997,
which are updated every three to five years, and annual performance
plans and performance goals that began with the FY 1999 budget. The
Department's first performance reports, comparing actual performance to
goals, was submitted in 2000 (for FY 1999) and in 2001 (for FY 2000).
Problem:
The problem we face is explained by the following quote from the
Administration's FY 2002 Budget Request:
The initial years of GPRA implementation have focused on
developing a performance management framework, accompanied by a
growing increase in the use of this performance information to
support budget decisions. However, a systematic integration of
budgeting with program performance has yet to occur, and GPRA
has not been fully harnessed to improve management and
managerial accountability. Bringing about a better linkage
between performance and budget information will be a priority
of this Administration. As a first step, department and agency
heads have been directed to ensure that their 2002 Performance
Plans, which will be submitted to Congress in April, also
include performance goals for Presidential initiatives and for
Government-wide and agency-specific reform proposals.
Plan to resolve problem:
Funding levels and program priorities are typically driven by the
President's budget request, political concerns, and the amount of
funding provided in previous years. GPRA adds another factor: the
performance of agencies in achieving their program outcomes.
The traditional funding debate has been on how much to spend--i.e.,
inputs. The budget is organized by accounts, and further broken down
into various program activities. The accounts reflect the funding units
in appropriation action.
On the other hand, GPRA focuses on ``outcomes''--i.e., government
provided goods and services. Performance plans and reports link
expected results with budget expenditures. Performance budgeting takes
the next step--linking anticipated results to alternative spending
levels.
Performance-based budgeting is only effective if you know the
relationship between the inputs, outputs and outcomes. The only way to
know whether or not a program needs more resources after reviewing
performance information is to be able to understand the relative
contribution of money compared to other factors that contribute to
performance. The relationship between costs and performance is unknown,
however, unless the Department has good information on each.
The Department's most immediate need for successful implementation
of performance-based budgeting is to employ systems that provide
effective cost accounting and accurate performance data on outcomes and
outputs.
In January 2001, leaders of the Senate Committee on Governmental
Affairs and the GAO released the 21 reports in the ``GAO Performance
and Accountability Series and High Risk Updates.'' In a GAO report
(GAO-01-255), entitled ``Major Management Challenges and Program
Risks,'' the Department of Veterans Affairs' performance and
accountability challenges were identified as follows:
Ensure timely and equitable access to quality VA
healthcare;
Maximize VA's ability to provide healthcare within
available resources;
Process veterans' disability claims promptly and
accurately, and
Develop sound agency-wide management strategies to build a
high-performing organization.
In May 2001, the Mercatus Center released a critique of FY 2000
performance reports. For FY 2000, the Department of Veterans Affairs'
performance report scored the highest. (The Department was rated third
in FY 1999.) The ratings were based upon three criteria: transparency,
public benefits, and leadership.
As we go forward, the 2003 budget will include more performance
information and the new strategic plan will integrate detailed
performance and budget data to establish a stronger, more extensive and
public link between the agency budget requests and performance
measurement in the President's budget. We will also be concentrating on
the generation of credible, outcome-focused metrics for Fiscal Year
2002 and subsequent fiscal years budget execution.
issue 7: work force planning
Problem:
The looming Federal personnel crisis has been prominently
publicized in newspapers and periodicals. The average age of the
Federal employee is 46 years old. By 2005, approximately 34 percent of
the Federal work force will be eligible for regular retirement, and 20
percent more will be eligible for early retirement. A worse case
scenario would be that, within the next four years, nearly 1 million
employees could potentially leave the Federal work force. A more likely
scenario, however, is that a few hundred thousand employees will leave
the work force. In any event, the Government needs to have a plan in
place to deal with a large number of departing employees and to plan
work force needs in the future to prevent similar crises.
Plan to resolve problem:
For VA, this means developing a human capital strategy that begins
by planning for and identifying which combination of people, processes,
and technology solutions will best enable VA to fulfill its mission in
the future. I am currently overseeing VA's ongoing initiatives to
address work force planning which are:
Office of Work Force Planning
Established February 2001,
Staffed with a cadre of cross-functional experts
(Management Analyst, Personnel Management Specialist, Employee
Development Specialist, Computer Specialist)
Responsibilities include facilitating the Departmental
work force planning process and assisting the administrations and staff
offices in their work force planning initiatives.
Work Force Planning Executive Steering Committee
Established January 2001.
Membership includes key Department executives in the
administrations and staff offices.
Responsibilities include championing, developing, and
monitoring a One VA work force planning process that will enable
management to determine what kinds of employees and infrastructure are
required to accomplish VA's mission and develop and implement
strategies to meet those needs.
Executive Steering Committee Work Group
Established April 2001.
Membership includes representatives from the
Administrations and Staff Offices.
The purpose is to develop a Departmental Work force Plan
that identifies the Department's commitments to its work force in order
to remain competitive in recruiting, retaining, and developing a top-
quality work force to serve our Nation's veterans and their families.
Departmental Work force Plan
Target date: December 2001. The Plan will:
1. Articulate VA's corporate vision for its work force;
2. Analyze current and future work force needs;
3. Identify specific strategies to address the recruitment,
retention, and development issues within the Department; and
4. Align with the Department's strategic plan in order to ensure
that work force planning efforts support the mission of the Department.
VA Administration Efforts
VHA has established the Succession Planning Committee to
oversee the implementation of a VHA succession plan and a Staffing
Focus Committee to analyze the entire HR function in order to compare
against the Baldrige Criteria and make improvements.
VBA has begun to address leadership development and
training needs; Competency development; technical training;
recruitment; and retention of Veterans Claims Examiner's expertise. NCA
developed a work force plan for its National Cemetery Directors, has
identified competencies for Directors, and is implementing a Cemetery
Director Trainee Program.
Additionally, at the direction of the Secretary we have initiated
efforts to ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs continues and
intensifies its efforts to achieve a work force reflecting the Nation's
diversity.
issue 8: capital asset management
VA's need to efficiently manage and maximize its capital assets, as
well as develop innovative and entrepreneurial methods for achieving
its goals, has become even more critical during this time of dwindling
capital appropriations.
Problem:
The lack of a Department-level capital asset management function
resulted in a fragmented and uncoordinated approach to capital asset
acquisition, management and disposal. The Department has made excellent
strides toward linking its capital acquisitions with strategic planning
through the capital investment process. However, this process focuses
primarily on prioritizing capital acquisition proposals to meet
specific Department goals. The Department does not have a ``Department
Capital Asset Plan'' that will enable VA to fully consider the
financial impacts of its acquisition, management and disposal
strategies on Departmental resources and determine the best suited
financial plan for such strategies.
Plan to resolve problem:
An initial review directed by Secretary Principi has shown the need
for a comprehensive, corporate level, capital asset management function
in the Department of Veterans Affairs. This need has been validated by
VA's internal experiences as well as OMB, GAO and independent
consultants. This was highlighted by a PriceWaterhouseCoopers
independent study, requested by the Under Secretary for Health, which
concluded that the VA, much like private industry, should view its
capital as financial assets. Several task forces, congressional
hearings, and inquiries into VA's lack of capital asset management
arrived at similar findings.
Secretary Principi has implemented a Departmental-level capital
asset functions, the Office of Asset Enterprise Management (OAEM). It
is the principal policy office and business advisor to the Assistant
Secretary for Management regarding the acquisition, management, and
disposal of all Department capital assets and will provide oversight to
ensure a consistent and cohesive Department approach to capital assets.
The new office will first promulgate Department capital asset policy
and set standards for investments, followed by establishment of a
database portfolio of VA's capital assets. The office staff can then
analyze and manage proposals to take full advantage of asset
opportunities.
The OAEM will serve as the Department's advocate for capital
investments with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and
Congress. Development and submission of a long-term Capital Asset Plan
will streamline current interactions with OMB regarding capital issues
by altering our submission to OMB, which currently results in detailed
single project reviews.
issue 9: va's information technology (it) systems
Problem:
Although it currently has over 400 IT legacy systems, the VA lacks
a One-VA information technology architecture that is fully aligned with
its program/business goals which enables data integration and
communication across the department.
Plan to resolve the problem:
Secretary Principi has outlined his position on Information
Technology before a number of congressional committees. He has directed
senior managers to develop an Enterprise Architecture process which
will allow the Department to provide an accessible source of
consistent, reliable, accurate, useful, and secure information. The
system will also provide knowledge to veterans and their families, our
work force and stakeholders to support effective delivery of services
and benefits, enabling effective decision-making and understanding of
our capabilities and accomplishments.
To accomplish this task, a group of senior VA business line and
information technology officials have been meeting in intensive off-
site weekend sessions to develop a strategy that will act as the
roadmap for the Department's transition from its current ``as-is''
state to a target ``to-be'' environment. These transition processes
will include an agency's capital planning and investment control
processes, agency EA planning processes, and agency systems life cycle
methodologies. The EA will define principles and goals and set
direction on such issues as the promotion of interoperability, open
systems, public access, compliance with GPEA, end user satisfaction,
and IT security.
A report to the Secretary from this group is expected in August. In
the interim, the Secretary has directed that no new technology funds be
sought or expended until the plan has been reviewed and accepted.
The Secretary is also reviewing a number of on-going projects and
systems that have faced challenges, including whether VETSNET can
successfully be implemented in a real world environment. An independent
audit is currently being conducted to ascertain whether it can meet
load test requirements. A report will be available in mid-August.
A Senior Executive Service level ``Cyber-Security'' Director
position has been created, and a highly qualified candidate has been
selected to fill the position. He is currently conducting an
independent technical assessment of all of VA's security needs. A
national conference of all VA IT security officials was held this
month.
The VA is also taking active steps to ensure that all future VA IT
acquisitions comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
as recently mandated.
Information and Technology will be a special area for focus in our
new governance process. I will continue to pay particular attention and
work with our senior IT officials to improve the quality and structure
of our program management.
issue 10: va role in national disasters/crises
Problem:
We at VA must recognize the changing nature of both internal and
external threats. And, as we manage our work force and resources, we
must continue to ensure that we are prepared to carry out the
responsibilities assigned us in national plans. This effort requires
constant management oversight and a continuous updating and training of
our personnel.
Plan to resolve problem:
Our staffs initial review has shown that VA uses an all-hazards
Comprehensive Emergency Management approach that includes four phases:
mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. VA's role has focused
around three interrelated efforts:
Critical Infrastructure Protection;
The Emergency Management Program; and
The Response to Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Within the context of each of these programs, VA partners with
other Federal Departments and agencies.
Critical Infrastructure Protection serves to protect the VA
infrastructure from intentional acts that would significantly diminish
our ability to perform our mission of serving veterans. The program
serves to protect four key components: physical assets--consisting of
facilities around the country; patients and staff--including veterans,
employees, contractors and volunteers; telecommunications systems; and
information systems.
VA's Emergency Management Program works with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to ensure that critical functions and operations
continue under all circumstances and under a wide range of possible
threats. Upon Presidential declaration of a major disaster, VA is
prepared to provide support to lead agencies (DoD, American Red Cross,
GSA, and HHS) for emergency support functions relating to public works
and engineering, mass care, resource support, and health and medical
services. Additionally, the Department serves as the primary back-up to
DoD for military contingencies and is one of the four federal partners
in the National Disaster Medical System that operates to provide
capability for treating large numbers of patients who are injured in
major peacetime disasters or to treat casualties from overseas military
conflicts. A key component of VA's Emergency Management Program is
Continuity of Operations (COOP) that ensures the continuance of VA
operations under a wide range of possible threats ranging from local
fires and flooding at VA facilities to the complete relocation of VA
headquarters activities due to national disaster or deliberate attack.
VA is involved in planning, coordination, training and exercises at the
local, State, and national level to prepare for the full spectrum of
catastrophic events.
VA supports other Departments and agencies in protecting against
the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction against our country. VHA
supports the HHS Office of Emergency Preparedness in ensuring that
adequate stockpiles of antidotes and other necessary pharmaceuticals
are maintained nationwide. VHA's Emergency Pharmacy Service maintains
four pharmaceutical caches around the country that are available for
immediate deployment in the event of an actual weapons of mass
destruction incident. A fifth cache is placed on-site at special high-
risk national events, such as the President's inauguration. Under the
National Pharmaceutical Stockpile Program, VA has a separate agreement
with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to procure
pharmaceuticals for use in a WMD event.
Although VA has the extensive involvement I have just explained,
the readiness of the Federal government to cope with widespread acts of
terrorism and other catastrophe's is doubtful. FEMA has been given the
lead within the government to coordinate a revamped preparedness effort
through its Office of National Preparedness. I intend to work closely
with that Office to enhance VA's role in the Federal government's
ability to cope with these actions.
Chairman Specter. We will turn now to Ms. Robin Higgins.
Let me say at the outset, Ms. Higgins, how so many of us in the
Senate and the country were shocked with the brutal murder of
your husband. I was on the Senate floor when Senator Dole made
as impassioned a speech as I have ever heard about the brutal
treatment which your husband sustained. We are delighted to see
you here today and to see all that you have done, including
your book, ``Patriot Dreams: The Murder of Colonel Rich
Higgins.''
We look forward to hearing your views as to what ought to
be done in the position for which you have been nominated as
Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs. We note the excellent
background that you bring to this job, the substantial
experience in Government, which is obviously a big help to get
off to a running start. You are now Executive Director of the
Florida Department of Veterans Affairs. You served during
George Herbert Walker Bush's administration as Deputy Assistant
Secretary and then Acting Assistant Secretary for Veterans
Employment and Training in the Department of Labor. You have an
excellent educational background.
We look forward to your comments and then we will have some
questions for you, on which the tone has been set. We would be
pleased to hear your opening statement, Ms. Higgins, to the
extent you care to make one.
STATEMENT OF ROBIN L. HIGGINS, NOMINEE FOR UNDER SECRETARY FOR
MEMORIAL AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
Ms. Higgins. Thank you. I know that the entire brief
statement will be put in the record. But I would like to make a
shorter statement.
Chairman Specter. That is fine. Proceed. All written
statements, without objection, will be made a part of the
formal record.
Ms. Higgins. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, thank
you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
I am humbled and I am grateful for the confidence of
President Bush in nominating me to be Under Secretary for
Memorial Affairs in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. I
hope that I will earn your confidence as well.
I was a Marine officer working in the Pentagon when my
husband, who was on a peacekeeping tour in the Middle East, was
taken hostage in Lebanon and later murdered by his captors.
Almost 4 years later, I was finally able to bring him home and
bury him in beautiful Quantico National Cemetery right down the
road from here. I know of the adversity that fills the lives of
those who have worn this country's uniform.
There is no more sacred trust than that we hold our
servicemen and women in the palms of our hands by burying them
on hallowed ground when they die. I know how important it was
for almost 4 years for me to find my husband and bring him home
to be buried on American soil with his brothers and sisters in
arms.
And everyday that I work to do the right thing for veterans
is a day that I can show my gratitude for the favor that
veterans showed me in holding me in the palm of their hand when
I needed support.
Winston Churchill once said, ``A Nation that does not honor
its heroes will soon have no heroes to honor.'' If confirmed as
Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, I will serve with passion
and with care, and will be committed to honor America's heroes
as they deserve to be honored.
I will be glad to take any questions that you might have
for me.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Higgins follows:]
Prepared Statement of Robin L. Higgins, Nominee for Under Secretary for
Memorial Affairs, Department of Veterans Administration
Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you today.
I am humbled and grateful for the confidence of President Bush in
nominating me to the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs at the U.S.
Department of Veterans' Affairs. I hope that I will earn your
confidence as well.
In 1988, I was a Marine officer serving in the Pentagon, and my
husband, a Marine colonel, was on an overseas assignment with the
United Nations in the Middle East.
One morning, he was captured by terrorists in Lebanon, and my life
was changed forever. Until a gruesome picture of him hanging appeared
in newspapers and TV screens around the world--a year and a half
later--I had no idea whether he was dead or alive.
On December 23, 1991, almost 4 years after he was taken, his body
was dumped on a Beirut street--on my 41st birthday and what would've
been our 14th wedding anniversary. I buried him later that week in
beautiful Quantico National Cemetery just down the road from here.
I know that those who wear and have worn their country's uniform
are in a business filled with adversity. The world is still a dangerous
place. Fighting wars and keeping peace is the most difficult and
demanding of jobs.
Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, Merchant
Mariners--veterans all--understand the duty to country that causes a
man or woman to risk his or her life to try to make a difference.
I believe there is a fabric that weaves together people of
conscience through the ages and around the world. That fabric is bound
with the moral and spiritual lineage of men and women of honor, courage
and integrity; those who value something more than their own personal
safety. Bound into this fabric are the lives and loves of service
members and their families from all times, those who came home, and
those who didn't, and those who fate remains unknown.
George Washington said, ``The willingness with which our young
people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall
be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of
earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.''
That still rings true today.
There is no more sacred trust than that we hold our servicemen and
women in the palms of our hand, and bury them on hallowed ground when
they lose their personal battles on earth.
I know how important it was to me to find my husband and bring him
home, to be buried on American soil with his brothers and sisters in
arms.
And ever day that I work to do the right thing for veterans is a
day I can show my gratitude for the favor veterans showed me in holding
me in the palms of their hand when I needed their support.
Winston Churchill once said, ``A nation that does not honor its
heroes will soon have no heroes to honor.''
If confirmed as Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, I will serve
with passion and with care, and will be committed to honoring America's
heroes as they deserve to be honored.
I will be glad to take any questions you may have for me.
______
Questionnaire for Presidential Nominees
part 1: all the information in this part will be made public
1. Name: Robin L. Higgins
2. Address: 3026 White Ibis Way, Tallahassee, FL 32308
3. Position: Under Secretary of Memorial Affairs, Department of
Veterans' Affairs
4. Date of Nomination: March 30, 2001
5. Birth date: December 23, 1950
6. Birth place: Bronx, NY
7. Marital status: Widowed
8. Children, age: None
9. Education: Institution (city, state), dates attended, degrees
received, dates of degrees.
CW Post College, Brookville, NY; 9/72-9/77; MS; 5/77
State U of NY, Oneonta, NY; 9/68-1/72; BA; 1/72
Hebrew U, Jerusalem, Israel; 6/70-8/71
10. Honors: List all scholarships, fellowships, honorary degrees,
military medals, honorary society memberships, and any other special
recognitions for outstanding service or achievement.
Marine Corps League, Dickey Chappelle Award, 1990
American Legion Auxiliary, Public Spirit Award, Feb 1992
American Academy of Physician Assistants, Veterans Caucus Award,
1993
Department of Defense, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Jan 1989
USMC, Meritorious Service Medal, Oct 1995
USMC, Navy Commendation Medal
USMC, National Defense Service Medal
11. Memberships: List all memberships and offices held in
professional, fraternal, business, scholarly, civic, charitable, and
other organizations for the last 5 years and other prior memberships or
offices you consider relevant.
Disabled American Veterans, American Legion, The Retired Officers'
Association, Jewish War Veterans, AMVETS, Marine Corps League, Marine
Corps Association.
12. Employment Record: List all employment (except military
service) since your twenty-first birthday, including the title or
description of job, name of employer, location of work and inclusive
dates of employment.
1/99-5/01, Executive Director, Florida Department of Veterans'
Affairs, Tallahassee, FL
1/98-12/99, Self Employed (author, speaker, webmaster),
Tallahassee, FL
8/95-12/97, Public Affairs Director, Office of the Comptroller,
Tallahassee, FL
[break for military service]
9/74-6/75, English Teacher, Smithtown HS East, St James, NY
2/74-6/74, Substitute Teacher, North Shore HS, Glen Head, NY
9/73-2/74, Mendelsohn Zeller, San Francisco, CA
2/72-8/73, Sholkoff's Opticians, Glen Cove, NY
13. Military Service: List all military service (including reserve
components and National Guard or Air National Guard), with inclusive
dates of service, rank, permanent duty stations and units of
assignment, titles, descriptions of assignments, and type of discharge.
United States Marine Corps, 10/75-10/95, Honorable Discharge
10/75-3/76, Officer Candidate School, The Basic School, Quantico,
VA, 2nd Lt
3/76-5/76, MP School, Ft McClellan, AL
5/76-5/77, Effective Communication Instructor, Quantico, VA
6/77-5/78, MP, Security Company, Okinawa, 1st Lt
6/78-5/80, Academic Supervisor, Special Projects, Camp Lejeune, NC
6180-8/83, Administrative Officer, Headquarters, USMC, Washington,
DC, Capt
8/83-7/84, Student, Amphibious Warfare School, Quantico, VA
7/84-5/85, Adjutant, HQCO, HQSVCBN, Quantico, VA
6/85-8/90, Admin Officer, HQMC, Washington, DC, Major
8/90-6/91, Student, Command and Staff College, Quantico, VA
7/91-3/92, Public Affairs Officer, 4th MarDiv, New Orleans, LA
3/92-1/93, Deputy Assistant Sec of Labor for Veterans' Employment
and Training; then Acting Assistant Sec of Labor for VETS (detailed),
LtCol
1/93-10/95, Head, Media Branch; then Spokesman for the Commandant
14. Government experience: List any advisory, consultative,
honorary, or other part-time service or positions with Federal, State,
or local governments other than listed above: None
15. Published writings: List titles, publishers, and dates of
books, articles, reports or other published materials you have written.
Patriot Dreams--The Murder of Colonel Rich Higgins, 1st edition
published by Marine Corps Association (Mar 1999), 2nd edition published
by Hellgate Press (Oct 2000)
16. Political affiliations and activities
(a) List all memberships and offices held in and financial
contributions and services rendered to any political party or election
committee during the last 10 years: None
(b) List all elective public offices for which you have been a
candidate and the month and year of each election involved: None
17. Future employment relationships
(a) State whether you will sever all connections with your present
employer, business firm, association, or organization if you are
confirmed by the Senate: Yes
(b) State whether you have any plans after completing Government
service to resume employment, affiliation, or practice with your
previous employer, business firm, association or organization: No
(c) What commitments, if any, have been made to you for employment
after you leave Federal service? None
(d) (If appointed for a term of specified duration) Do you intend
to serve the full term for which you have been appointed? N/A
(e) (if appointed for indefinite period) Do you intend to serve
until the next Presidential election? Yes
18. Potential Conflicts of Interest
(a) Describe any financial arrangements, deferred compensation
agreements, or other continuing financial, business, or professional
dealings which you have with business associates, clients, or customers
who will be affected by policies which you will influence in the
position to which you have been nominated: None
(b) List any investments, obligations, liabilities, or other
financial relationships which constitute potential conflicts of
interest with the position to which you have been nominated: None
(c) Describe any business relationship, dealing, or financial
transaction which you have had during the last 5 years, whether for
yourself, on behalf of a client, or acting as an agent, that
constitutes as potential conflict of interest with the position to
which you have been nominated: None
(d) Describe any lobbying activity during the past 10 years in
which you have engaged for the purpose of directly or indirectly
influencing the passage, defeat, or modification of any Federal
legislation or for the purpose of affecting the administration and
execution of Federal law or policy. None
(e) Explain how you will resolve any potential conflicts of
interest that may be disclosed by your responses to the above items.
(Please provide a copy of any trust or other agreements involved.) N/A
19. Testifying before the Congress
(a) Do you agree to appear and testify before any duly constituted
committee of the Congress upon the request of such committee? Yes
(b) Do you agree to provide such information as is requested by
such a committee? Yes
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Arlen Specter to Robin
L. Higgins
Question 1a. As you know, Ms. Higgins, the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania is very much underserved in terms of available National
Cemetery space. I am pleased that VA--after legislative prodding--is
moving forward in Western Pennsylvania with the impending acquisition
of land for cemetery use south of Pittsburgh. The job, then, will soon
be one-half done. As you know, however, Eastern Pennsylvania needs
cemetery capacity as badly as Western Pennsylvania does--and
Philadelphia cemetery is closed to new casketed remains, and so too are
nearby VA cemeteries in New Jersey. And VA's cemetery in Indiantown Gap
is simply too far--over 100 miles--for Philadelphians to find of
practical use.
I have introduced legislation to transfer land in Valley Forge
National Park to VA for development as a national cemetery. Do you
support enactment of that legislation?
Answer. I recognize the large and aging veterans' population in
Pennsylvania, and I am gratified to see the unmet need in the western
part of your State is being addressed. I support having national or
state veterans cemeteries as close as possible to as many veterans as
possible. To fulfill the requirements of Section 613 of the Millennium
Act, a study is now underway to determine the future burial needs of
veterans. Using concentrations of veteran populations, the study will
identify areas of the country most in need of national cemeteries. The
study is due for completion by the end of the year. Once we have
reviewed the data, we will be in a better position to determine where
new national cemeteries should be located. While I, therefore, cannot
respond specifically to your legislation at this time, I do agree and
pledge that we are committed to serving veterans where they are
currently not served, based on veteran demographics.
Question 1b. If you do not support the acquisition of Valley Forge
lands, why do you not support it? Do you know of--or will you locate--
other sites in or near Philadelphia where a VA cemetery might be
established?
Answer. One of the very first things I am doing is getting briefed
on the current status of our cemeteries and where our unmet needs are.
Until I have information identifying the areas most in need, I cannot
address where a cemetery should be located. Once the unserved areas are
identified, I will ensure that all options for meeting those needs are
fully explored, including those in Pennsylvania.
Question 1c. Will you commit to work with me to resolve the problem
of the total unavailability of cemetery space in Eastern Pennsylvania?
Answer. I most certainly will work with you either to establish a
national cemetery if the demographic data being collected supports it,
or work with you and your State officials to establish a state veterans
cemetery funded through the State Cemetery Grants Program.
Question 2. As a former State Director of Veterans Affairs, you are
familiar with VA grant programs to encourage the construction of State
veterans cemeteries. Do you support this program? If you are confirmed,
how would you encourage increased participation in VA's State cemetery
grant program.
Answer. First, I want to applaud the Congress for enacting Public
Law 105-368, which provided for Federal participation of up to 100
percent for state cemetery grants. The law's enactment has effectively
encouraged participation in the program. The State Cemetery Grants
Program is an important part of the National Cemetery Administration's
strategy for meeting the needs of our veterans. It is a successful
program, and I support it wholeheartedly. In FY 1999, 43 operational
state veterans cemeteries provided 14,354 burials to veterans and
eligible family members. This figure represented a 7.7 percent increase
over the previous year and accounted for approximately 15 percent of
the total number of burials provided by VA national cemeteries and VA-
assisted state cemeteries combined.
NCA works closely with the members of the National Association of
State Directors of Veterans Affairs (NASDVA). That NCA now has on hand
35 pre-applications for cemetery grants, including 25 for the
establishment of new cemeteries, is a measure of the State Directors'
support for the program. I will use my relationship with the
organization and its members to emphasize the value of the State
Cemetery Grants Program.
In FY 2000, VA awarded more than $20 million in grants. This was a
record for one year and constituted nearly 25 percent of the total
amount awarded in the history of the program since 1980. A total of 37
states (including Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas
Islands) has either received or applied for grants. It is expected that
two or three more States will apply this year. I want to continue this
level of participation to ensure more veterans have a burial option.
Question 3. Do you think that States ought to assist in the burial
of those who served in the cause of national defense? Should this be a
solely Federal responsibility? Or is it one that the States
appropriately share with VA?
Answer. States have been involved in providing veteran burial
services, including state veterans cemeteries, since the Civil War.
This is appropriate because of the unique nature of our government as a
federation of States. The State Cemetery Grants Program is a true
partnership between the States and the Federal Government and has
proven to be very effective in complementing the foundation of VA
national cemeteries.
VA has more than doubled the acreage available to veterans in
national cemeteries since they were transferred to its jurisdiction in
1973. It is not possible, however, to place cemeteries everywhere
veterans reside. Some areas of the country will remain remote from
available national cemeteries. Since 1980, the State Cemetery Grants
Program helped to fill the gap.
Question 4. The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) has sought
funding for its so-called ``National Shrine Commitment.'' Are you
familiar with this initiative? Would you please explain it to me? Do
you support the ``National Shrine Commitment?'' What would be your
criteria for allocating ``National Shrine Commitment'' funding? Do
you--or will you--have a listing of projects ranked according to need?
Answer. I do believe in the National Shrine Commitment, and I fully
support this initiative. Title 38, United States Code, Section 2403(c)
states in part that ``all national and other veterans' cemeteries under
the control of the National Cemetery Administration shall be considered
national shrines as a tribute to our gallant dead. . . .'' A fair
number of our cemeteries were established during or immediately after
the Civil War; most were established before mid-20th Century. The
National Shrine Commitment is an initiative to restore the appearance
of burial grounds and historic structures of our national cemeteries.
Aside from the natural aging of some of our infrastructure, as our
burial workload has increased, needed maintenance and repair projects
have been deferred to maintain interment operations. Some national
cemeteries are in need of substantial repair. The National Shrine
Commitment, therefore, is geared to bring those of our cemeteries found
wanting up to the standard of a ``national shrine'' as stated in law.
The FY 2001 appropriation contained $5 million to begin the
National Shine Commitment initiative. The President's 2002 Budget
requested an increase in the amount of funding by another $5 million,
bringing the total requested amount in FY 2002 to $10 million.
One criterion used to allocate funding has been through what
cemetery visitors indicate they want from a national cemetery. NCA
identified deficiencies in the appearance of headstones and markers and
the condition of some gravesites at a number of its national
cemeteries. These projects were selected because customer feedback from
our surveys indicates that the appearance and condition of headstones
or markers and individual gravesites are two factors that significantly
impact the satisfaction families and visitors experience when they
visit a national cemetery. The $5 million provided in the 2001
appropriation will be used to address identified deficiencies at four
national cemeteries: Long Island National Cemetery in New York,
Willamette National Cemetery in Oregon, Golden Gate National Cemetery
in California, and Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas. The
cemeteries were established in 1936, 1950, 1941, and 1926 respectively.
When the study directed by Section 613 of the Veterans Millennium
Health Care and Benefits Act to inventory one-time repairs at each
national cemetery is completed later this year, this assessment will
validate the already identified deficiencies. We anticipate the study
results will assist us in identifying the most necessary one-time
repairs so we can proceed in an orderly manner to achieve visible
national shrine status for each of our cemeteries.
Question 5. Do you believe NCA is adequately prepared for the
increasing number of veterans expected to be buried in the next few
years? In short, can VA handle the accelerating demise of the World War
II generation?
Answer. One of NCA's goals is to ensure that the burial needs of
our Nation's veterans and eligible family members are met. We are
projecting that the percent of veterans served by a burial option in a
national or state veterans cemetery within a reasonable distance of
their residence will increase from 76 percent in FY 2001 to 88 percent
by FY 2006. At the end of 2001, of the 119 existing national
cemeteries, 87 will have space for first interments, whether full-
casket or cremated remains, to include either in-ground or in
columbaria.
To ensure that burial options are provided for all eligible
veterans, including those from World War II and their eligible family
members, NCA is developing additional national cemeteries, expanding
existing national cemeteries where appropriate, developing more
effective use of available burial space, and encouraging individual
States to establish state veterans cemeteries through the State
Cemetery Grants Program.
New National Cemeteries: As you know, we are establishing new
national cemeteries to serve veterans in the areas of Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, at Fort Sill; Atlanta, Georgia; Detroit, Michigan; Miami,
Florida; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Sacramento, California. Beyond
the opening of these six new national cemeteries, Section 613 of the
Millennium Act directed that an independent study be conducted to,
among other things, identify those areas of the United States with the
largest number of unserved veterans and identify the number of new
cemeteries needed from 2005 to 2020. This study will guide us in the
future as we strive to achieve our long-range goal of providing all
eligible veterans reasonable access to a burial option.
Expansion of Burial Space at Existing Cemeteries: VA monitors
gravesite usage and projects gravesite depletion dates at open national
cemeteries that have land for future development. As these cemeteries
approach their gravesite depletion dates, VA ensures that construction
to make additional gravesites or columbaria available for burials is
completed. Construction projects to make additional gravesites or
columbaria available for burial are currently underway at many national
cemeteries, including Barrancas National Cemetery, Florida; Florida
National Cemetery; Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas; the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii; and Santa Fe
National Cemetery in New Mexico. In addition, we have projects in
progress for 26 other national cemeteries to increase burial space.
Acquisition of Land to Extend Cemetery Life: Appropriate land
acquisition is a key component to providing continued accessibility to
burial options. NCA continues to identify national cemeteries that are
expected to close because of depletion of grave space, and will
determine the feasibility of extending the service life of those
cemeteries by acquiring adjacent or contiguous land, or by constructing
columbaria. These actions, which depend on such factors as the
availability of suitable land and the cost of construction, are not
possible in every case. Efforts are underway now to acquire additional
land for interments at Barrancas, Culpeper and Natchez national
cemeteries.
State Veterans Cemeteries: In addition to our national cemeteries,
state veterans cemeteries also provide burial options for our Nation's
veterans. In FY 2000, four new state veterans cemeteries opened; more
than 14,000 interments were performed by state veterans cemeteries; and
funds were obligated to establish, expand or improve 12 veterans
cemeteries in 10 States. To date, 42 operating state veterans
cemeteries have been established, expanded or improved through the
State Cemetery Grants Program. A new state veterans cemetery recently
opened at Little Rock, Arkansas. We expect new state cemeteries to open
in Northern Wisconsin, Massachusetts near Springfield, Eastern Montana,
and Maine in Augusta all before mid-June. A state veterans cemetery in
Milledgeville, Georgia, should open before the end of the year.
I believe that the strategies and efforts stated, well-managed and
funded, will enable VA to address the increasing burial demand from
America's veterans.
Question 6. I have heard that many families are choosing to have
their loved one's remains cremated and placed in a columbaria rather
than having a traditional casket burial. In your view, does NCA have
the capacity to meet the demand for this form of burial? If not, will
you propose any changes to meet the demand?
Answer. NCA recognizes the demand for access to burial of cremated
remains. NCA offers the option of full casket interments, in-ground
interment of cremated remains, columbaria niches, and memorial areas
for markers in memory of those eligible persons whose remains are not
interred. In-ground cremation sections exist in all open national
cemeteries, and limited in-ground cremated remains sites are generally
available at most national cemeteries that no longer have space to
accept full casket burials. Columbaria units (freestanding, above-
ground, concrete structures with individual niches) currently exist in
17 national cemeteries. NCA has noted a progressive increase in both
actual numbers and in percentage of interment of cremated remains at
our national cemeteries. NCA is constructing more columbaria to expand
this option for veterans and their families.
Beginning with Tahoma National Cemetery (opened October 1997), all
new national cemeteries include columbaria in their first phase of
construction. Whenever an expansion project to a currently existing
national cemetery is planned, the option of constructing columbaria is
always considered and added, if feasible. Where columbaria already
exist, NCA works to ensure that they are expanded when needed to meet
this increasing demand. For example, two of the three major
construction projects submitted in the President's Budget are for the
expansion of the columbaria at Tahoma National Cemetery in Washington
and Massachusetts National Cemetery. Also, we are currently building
the first columbaria at the Florida National Cemetery, NCA's third
busiest cemetery, to expand this important service to the veterans
served at that location.
Question 7. To save on the costs of acquiring land for national
cemeteries, do you believe the opportunity exists to collaborate with
other Federal agencies to accomplish the transfer of unused or
underutilized land? If so, what agencies might have lands available for
transfer to VA for cemetery use?
Answer. NCA operates by using concentrations of veterans who are
not currently served by a burial option as the determining factor for
where a national cemetery should be established. If there are Federal
facilities within that geographic area with available land suitable for
a national cemetery, this land is always considefed. For example, the
new national cemetery being developed near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is
on land formerly belonging to the U.S. Army at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. We
received 982 acres of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant through
transfer from the Army to establish the new Abraham Lincoln National
Cemetery. Although significant dollars have been saved by not having to
purchase privately-owned land, I do think that the overriding factor
should be the provision of effective service to the veteran.
Expansion of existing national cemeteries to provide continual
burial options to veterans is a primary goal of NCA, and will be mine
as well. Our two busiest cemeteries, Riverside National Cemetery and
Calverton National Cemetery, are located on land that formerly belonged
to the Department of the Air Force and Department of the Navy
respectively. Both cemeteries have benefited from additional land
transfers from these agencies to provide for future burial space. On
many occasions, we have found the means to expand within our own
agency's holdings on adjacent, excess Veterans Affairs Medical Center
land owned by the Veterans Health Administration. Such is the case at
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Department of Defense is the Federal agency that has provided
the bulk of land utilized by NCA for the establishment or expansion of
national cemeteries. However, State governments have also been the
source of some acquisitions. For instance the State of Florida provided
land at no cost for the establishment of Florida National Cemetery and
subsequently transferred additional acreage.
We are also grateful for the help Congress has provided to us in
facilitating the transfer of land from other Federal agencies to VA for
national cemetery use.
Question 8. Section 301 of Public Law 106-511 expressed the Sense
of the Congress that a single repository of information be developed to
inventory all public memorials that commemorate the military conflicts
of the United States and the service of individuals in the Armed
Services. Do you believe this might be an issue on which NCA might take
the lead during your tenure?
Answer. I fully comprehend the debt owed to veterans and the
significance of memorials erected to commemorate their sacrifices. We
manage a number of such ``military'' memorials, and we would gladly
participate in a project that would result in a comprehensive inventory
of every one. Based upon my current understanding, however, I do not
believe that the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) is best
equipped to serve as the lead Federal agency in this task. The reason
is twofold.
Foremost is the absence of infrastructure at NCA necessary to
undertake a survey of this magnitude, as well as the subsequent
development and maintenance of a repository for the findings. Just this
year NCA established its first History Program, in its fledgling stage
to be staffed by two historians. A nationwide inventory of memorials
would exceed the capabilities of this staff.
In contrast, two other agencies--the National Park Service (NPS) of
the Department of the Interior, and the American Battle Monuments
Commission (ABMC)--have many decades of experience and missions
specific to the care and maintenance of memorials that commemorate
conflicts in which U.S. soldiers died. The NPS, as the primary Federal
agency responsible for historic preservation, oversees numerous
programs devoted to the inventory, condition assessment, and
conservation of historic resources such as outdoor sculpture and
monuments--which include a variety of U.S. war memorials and 14
national cemeteries.
Since 1923, the ABMC has existed for the exclusive purpose of
establishing and managing American military memorials dating to the
beginning of World War I, both on U.S. soil and abroad. The exquisite
care with which these sites are maintained is evidence of ABMC's
standards of excellence and expertise. Both of these agencies are more
appropriately staffed in terms of size and proficiency to undertake the
proposed catalog project. There are also other federally affiliated
programs already working to inventory and conserve all outdoor
sculpture, such as the partnership between the non-profit organization
Heritage Preservation and its Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS) Program.
SOS is working with the Smithsonian American Art Museum to develop a
national outdoor-sculpture database.
This is an excellent project with many benefits for commemorative
memorials and veteran-appreciation alike, and we would hope to share in
the undertaking. It is with the greatest respect and confidence,
however, that I would defer the primary responsibility for this
inventory to existing programs at more experienced agencies.
Question 9. Do you have any conflicts of interest which you have
not fully disclosed to the Committee, or do you know of any other
matter which, if known to the Committee, might affect the Committee's
recommendation to the Senate with respect to your nomination?
Answer. No, I do not. I diligently completed all the required
disclosures and feel confident that there are no conflicts or other
matters that were not disclosed.
Question 10. Have you fully and accurately provided financial and
other information requested by the Committee, and do you now affirm
that that information is complete, accurate, and provided in a form not
designed to evade?
A. Yes, I do affirm this. As I stated in response to Question 9, I
exercised considerable diligence in completing required disclosures and
I have provided the information with complete candor. I am so honored
to be asked to serve my Country, I would do nothing to jeopardize the
faith placed in me.
Question 11. Do you agree to supply the Committee such non-
privileged information, materials, and documents as may be requested by
the Committee in its oversight and legislative capacities for so long
as you shall serve in the position for which you now seek confirmation?
Answer. I believe in open communication and collegial
relationships. It is my intention to continue to act in this way. I
would anticipate always providing you with the cooperation you expect.
Question 12. Do you agree to appear before the Committee at such
times and concerning such matters as the Committee might request for so
long as you serve in the position for which you now seek confirmation?
Answer. I would be honored to return before the Committee whenever
asked to do so. As already stated, I believe in open communication.
Chairman Specter. Thank you, Ms. Higgins, for that
statement.
I note that you served 20 years in the Marine Corps with
the discharge rank of Lieutenant Colonel. What insights from
your military experience do you think will serve you in the
Veterans Department?
Ms. Higgins. I served for 20 years in the Marine Corps in
jobs of increasing responsibility. I have served in a number of
different military occupational specialties. But mostly the
wide diversity of people that I served with, the wide diversity
of things that I was able to do and accomplish, and the
recognition, certainly during the years that my husband was in
captivity, that we are a family, that there is a bond that
joins men and women who have served in the military and that
the bond does not end when we leave service to our country and
we take off the uniforms, it extends through life and, indeed,
through death.
I think that my experience after the Marine Corps, though,
also lends a great deal of capability.
Chairman Specter. Picking up your experience after the
Marine Corps in the Department of Labor, what will be
transferable with respect to veterans employment and training
with respect to your work in the Labor Department?
Ms. Higgins. Well, the work in the Labor Department,
unfortunately, it only turned out to be a year, but it also
gave me the opportunity to understand that there are continuing
issues that are important and that we all throughout the
Government can take care of veterans. In this case, it was in
transitioning military men and women from the military into the
civilian work force and making sure that they have the training
to do the jobs that they can do and assimilate.
I think, quite honestly, perhaps the most relevant
experience is my latest experience in Florida. Naturally, we
had a number of issues with a very large, in fact, the No. 2
population of veterans in the country, the No. 1 population of
elderly veterans. I understand that Pennsylvania I think is No.
2. So we share many of the same concerns for veterans. And
during the two and a half years that I was there, we also had a
number of issues that I worked with the VA on on our
cemeteries.
Chairman Specter. I am pleased to note your reference to
Pennsylvania as having the No. 2 ranking for aging veterans. I
would like for you to take a look at the specific problems with
a new veterans cemetery in eastern Pennsylvania. It has come to
the point where Congressman Fox and now Congressman Hoeffel in
the House have introduced legislation, as I have in the Senate.
I would like you to take a look at that legislation and give me
your thinking as to what ought to be done there.
In light of your broader experience as the executive
director of the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, the
Committee is going to give you the same assignment we gave to
Dr. Mackay. And that is, within 60 days, give us an evaluation
of the 10 key problems you see in the Veterans Administration
and what your suggestions are for remedying those problems. And
within that 60 day period, as one of those items, give me your
thinking on the need for cemeteries across the country,
including the issue of the one for the eastern portion of
Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania generally.
[The information referred to follows:]
meeting the burial needs of our veterans
The most basic National Cemetery Administration (NCA) goal is to
ensure that the burial needs of our Nation's veterans and eligible
family members are met. To ensure that a burial option in a national or
state veterans cemetery is available for all eligible veterans within a
reasonable distance of their residence, NCA is developing projects that
will yield additional national cemeteries, expanding existing national
cemeteries where appropriate, developing more effective use of
available burial space, and encouraging individual States to establish
state veterans cemeteries through the State Cemetery Grants Program.
NCA is establishing new national cemeteries to serve veterans in
the areas of Sacramento, CA; Atlanta, GA; Southern Florida; Detroit,
MI; Fort Sill, OK; and Pittsburgh, PA. Beyond the opening of these six
new national cemeteries, Section 613 of the Veterans Millennium Health
Care and Benefits Act directed that an independent study be conducted
to, among other things, identify those areas of the United States with
the largest number of unserved veterans and identify the number of new
cemeteries that are needed from 2005 to 2020. This study will guide us
in the future as we strive to achieve our long-range goal of providing
all eligible veterans reasonable access to a burial option. It will
also provide us data in order to reevaluate our policy regarding how to
best define service areas.
NCA monitors gravesite usage and projects gravesite depletion dates
at open national cemeteries that have land for future development. As
these cemeteries approach their gravesite depletion dates, we will
ensure that construction is completed in a timely fashion to make
additional gravesites or columbaria available for burials. Construction
projects to expand burial space are currently in progress at 30
national cemeteries.
Appropriate land acquisition is a key component to providing
continued accessibility to burial options. NCA continues to identify
national cemeteries that are expected to close because of depletion of
grave space and determines the feasibility of extending the service
life of those cemeteries by acquiring adjacent land, or by constructing
columbaria. These actions are not possible in every case. Efforts are
underway now to acquire additional land for interments at Barrancas
(FL), Culpeper (VA) and Natchez (MS) national cemeteries.
In addition to our national cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries
also provide burial options for our Nation's veterans. In FY 2000, 4
new state veterans cemeteries opened; more than 14,000 interments were
performed in state veterans cemeteries; and funds were obligated to
establish, expand or improve 12 veterans cemeteries in 10 States. New
state veterans cemeteries recently opened at Little Rock, AR; Spooner,
WI; Agawam, MA; Miles City, MT; and Augusta, ME. A state veterans
cemetery in Milledgeville, GA, should open before the end of the
calendar year.
I believe these strategies and efforts will enable us to address
the increasing burial demand from America's veterans. Once we receive
the results of the Millennium Act study, I expect to be able to
continue our discussions on how best to meet the needs of the veterans
in your State of Pennsylvania, particularly those within the Eastern
part of the State. I want to reiterate that I am committed to serving
veterans where they are currently not served, based on veteran
demographics.
maintaining national cemeteries as national shrines
Our national cemeteries are national shrines dedicated to
preserving the Nation's history, nurturing patriotism, and honoring the
service and sacrifice veterans have made. More than half of our
national cemeteries were established around the time of the Civil War;
and most were established before the mid-20th century. The National
Shrine Commitment is an initiative to restore the appearance of burial
grounds and historic structures in our national cemeteries. Over the
years as the burial workload has increased, needed maintenance and
repair projects were deferred to maintain interment operations. Some
Pational cemeteries are in need of substantial repair.
NCA has identified deficiencies in the appearance of headstones and
markers and the condition of some gravesites at a number of its
national cemeteries. Deficiencies in these areas impact the
satisfaction families and visitors experience when they visit a
national cemetery. Funding provided in the FY 2001 appropriation will
be used to begin addressing these deficiencies at four national
cemeteries: Long Island (NY); Willamette (OR); Golden Gate (CA); and
Ft. Sam Houston JX).
When the study directed by Section 613 of the Veterans Millennium
Health Care and Benefits Act to inventory one-time repairs at each
national cemetery is completed later this year, I believe the
assessment will validate the already identified deficiencies. We plan
to use the study results to assist us in identifying the most urgent
one-time repairs so we can proceed in an orderly manner to achieve
visible national shrine status for each of our cemeteries.
After we ensure crucial one-time repairs are accomplished, we need
to ensure that we maintain the highest standards of appearance in all
our national cemeteries.
balancing resource needs
In considering balancing competing demands, it is important that
NCA not lose sight of its current expansion, which is resulting from a
surge in the demand for services provided by NCA that is expected to
continue. This is most plainly demonstrated by the continued increase
in the number of annual interments at national cemeteries: More
veterans are dying, and NCA workload is increasing.
NCA currently maintains more than 2.4 million gravesites at 120
national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico, as well as 33 other
cemetery installations. The number of annual interments since 1973,
when Congress created the National Cemetery System under the
jurisdiction of the Veterans Administration, has more than doubled from
36,400 to 82,717 in FY 2000. Veteran burials within our national
cemeteries are expected to peak in 2008 at 109,000. It is expected that
for nearly a decade following this peak the number of burials within
our national cemeteries will not go below the FY 2000 level. Annual
gravesite maintenance workload increases have a compounding effect on
NCA budget requirements. Six new national cemeteries are presently in
various stages of development. NCA will continue to expand existing
national cemeteries by completing projects to make additional
gravesites or columbaria available for interments. To do this, NCA must
use its resources wisely to continue to provide dignified burials for
veterans and their eligible family members without adversely impacting
our ability to maintain our cemeteries as national shrines.
NCA will place increased emphasis on further integrating budget and
performance data. The performance plan, with the applicable goals and
objectives, is an integral part of our budget planning process. NCA has
integrated its performance plan and budget so that all requests for
budget increases and new budget initiatives are clearly linked to the
achievement of performance goals and objectives.
NCA has sharpened its focus on performance and service to the
veteran. In order to determine the extent to which NCA is achieving
many of its goals and objectives, we have developed and conducted
surveys and convened focus groups to receive direct input from veterans
and their families, as well as other stakeholders. This information is
used by NCA to determine future program and budget requirements. NCA
will work to strengthen the linkage between customer-based performance
results and resource expenditures.
aging workforce/succession planning
In recognition of the anticipated significant retirements expected
within NCA during the next five years, and of the need to establish a
cadre of fully competent staff, particularly cemetery directors, NCA
has been actively engaged in planning and taking actions to build the
future workforce of NCA. There are currently 64 national cemetery
directors responsible for 120 national cemeteries. Analysis of the
incumbents of these positions shows that as of July 1999, 22 percent
were eligible for retirement or early outs. By 2004, this percentage
will increase to 53 percent, and one-third of these will be eligible
for full retirement benefits. Furthermore, we have recognized the need
to reassess the competency level in the existing cadre, as well as in
new recruits.
A similar pattern exists throughout NCA in many occupations, where
a change in workforce demographics will result in an increased number
of retirements. This fact raises the potential for a tremendous loss in
management and institutional knowledge.
In recognition of these facts, NCA volunteered to be part of a
pilot sponsored by the Department's Office of Human Resources
Management. This allowed us to apply a systematic approach to
evaluating our strategic plan, and to analyze the current status of our
cemetery directors, the grades of the position in relation to the scope
of the work performed, and the competencies and qualifications required
for selection. The result has been the improvement and development of a
formal Cemetery Director Intern Program and a redefinition of the
competencies, skills and specialized experience necessary for
qualification and success as a cemetery director. NCA received over 140
applications for this program and we anticipate selecting and
appointing interns prior to the end of the fiscal year. The trainee
program will be announced periodically to permit for an established
cadre of well-trained and competent individuals to fill positions as
others retire or separate.
Our analysis also revealed that the definition of specialized
experience necessary for qualification as a cemetery director or
cemetery director intern was much too restrictive, resulting in a very
limited pool of applicants. For example, it did not allow us to qualify
the majority of recently retired military personnel. Previously, direct
cemetery management experience was required in order for an applicant
to qualify for the position. However, after a panel of subject matter
experts reviewed the competencies and skills necessary for success, we
determined that a definition that focuses on leadership and managerial
qualifications was a more appropriate indicator of the specialized
skills needed for the job. As a result, we have redefined the
definition of specialized experience necessary for qualification as a
cemetery director or cemetery director intern. A candidate must now
demonstrate experience in budget, finance, human resources,
contracting, supervision, and procurement in order to qualify. This
change was implemented approximately one year ago. The numbers and
quality of the candidates have improved dramatically. We believe this
will be manifested in the quality of applicants for the Cemetery
Director Intern Program as well.
As a result of the success of the workforce-planning pilot on
cemetery director positions, NCA will apply the process and lessons
learned on other occupations in need of the same attention.
NCA recognizes that the recruitment of quality employees is as
important as retaining current employees. We are accomplishing this in
a variety of ways: (1) enhancing the employee award and recognition
system; (2) increasing employee skills through training; and (3)
providing employees greater opportunities for involvement and decision-
making in daily cemetery operations and in establishing cemetery goals
and objectives.
maintaining top-notch customer service
The stakeholders of NCA are varied and diverse. The list begins
with those who are the direct beneficiaries of NCA services: veterans
and their families. Veterans' service organizations and professionals
in the funeral and mortuary industry are also noteworthy stakeholders.
The inclusion of veterans and their families as primary stakeholders is
obvious. It takes into account the significance of next of kin, since
not only eligible veterans but also their eligible family members may
receive burial benefits. It is important that these veterans, widows,
widowers, and other family members are treated with compassion and
dignity at the time of their bereavement and when they return to visit
the gravesite, and that the cemetery's entire appearance is maintained
in a manner befitting a national shrine.
Veterans and their families have high expectations concerning
burial in national cemeteries, and NCA has done an outstanding job in
providing high quality, courteous, and responsive service. Recent
results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, conducted by the
University of Michigan, the American Society for Quality and the
Federal Consulting Group, gave NCA a score of 93 out of 100. This
unusually high score indicates a high level of satisfaction and trust
with NCA and the services it provides. The bar is set very high and it
will be a challenge not only to maintain high levels of customer
satisfaction, but also to make improvements in service delivery. NCA
will continue to obtain feedback from veterans, their families, and
other cemetery visitors to ascertain how they perceive the quality of
service provided. NCA will also continue to convene focus groups to
collect data on stakeholder expectations and their perdeptions related
to the quality of service provided by national cemeteries.
For FY 2001 and subsequent years, NCA will use a new customer
satisfaction survey process to measure its success in delivering
service with courtesy, compassion, and respect. In the past, Visitor
Comment Cards were used for collecting data to measure customer
satisfaction. The new survey will be done via mail and data will be
collected annually from family members and funeral directors that have
recently received services from a national cemetery. To ensure
sensitivity to the grieving process but timely collection of data, NCA
will wait a minimum of three months and a maximum of eight months after
an interment before including a respondent in the sample population.
NCA will also use the new survey process to continue to collect
information from the families of individuals who are interred in
national cemeteries and funeral directors to measure how the public
perceives the appearance of the cemeteries. This information provides a
gauge by which to assess maintenance conditions at individual
cemeteries as well as the overall system. The information obtained is
analyzed to ensure that NCA addresses those issues most important to
its customers. This approach provides us with data from the customer's
perspective, which is critical to developing our objectives and
associated measures.
fostering the state cemetery grants program
The State Cemetery Grants Program is an effective complement to the
120 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national cemeteries. The grants
program has assisted 47 operational state veterans cemeteries. That
number includes several cemeteries that now serve populations that were
formerly served by national cemeteries, such as Little Rock, AR. It
also includes several cemeteries that serve moderately large veterans
populations in densely populated areas such as northern Delaware,
central Massachusetts, and central New Jersey. Grant supported state
veteran cemeteries also serve thinly populated areas that are extremely
remote from any national cemetery, such as the Rocky Mountain States of
Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada.
Currently, NCA's State Cemetery Grants Program is reviewing plans
for 38 projects totaling more than $130 million in grant funds. VA must
approve design plans for each project before the State advertises for
bids. Once bids have been received, VA awards the grant based on the
low, responsive bid. This system makes most effective use of available
grant funding, assuring that funds are used to construct projects
rather than to simply develop plans.
At the same time, it is of utmost importance that NCA review plans
with professionalism and for economy and efficiency. As the design and
planning workload increases, it will be necessary to increase staff to
provide appropriate review. Plans are now underway to hire an architect
to assist with these tasks.
In addition to providing grant funding, NCA must seek opportunities
to assist our State partners through other means. We are currently
providing training opportunities, sharing best practices in cemetery
operations, and providing computer and electronic support through
shared databases and information kiosks. After the initial equipment
configuration and training to use the marker ordering application are
completed at newly established state veterans cemeteries, an additional
benefit afforded the States is access to the same information
technology support provided to NCA's cemeteries. The States receive
continual support, for both hardware and software issues, from NCA via
the cemetery helpdesk and an internal Internet homepage.
expanding electronic government
NCA is considering several initiatives to make its policy
information as well as its benefits and services more available to the
public on-line. The most promising of these, to be implemented in FY
2002, is a web-based homepage for every national cemetery. An NCA
taskforce, consisting of headquarters and field personnel, has been
working on a standardized model to better serve veterans and their
families. Local communities will have greater access to information
about every national cemetery within close proximity, and will thus be
better served by their NCA neighbors.
The national cemetery homepages are tied into the One-VA concept.
The NCA website is accessible through the VA homepage. In turn, each
national cemetery homepage will be accessible from the NCA website.
With a uniform approach, it will be possible for anyone using any
national cemetery homepage to learn of services offered, and cemetery
policies and procedures which are standard across the Nation. This
initiative assures compliance to standard regulations governing Federal
websites.
NCA is currently verifying its old interment records and recreating
them into an electronic format. Many of the old records are on
microfilm or in an electronic format not conducive to on-line public
access. We receive many requests from the public doing genealogy
searches or looking for the remains of a lost relative. NCA plans to
post all its interment records on our website so the public can perform
its own genealogy searches and have access to the data at their
leisure. Almost 60 percent of interment records are verified at this
time. There is an active project incorporating all of our cemeteries to
review their historical interments and prepare them to be posted on the
Internet. NCA plans to have most of its interment records posted in the
next 18 months.
NCA is installing grave locator kiosks at each national cemetery.
The kiosks provide cemetery visitors with gravesite information and
general NCA information. They also provide a map of the cemetery as
well as information on current NCA rules and regulations, burial
eligibility requirements, floral regulations, historical cemetery
information, upcoming events, and hours of operations. They provide
visitors with an automated, easy-to-use vehicle for information both on
weekdays and weekends, particularly outside normal business hours.
Currently, customers can access applications for a Government
headstone or marker from the VA website and print a copy to complete
manually. Because of the current need for original signatures, we are
looking into privacy issues and verification of eligibility on-line, so
customers may eventually be able to order through the Internet.
However, all of our national cemeteries are ordering headstones and
markers electronically and NCA has now added the state veterans
cemeteries to the NCA Network and provides them access to our Burial
Operations Support System (BOSS) where 90 percent of all their marker
requests are handled online with their input. Arlington National
Cemetery, which is operated by the Department of Army, also has access
to BOSS. This will further reduce the workload of redundant data
transcription and improve the accuracy and timeliness of ordering their
headstones and markers. NCA is conducting research on the feasibility
of allowing private cemeteries to access NCA systems to order their VA-
provided markers, thus further reducing NCA manual workloads and
putting a premium on marker quality and timeliness of delivery.
In the interim, NCA is now electronically scanning all paper
applications and accompanying documents when they are received at the
main office in Washington, DC. Applications can now be distributed to
our caseworkers electronically at our field sites around the country.
This process improvement has eliminated the need to mail the actual
applications to the field sites, which used to take several days.
improving and expanding relationships with partners
NCA recognizes the importance of maintaining strong relationships
with our partners. Several of our partners include: State governments;
the Department of Defense (DoD); and other Federal agencies.
As more state cemeteries come on-line to serve veterans, attention
must be given to issues of maintenance and operation. The State
Cemetery Grants Program is working with the States to schedule a state
cemetery directors conference that will provide state cemetery
directors with a better understanding of how the national cemeteries
are maintained and operated and also how their fellow states perform
their duties.
While DoD is responsible for the Military Funeral Honors program,
NCA has worked closely with DoD to ensure that veterans buried in our
national cemeteries receive the honors they deserve. NCA currently
tracks military funeral honors provided in our cemeteries and indicates
whether or not they were provided by veteran service organizations or
by DoD. NCA provides changing facilities for teams as well as storage
facilities for their equipment. NCA advises families to request honors
through their funeral home. We also include information on funeral
honors within our national brochures and individual cemetery pamphlets
as well as on our Internet website. NCA is installing sound systems in
new cemetery committal shelters for the electronic playing of ``Taps''
when a bugler is not available. VA will eventually install sound
systems in older committal shelters. We have recently produced a public
outreach video entitled ``A Sacred Trust: The Story of the National
Cemetery Administration'' which highlights the two person DoD military
funeral honor detail and how to arrange the honors through DoD.
An issue that impacts VA and other Federal agencies is the transfer
of Federal property between agencies. States participating in the State
Cemetery Grants Program are also involved in this issue. VA has been
successful in the past in obtaining Federal land to expand or to
establish national cemeteries. Too often, once a specific tract of land
has been identified, the administrative process can be extremely time
consuming. We plan to continue building our relationships with our
fellow Federal departments and agencies, such as the Department of
Interior and DoD, to make sure these processes continue to run
smoothly. VA and DoD have already made commendable steps towards better
coordination and cooperation in regards to providing better service to
our uniformed men and women as well as all veterans. Our Secretary has
already begun a dialogue with the Secretary of Defense to work to
improve the processes for providing health care to veterans and I
foresee that this collaboration will lead to many other opportunities
to work together on other issues, such as the timely transfer of land
between Federal agencies.
employee safety and workers compensation
NCA must continually redesign its work processes to provide more
efficient service to veterans and their families, and to reduce the
risk of injury to its estimated 1,450 employees. When employees are
injured we are challenged to modify their duties to both accommodate
their injury and make them productive members at their work unit. The
work performed at national cemeteries (e.g., the operation of heavy
equipment and the setting of headstones that can weigh in excess of 200
pounds) is physically demanding. This work is also performed in all
types of weather conditions and on all types of terrain. Currently,
there are about 290 NCA employees who are in receipt of benefits for
job-related injuries through the Department of Labor's Office of
Workers Compensation Program (OWCP) at an annual cost of $1.8 million.
An effective way of reducing OWCP costs is preventing injuries and
illnesses. NCA is working to strengthen accountability for OWCP case
management by linking organizational and financial incentives. Funding
and payment responsibility is assigned to NCA cemeteries. The
establishment of appropriate workplace safety programs and employee
safety education programs is a key component of a successful
occupational safety and health program.
NCA maintains a proactive safety program to assure that all
employees receive appropriate job health, safety awareness, hazard
recognition, and specialized safety training. We are in the process of
developing several Job Hazard Analyses, including upgrading our
Ergonomics Program. Our plan is to emphasize both programs in an effort
to energize the workforce to reduce on-the-job injuries. In addition,
we have initiated independent safety inspections at national cemeteries
to ensure that existing safety methods are being fully utilized. Our
goal is to continue to provide a safe workplace ensuring that injuries
to our wage grade staff are prevented at the cemetery level.
Oversight of our safety program has been performed as a collateral
duty in the past. Our plan is to hire a full-time safety official who
will have responsibility for developing and directing a comprehensive
nationwide safety program. We are confident that this position, when
filled, will enable us to strengthen our safety program and reduce the
use of OWCP by NCA employees. NCA will continue to be a full and active
participant in the development of safety policies and procedures in
response to a changing work environment.
capital crime cases
Public Law 105-116, enacted on November 21, 1997, prohibits, under
specified circumstances, the interment or memorialization in a VA
national (or state veterans cemetry that received grant funding) of
individuals convicted of Federal or State capital crimes for which they
have been sentenced to death or life imprisonment, or would have been
convicted but were not because they were unavailable for trial due to
death or flight to avoid prosecution.
Several recent cases illustrate potential problem areas NCA is
facing in its implementation of P.L. 105-116. Currently, when a request
for interment or memorialization is received at a national cemetery,
the cemetery director does not routinely ask whether or not the person
has been convicted of a crime or inquire into the circumstances of the
person's death. NCA sees these types of questions as being
inappropriate to ask of grieving family members. Only when a fact
surfaces that indicates a capital crime was or may have been committed
by the deceased, does an inquiry begin.
If an inquiry takes place, the cemetery director must first contact
his or her regional general counsel who acts as a legal resource and
who contacts the appropriate Federal or State officials to obtain a
copy of the conviction or to gather information to support a decision
being made that ``there appears to be clear and convincing evidence''
that a Federal or State capital crime was committed. All of this must
take place in a very tight time frame, which adds additional stress to
the family during an emotional period. VA must also deal with 50
different State judicial systems, each with its own set of definitions
of crimes and views on how much they need to assist VA by providing
information. This leads to the perception that cases are being handled
differently based on location.
VA is currently finalizing regulations that set forth procedures
for handling eligibility determinations for cases that may fall within
the restrictions set forth in P. L. 105-116 when VA becomes aware of
information suggesting that an individual has been or would have been
convicted of a Federal or State capital crime. Once the final rule is
published, NCA will develop further guidance to assist cemetery
directors when they must make a determination on one of these cases as
well as describing the appeals process available to families.
Chairman Specter. My yellow light just went on, so I am
going to have only one more question for you. Of interest is
your studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. How proficient
are you in Hebrew now?
Ms. Higgins. [Responds in Hebrew language.]
Chairman Specter. What did you say?
Ms. Higgins. I spoke Hebrew pretty well when I lived in
Israel. I lived there for about a year and a half. And since I
do not get an opportunity to speak it very often here, my
Hebrew has deteriorated. I have had the wonderful opportunity
of being able to visit Israel a number of times since I was
there several lifetimes ago as a college student and I find
that I can speak enough to get by. But, of course, if you have
been there, as I am sure you have, just about everybody speaks
English and so it is easy to not speak Hebrew when you are over
there.
Chairman Specter. Thank you very much, Ms. Higgins.
Senator Rockefeller?
Senator Rockefeller. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Higgins, the VA has a program--and if you are not aware
of this I do not hold that against you, it is just I want to
inform you of this--something called the State Cemetery Grant
Program. It has been very successful in offering a burial
option, so to speak, to veterans who live in lower density
areas, which would be Senator Nelson's Nebraska, my West
Virginia, and large parts of Senator Specter's Pennsylvania.
But there are some large States, including your own in Florida
where you served, that have not participated in the program.
What are your thoughts on modifying this grant program to
allow VA grants to cities or counties to open a veterans
cemetery or set aside a portion of their public cemetery for
veterans?
Ms. Higgins. Well, as you have recognized, I have only been
at the job for a short time, since Monday I guess, trying to
learn these things. I am somewhat familiar, of course, with the
State Cemetery Grants Program. We in Florida have not opted to
explore that program yet because we have been so focused on
trying to get that National Cemetery in south Florida.
But it is a wonderful opportunity and I know it has been
made better over the years by allowing 100 percent of funding
for construction. It is a great program. There are many States
that have opted to it, but there are some others that might
need to be looking at that. I will certainly have the
opportunity, if confirmed, to look into if we can make that
program better, I think we ought to do that and we ought to
market it and make sure that the States understand what the
positive aspects can be of having a State Veterans Cemetery.
Senator Rockefeller. Thank you. I have one more question.
You are facing many demands now, between opening new cemeteries
in underserved areas--and you just heard of one in
Pennsylvania, extending the service of current cemeteries, and
attempting to maintain the facilities as places of honor
despite the fact that some of our National Cemeteries date back
to the Civil War. Of these different options, if you do have a
priority, it would be interesting to know it; if you do not,
that is OK, too. How does one meet all these demands?
Ms. Higgins. Well, again, having been involved in this for
a very short time, it is difficult for me to say whether I
would in fact have a priority. I think they are all equally
good in helping to ensure that we meet the burial needs of all
the veterans. In the next 10 years, we will be burying more
veterans than we ever have before. And so I think it is
important that we have a number of different options that we
can all look at together and work together with the States and
with the communities to make sure that those burial options are
met. Veterans also, and their families, have different needs
themselves and different requirements.
So we will have to look at all those things. And I do not
know that we will ever really come up with a priority. The
priority is to make sure that we provide veterans with the
burial option that they need and deserve.
Senator Rockefeller. Thank you.
Chairman Specter. Thank you, Senator Rockefeller.
We are going to submit questions for the record to you as
well, Ms. Higgins--we have questions for everybody--to which we
would like answers no later than Monday morning so we can
proceed and try to get you confirmed before the next week is
up.
Mrs. Cragin graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1985.
She has substantial experience in Government, having worked as
Director of Communications for the Committee on Armed Services
of the House of Representatives from May 1995 to January 2001.
She currently is Director of Congressional Relations for the
Raytheon Company. She holds the rank of Commander in the Naval
Reserve. She served as a public affairs officer, and served for
7 years in active duty in the U.S. Navy.
Welcome, Mrs. Cragin. We look forward to your testimony.
STATEMENT OF MAUREEN PATRICIA CRAGIN, NOMINEE FOR ASSISTANT
SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Mrs. Cragin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman and
members of the committee, it has been my honor to have served
my country as a member of the U.S. Navy and, currently, as a
member of the U.S. Naval Reserve. I have also been privileged
to serve Chairman Floyd Spence as his Communications Director
on the House Armed Services Committee. However, I can think of
no greater honor than the one President Bush bestows by
nominating me for your consideration as Assistant Secretary for
Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. I would also like to
thank Secretary Principi for his confidence in me to fulfill
the responsibilities of this office.
As President Bush has said, all that America's veterans ask
is that ``their government honor its commitments as they
honored theirs.'' The Department of Veterans Affairs was
established to do just that--honor and serve America's
veterans. I believe this to be a basic obligation of our
country. And if confirmed, I will work tirelessly to serve my
fellow veterans.
Secretary Principi has made it clear that he is fully
committed to serving veterans and, more importantly, he is
committed to making a difference. I believe he can, and I
believe he will. The Secretary's commitment and enthusiasm is
what drew me back to Government service, as Senator Collins
mentioned earlier, after only just a few months with Raytheon.
I came back because I believe there is no greater opportunity
to serve than at the Department of Veterans Affairs where
Priority One is in service in honor of the defenders of our
freedom.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has a great story to
tell about the more than 200,000 dedicated employees who honor
veterans everyday through their work on cutting-edge research
in spinal cord injuries, brain trauma, prosthetic devices,
geriatric care, and so much more. If confirmed, I will work
hard to get these and many other good stories told.
America's 24 million veterans live in big cities, rural
communities, overseas, and their needs are equally as
widespread. No matter where they live, it is imperative that
veterans have access to complete and accurate information
regarding the benefits available to them. If confirmed, I will
look for ways to increase and enhance communications efforts,
not only to veterans, their families, and service
organizations, but also internally within the Department, with
the Congress, and with other Federal, State, and local
Governments.
I would like to thank the committee for considering my
nomination. I will be pleased to answer any questions you may
have.
[The prepared statement of Mrs. Cragin follows:]
Prepared Statement of Maureen Patricia Cragin, Nominee for Assistant
Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, Department of
Veterans Affairs
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, it has been my honor to
have served my country as a member of the U.S. Navy and, currently, as
a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve. I have also been privileged to
serve Chairman Floyd Spence as his Communications Director on the House
Armed Services Committee. I have also served at the Departments of
Labor and Energy. However, I can think of no greater honor than the one
President Bush bestows by nominating me for your consideration as
Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. I am
deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve America's veterans. I
would also like to thank Secretary Principi for his confidence in me to
fulfill the responsibilities of this office.
As President Bush has said, all that America's veterans ask is that
``their government honors its commitments as they honored theirs and
that their interests be protected as they protected their country's in
foreign lands.'' The Department of Veterans Affairs was established to
do just that--honor and serve America's veterans. I believe this to be
a basic obligation of our country. If confirmed, I will work tirelessly
to serve my fellow veterans.
Secretary Principi has made it clear that he is fully committed to
serving veterans and, more importantly, he is committed to making a
difference. I believe he can, and he will. The Secretary's commitment
and enthusiasm is what drew me back to government service--after only
three months in a wonderful and challenging position with Raytheon.
This committee knows far better than I that government service is a
noble calling--a calling where you have a chance to make a difference
every day. I believe there is no greater opportunity to serve than at
the Department of Veterans Affairs where Priority One is service in
honor of the defenders of our freedom.
Throughout my career as a public affairs practitioner, I have
strived to tell the story, completely and accurately, of the agencies I
represented. The Department of Veterans Affairs has a great story to
tell about the more than 200,000 dedicated employees who honor veterans
everyday through their work on cutting-edge research in spinal chord
injuries, brain trauma, prosthetic devices, and geriatric care. These
employees are committed to excellence in patient safety and providing
quality health care. If confirmed, I will work hard to get these and
many other good news stories told.
And when the story is not as positive, I will live by the
principles taught to me as a Navy public affairs officer: ``maximum
disclosure, minimum delay.'' I truly believe it is the responsibility
of government to release information in a timely and accurate manner.
Americas 24 million veterans live in big cities, rural communities
and overseas, and their needs are equally as widespread. No matter
where they live, it is imperative that veterans have access to complete
and accurate information regarding the benefits available to them. If
confirmed, this will be my highest priority. I will look for ways to
increase and enhance communications efforts, not only to veterans,
their families and service organizations, but also internally within
the Department, with Congress and with the other federal, state, and
local governments.
In closing, I would like to thank the committee, the President and
the Secretary for providing me with the opportunity to serve at the
Department that is so committed to meeting the needs of our nation's
veterans. I will be pleased to respond to any questions that you may
have.
______
Questionnaire for Presidential Nominees
part 1: all the information in this part will be made public
1. Name: Maureen Patricia Cragin
2. Address: 311 11th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20002
3. Position: Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental
Affairs
4. Date of Nomination: April 23, 2001
5. Birth date: September 14, 1963
6. Birth place: Huntington, New York
7. Marital status: Married
8. Children, age: None
9. Education: Institution (city, state), dates attended, degrees
received, dates of degrees.
U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD; 07/81-05/85; BS; 05/85
10. Honors: List all scholarships, fellowships, honorary degrees,
military medals, honorary society memberships, and any other special
recognitions for outstanding service or achievement.
Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, HI, Navy
Commendation Medal, 09/88
Navy Office of Information, Northeast, Boston, MA, Navy Achievement
Medal, 02/90
LISS Lexington (AVT 16), Pensacola, FL, Navy Commendation Medal,
11/91
Naval Media Center, Washington, DC, Navy Commendation Medal, 10/98
11. Memberships: List all memberships and offices held in
professional, fraternal, business, scholarly, civic, charitable, and
other organizations for the last 5 years and other prior memberships or
offices you consider relevant.
Disabled American Veterans (Life Member)
Naval Academy Alumni Association (Life Member)
Reserve Officers Association
Naval Reserve Association
Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (fraternal)
Service Academy Advisory Board (Office of Congresswoman Holmes
Norton)
12. Employment Record: List all employment (except military
service) since your twenty-first birthday, including the title or
description of job, name of employer, location of work and inclusive
dates of employment.
01/01-04/01, Director of Congressional Relations, Raytheon Company,
Arlington, VA
05/95-01/01, Director of Communications, Committee on Armed
Services, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC
05/94-05/95, Communications Specialist, MELE Associates, Rockville,
MD
10/92-05/94, Public Affairs Specialist, U.S. Department of Labor,
Washington, DC
05/92-08/92, Director of Volunteer Administration, Republican
National Convention, Houston, TX
13. Military Service: List all military service (including reserve
components and National Guard or Air National Guard), with inclusive
dates of service, rank, permanent duty stations and units of
assignment, titles, descriptions of assignments, and type of discharge.
Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve, Office of the Chairman Joint Chiefs
of Staff, Washington, DC, Public Affairs Officer, 10/00-Present
Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve, Chief of Naval Operations Staff
(Operations and Plans)/N3/N5, Washington, DC Assigned to Office of
Political-Military Affairs (NATO/Europe/N528), Staff Officer, 10/99-09/
00
Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve, Commander Naval
Expeditionary Logistics Support Force, Williamsburg, VA, Public Affairs
Officer, 10/98-09/99
Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve, Naval Media Center,
Washington, DC, Officer in Charge/Public Affairs Officer 07/97-09/98
Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve, Office of the Chief of
Information, U.S. Navy, Washington, DC, Assistant Operations Officer/
Public Affairs Officer, 10/96-07/97
Lieutenant, U.S. Naval Reserve, Commander Second Naval Construction
Brigade, Little Creek, VA, Public Affairs Officer, 10/94-09/96
Lieutenant, U.S. Naval Reserve, Office of the Chief of Information,
U.S. Navy, Washington, DC, Assistant Operations Officer/Public Affairs
Officer, 09/92-09/94
Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL, Assistant
Public Affairs Officer, 11/91-04/92, Honorable Discharge
Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, USS Lexington (AVT 16), Pensacola, FL,
Public Affairs Officer, 02/90-11/91
Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, Naval Office of Information, Boston, MA,
Assistant Director/Public Affairs Officer, 12/88-02/90
Lieutenant, (junior grade), U.S. Navy, Defense Information School,
Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN, Public Affairs Officers' Course (PAOC 1-
89)/Student, 10/88-12/88
Lieutenant (junior grade), U.S. Navy, Commander in Chief, U.S.
Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, HI, Assistant Protocol Officer, 02/87-10/
88
Ensign, U.S. Navy, Patrol Squadron One, Naval Air Station, Barbers
Point, HI, Aviation Maintenance Duty Officer, 11/85-02/87
Ensign, U.S. Navy, Aviation Maintenance Duty Officer School,
Pensacola, FL, Student, 08/85-11/85
Ensign, U.S. Navy, Officer assigned to Sailing Center, U.S. Naval
Academy, Annapolis, MD, Awaiting further assignment and follow on
orders, 05/85-08/85
Midshipman, U.S. Navy, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD,
Student, 07/81-05/85
14. Government experience: List any advisory, consultative,
honorary, or other part-time service or positions with Federal, State,
or local governments other than listed above. None.
15. Published writings: List titles, publishers, and dates of
books, articles, reports or other published materials you have written.
I have authored and coauthored numerous press releases and
statements while serving as Communications Director and Press Secretary
for the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives (05/
95-01/01).
16. Political affiliations and activities
(a) List all memberships and offices held in and financial
contributions and services rendered to any political party or election
committee during the last 10 years:
Served as Director of Volunteer Administration at the 1992
Republican National Convention in Houston, TX (05/92-08/92).
Contributed to Susan Collins for Governor Campaign (1994).
Contributed to Susan Collins for Senate Campaign (1996).
(b) List all elective, public offices for which you have been a
candidate and the month and year of each election involved: None.
17. Future employment relationships
(a) State whether you will sever all connections with your present
employer, business firm, association, or organization if you are
confirmed by the Senate:
I have terminated my employment with Raytheon Company effective
April 13, 2001.
(b) State whether you have any plans after completing Government
service to resume employment, affiliation, or practice with your
previous employer, business firm, association or organization: None.
(c) What commitments, if any, have been made to you for employment
after you leave Federal service? None.
(d) (if appointed for a term of specified duration) Do you intend
to serve the full term for which you have been appointed? N/A.
(e) (if appointed for indefinite period) Do you intend to serve
until the next Presidential election? Yes.
18. Potential Conflicts of Interest
(a) Describe any financial arrangements, deferred compensation
agreements, or other continuing financial, business, or professional
dealings which you have with business associates, clients, or customers
who will be affected by policies which you will influence in the
position to which you have been nominated: None.
(b) List any investments, obligations, liabilities, or other
financial relationships which constitute potential conflicts of
interest with the position to which you have been nominated: None.
(c) Describe any business relationship, dealing, or financial
transaction which you have had during the last 5 years, whether for
yourself, on behalf of a client, or acting as an agent, that
constitutes as potential conflict of interest with the position to
which you have been nominated: None.
(d) Describe any lobbying activity during the past 10 years in
which you have engaged for the purpose of directly or indirectly
influencing the passage, defeat, or modification of any Federal
legislation or for the purpose of affecting the administration and
execution of Federal law or policy.
During my employment as Director of Congressional Relations (Navy
and Marine Corps Programs) at Raytheon Company, Arlington, VA, I served
from January until April 2001 during which time no legislative
activities on either the defense authorization or appropriations act
were taking place. While I met with numerous members of Congress and
staff members, my activities were confined to reports on the ongoing
implementation of existing contracts that Raytheon has with the U.S.
Navy and Marine Corps.
(e) Explain how you will resolve any potential conflicts of
interest that may be disclosed by your responses to the above items.
(Please provide a copy of any trust or other agreements involved.) N/A.
19. Testifying before the Congress
(a) Do you agree to appear and testify before any duly constituted
committee of the Congress upon the request of such committee? Yes.
(b) Do you agree to provide such information as is requested by
such a committee? Yes.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Arlen Specter to
Maureen Patricia Cragin
Question 1. I am concerned that VA has not done an adequate job of
making veterans aware of the benefits for which they may be eligible.
In fact, there are currently three bills pending before the Committee,
which would direct VA to better address outreach efforts to make
veterans, and veterans' survivors, aware of their entitlements to
benefits. Do you think veterans and other potential VA beneficiaries
are unaware of the benefits to which they are entitled? Do such
benefits need to be ``marketed'' to VA beneficiaries? Assuming that you
conclude that the word needs to get out, how will you--if you are
confirmed--get it out?
Answer. I do believe that many veterans and potential VA
beneficiaries are unaware of the benefits to which they are entitled.
Therein lies opportunity. If I am confirmed, I will direct the Office
of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs to develop a joint
communications strategy that integrates public and intergovernmental
outreach efforts across local, regional, state, and federal levels. In
so doing, VA can exploit all avenues of communications available to us,
and embrace the power of the Internet. However, because not all
veterans have access to the Internet, VA must continue to provide
information in print and by other mediums.
Too often information produced in Washington never reaches the
customer. VA must aggressively and resourcefully market its services at
the local level. Commercial advertising is not a legal option for VA;
however, use of the ``bully pulpit'' by the Secretary and members of
the Department's secretariat will draw attention to VA's
accomplishments and create demand for information. As Secretary
Principi and his leadership team travels around the country, VA must
generate and exploit media coverage. VA's local and regional public
affairs officers are vital to seize this opportunity. VA also has a
great story to tell about the more than 200,000 dedicated employees who
honor veterans through their work on cutting-edge research in spinal
cord injuries, brain trauma, prosthetic devices, geriatric care and
much more. VA is also a leader in patient safety and in providing
quality health care. If confirmed, I will work hard to get these
stories told. I will ensure the regional PAOs, to the maximum extent
possible, leverage localized media coverage to directly provide
consumer information and to influence facility visits by veterans and
family members. I will also ask the regional PAOs to send local news to
Washington for use in VA public and intergovernmental communications
vehicles, closing the feedback loop.
VA must also leverage the dedication and expertise resident in the
veterans service organizations. Every town in America has its VSO posts
and chapters. Every governor in each state has a Director of Veterans
Affairs (or equivalent); State Veterans Homes are located in most
states; and most towns in America have public libraries. If confirmed,
I will work hard to get information to them, and I will direct further
development of collaborative efforts with these great grassroots
resources.
Question 2. The array of veterans' benefits provided at the
Federal, State, and local level is overwhelming to many. To my
knowledge, there is no single repository of information on what
benefits are provided at the three levels of government. If you are
confirmed, will you make it a priority to develop such information? Do
you think this would be a useful service for VA to provide?
Answer. I believe a single repository of information would be a
powerful resource, not only to veterans, but also to VA employees.
Telling veterans and their families about the programs that they have
available to them at all levels of government is a critical part of
VA's mission, and one it must continue to refine and develop.
The Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents booklet, in
English and Spanish at all VA facilities, is available from the
Government Printing Office and on-line (linked to the VA homepage). It
is provided to active duty service members as they separate from the
services. In October 2000, the Veterans Benefits Administration
completed a reference system, which VA believes contains the most
accurate, complete inventory of benefits for the 50 states ever
compiled. Currently, this is available VA-wide. I understand that the
next phase will provide access to Congress and other stakeholders and
that Nationwide Internet Access will be available before the end of
2001. If confirmed, I will make it a priority to ensure that veterans
are aware of this service, and I will work with VBA to explore how this
information can be made even more available to veterans--and available
in one place.
The Department's liaison activities with State and local veterans
affairs programs are the responsibility of the Assistant Secretary for
Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. Therefore, if confirmed, I will
oversee the coordination of the Department's work with other federal,
state and local agencies and departments. I will continue to improve
the level of communication with the State Directors of Veterans
Affairs, State Home Directors and local governments. I will encourage
the participation of senior VA leaders at these groups' national, state
and local meetings.
Question 3. In a February 26, 2001, Washington Post article, OMB
Director Mitch Daniels made the following statement about government
programs that may be duplicative and inefficient: ``We have 50 programs
for the homeless sprawling across eight departments . . . we have to be
careful with duplication of that kind.'' If you are confirmed, you will
bear some responsibility for coordinating the VA effort on homelessness
and developing partnerships with other Federal agencies. If you
encounter duplication of efforts that have negative impact on services
to homeless veterans, what action will you take? Do you agree with
those who state that funding expended on bureaucracy directly reduces
the supply of dollars available to provide housing and job-training
assistance to those in need?
Answer. To operate the government, some bureaucracy--some
governmental infrastructure--is necessary. When the bureaucracy becomes
redundant, excessive, and wasteful, further expenditures unnecessarily
reduce the money available to provide housing, job training, and other
services. Redundancies that degrade results must be reduced wherever
found, not just in VA's homeless veteran programs. Under Public Law
106-377, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is a rotating chair of the
Interagency Council on the Homeless. The council provides Federal
leadership for activities assisting the homeless. VA thus has a voice
in determining and conducting policy in this important arena. Secretary
Principi has further directed the formation of an advisory committee on
homeless veterans. Already, VA and HUD have collaborated on several
successful projects assisting homeless veterans. If confirmed, I will
use the resources of the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
to aggressively communicate the Department's activities and assist the
council with appropriate intergovernmental coordination.
If confirmed, I will direct VA's Homeless Veterans Program director
to keep a watchful eye for and report wasteful, redundant activities,
and to seek opportunities for enhanced VA and interagency efficiencies.
Communications outreach and coordination with other council members
will necessarily yield insights that I will in turn bring to Secretary
Principi or, through the interagency process, to the current chair.
Question 4. As you may have learned already, the Committee believes
that VA and the Department of Defense can better cooperate in their
shared mission of directly providing medical care services to their
respective beneficiary populations. What role can the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs take in
fostering increase interdepartmental cooperation?
Answer. President Bush directed that the departments of Veterans
Affairs and Defense explore ways to cooperate in the provision of
health care to their respective beneficiary populations. Secretary
Principi supports that effort. VA/DOD sharing occurs among 165 VA
Medical Centers and most military medical treatment facilities. The two
departments have agreed to share 7,963 services covering a broad range
of hospital related activities. These initiatives are coordinated
through the Veterans Health Administration's Office of VA/DOD Sharing
and Joint Ventures. If confirmed, I will ensure that the Office of
Public and Intergovernmental Affairs fulfills Secretary Principi's
intent for us to serve as a liaison to other executive branch agencies,
coordinating and promoting intergovernmental programs that affect
veterans and their family members.
If confirmed, I will direct that my office support the interagency
process with external and internal communications products and services
integrated with other VA communications activities. I will ensure that
the office collaborates fully with appropriate Defense public affairs
and intergovernmental activities.
Question 5. Do you have any conflicts of interest, which you have
not fully disclosed to the Committee, or do you know of any other
matter, which, if known to the Committee, might affect the Committee's
recommendation to the Senate with respect to your nomination?
Answer. No.
Question 6. Have you fully and accurately provided financial and
other information requested by the Committee, and do you now affirm
that that information is complete, accurate, and provided in a form not
designed to evade?
Answer. Yes.
Question 7. Do you agree to supply the Committee such non-
privileged information, materials, and documents as may be requested by
the Committee in its oversight and legislative capacities for so long
as you shall serve in the position for which you now seek confirmation?
Answer. I do.
Question 8. Do you agree to appear before the Committee at such
times and concerning such matters as the Committee might request for so
long as you serve in the position for which you now seek confirmation?
Answer. I do.
Chairman Specter. Thank you very much, Mrs. Cragin. You
have had considerable experience in public relations. One of
the issues which the committee is concerned about is informing
survivors of their benefits. What ideas will you suggest to
tell survivors what their benefits are? How would you
disseminate such information across the country?
Mrs. Cragin. Sir, I believe the Department needs to have a
very strong relationship with the veteran service organizations
who can reach out to their veterans in their communities. In
addition, as Senator Nelson talked about, it is difficult to
reach some people in rural communities. And if I am confirmed,
I am going to do all that I can to make sure that we are
reaching the weekly newspapers and radio/television in the
smaller communities in addition to the major population areas.
Chairman Specter. How would you do that? Take my hometown
of Russell, KS. It is a small town on the prairie. They have a
newspaper. They do not have a radio station. What would you
suggest to reach survivors there?
Mrs. Cragin. Sir, there are seven regional offices that
work public affairs and, if I am confirmed, will be under me. I
will need to take a look and make sure that they are getting
out there and reaching those communities. Also, working with
veteran service organizations to see where they are in these
communities so that we can get information to individuals that
may not have access to the Internet or other avenues to receive
information.
Chairman Specter. To what extent will your work with the
Armed Services Committee be of assistance to you in respect to
the new job with the Veterans Administration?
Mrs. Cragin. Many of the issues facing veterans are shared
by those serving in uniform, a lot of the health care benefits,
in particular, which was a very big issue, as you know, last
year in the Defense Authorization Act. Those impact retirees
and veterans as well. So being exposed to those issues is
important, and there may be opportunities where, if confirmed,
I can work with the Department of Defense to help recruit and
retain people in service and maybe after they leave the
military they may be able to perhaps take a position in civil
service.
Chairman Specter. Mrs. Cragin, when you went to the Naval
Academy were you considering a career in the Navy?
Mrs. Cragin. Yes, sir, I was.
Chairman Specter. And why did you terminate after 7 years?
Mrs. Cragin. I absolutely loved the Navy but I chose to
leave the service because it was time for me to do something
different, which is the reason I stayed in the Reserves. It has
really been a privilege to serve in the Navy.
Chairman Specter. What factors led you to change your
initial thinking on making the Navy a career?
Mrs. Cragin. Hard to say, sir. At that time in my life, in
fact, I was having the time of my life serving on board the
U.S.S. Lexington, which was the training aircraft carrier in
Pensacola. At the time, that was the only aircraft carrier that
women could serve on. It was a terrific job. I worked with
wonderful people. I had great commanding officers. It was just
time for me to try to do something else. I was not unhappy at
all. In fact, like I said, that was really a privilege to have
that opportunity. It was just time for me.
Chairman Specter. OK. Thank you very much, Mrs. Cragin. We
are going to ask you for a report, too, within 60 days, but of
a more limited nature. We ask you to report on what problems
you have identified within the scope of your duty assignment,
what your thoughts are about improving the situation, and what
action you have taken in the course of the first 60 days.
[The information referred to follows:]
issue 1: communicating with one voice
Problem:
There is a lack of effective communication throughout the
Department. Departmental spokespersons do not consistently communicate
the same message.
Plan for addressing problem:
The Department of Veterans Affairs has several excellent public
affairs programs, such as the National Story Program,\1\ and the four
national rehabilitative special events.\2\ Additionally, Secretary
Principi has actively engaged in and encouraged greater outreach to the
media, veterans, and the general public. However, VA lacks a
comprehensive, Department-wide communications strategy with which to
focus, organize, and direct the communications effort.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ VA's National Story Program is an Office of Public Affairs
initiative that secures favorable media placement of VA stories,
primarily on health care and medical research.
\2\ The four events are: The National Disabled Veterans Winter
Sports Clinic, the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, the National
Veterans Golden Age Games and the National Veterans Creative Arts
Festival. These rehabilitative events are developed at VA medical
centers and increase the health and quality of life of veterans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VA communications is complicated by the fact that its stakeholders
are numerous and diverse. They include veterans and their
beneficiaries, VA employees, volunteers, veterans service
organizations, Congress, other federal agencies/departments, state and
local governments and private sector interests. Each stakeholder has a
different perspective and concerns, crossing all organizational
boundaries.
VA is obligated to communicate directly and honestly with all of
our stakeholders regarding critical VA issues. That means not just
notifying them of a change in the way VA conducts a program or that it
has put a new initiative in place; it also means keeping stakeholders
informed on those programs and initiatives on a recurring, effective
basis.
As Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, I
will develop a deliberate and proactive communications process that
strives to reach every segment of our constituency. The communications
plan will involve the Administrations within the Department (Veterans
Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration and the
National Cemeteries Administration) and the staff offices. This joint
communications strategy will integrate public and intergovernmental
outreach efforts across local, regional, state, and federal levels. In
so doing, VA can exploit all avenues of communications available to us,
and embrace the power of the Internet and permission-based email.
Because not all veterans have access to the Internet, VA must continue
to provide information in print and by other mediums. Using our
regional public affairs staff we will invigorate this more traditional
approach to public outreach by aggressive placement of news in
community-based newspapers, across the airwaves on local talk radio and
even local cable access TV where appropriate.
issue 2: insufficient public affairs training across the department
Problem:
Most of the staff performing public affairs in the field do so as a
collateral duty. They often have limited public affairs training and
experience, which can reduce their willingness to proactively represent
VA issues through the news media.
Plan for addressing problem:
Effective communication is a critical component of organizational
success for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Communications cannot
be delegated to the professionals in public affairs. Effective
communications is the responsibility of every VA employee. From the
benefits counselor providing assistance to a homeless veteran, to the
hospital director explaining the details of a new program, to the VA
Secretary appearing on a nationwide broadcast, the need to communicate
clearly and accurately is of paramount importance.
The Office of Public Affairs hosts an annual training conference
for VA's full-time and collateral-duty public affairs professionals.
The forum provides beginner and advanced public affairs training. As
Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, I have
directed that we explore and implement new ways to enhance the
training. We will bring new emphasis to the use of technology and the
skills of developing grassroots outreach. Additionally, standardized
training in public and media relations should be required for all VA
executives, facility directors and other key staff likely to have
contact with VA's stakeholders. I understand that every general in the
Army and every admiral in the Navy must attend that service's excellent
media training program; these are fine benchmarks for VA. This training
should develop public and media relations skills, fostering an exchange
of consistent information and a focused VA message. Providing for this
kind of training at the Department level will help minimize the
stovepipe effect and reduce barriers to public outreach among VA
leaders. It will create a network for employees to use both formally
and informally to improve the dissemination of VA messages and
information. As Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental
Affairs, I will work with the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans
Benefits Administration and the National Cemeteries Administration to
identify cost-effective, efficient means (within existing training
dollars) of providing this training to VA executives, managers and
supervisors on a recurring basis.
issue 3: processing of veterans claims for benefits provided through
the department of veterans affairs
Problem:
Many veterans have lost faith in VA's ability to decide their
claims in a fair and timely manner.
Plan for addressing problem:
Secretary Principi has identified this problem as one of the top
issues that needs to be corrected. In addition to acknowledging the
extent and nature of the problem he has directed senior management to
develop strategies for dealing with the issue.
As Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, it
is my responsibility to ensure that the Secretary's goals are being
communicated effectively and ensuring that veterans have, in a timely
manner, access to complete and accurate information regarding the
benefits available to them.
As Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs,
the Department's liaison for veteran programs with State and local
governments are the responsibility of the Office of Intergovernmental
Affairs, a component within my office. This office oversees VA's
involvement with other federal, state and local agencies and
departments. In this capacity, I will continue to improve the level of
communication between State Directors of Veterans Affairs (or
equivalent), State Home Directors, local governments and the Department
of Veterans Affairs.
issue 4: telling va's positive stories on a regular basis
Problem:
The true story of the Department's accomplishments is not being
told.
Plan for addressing problem:
The 217,000 employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs provide
exceptional service to America's veterans as partial repayment for the
exemplary service and sacrifices veterans have made for our nation
while in uniform. Unfortunately, too many veterans do not know about
much of the work that is being done on their behalf, and too many
American taxpayers do not have a full idea of the use to which their
tax dollars are being put at VA.
For example, VA is a nationwide leader in the health care industry,
particularly in areas like patient safety, computerized patient
records, telemedicine, surgical quality assessment, rehabilitation,
mental health care, and clinical and health services research. Our
benefits claims processing procedures are being comprehensively
reviewed, and more than 900 new claims examiners have been added since
January 20 to reduce claim backlog and decrease processing times.
Additionally, VA has renewed our efforts to insure that our National
Cemeteries are operated and maintained as National Shrines, hallowed
grounds where all Americans can gain a greater appreciation of the
noble sacrifices of the generations of men and women who served our
nation in uniform in order to keep our nation free.
The Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs is well aware of
the need to have positive stories placed about VA people, activities
and accomplishments in news media outlets. However, all too often the
task of keeping the news media informed about such stories is
superseded by the need to respond to inquiries generated by the news
media themselves. As Assistant Secretary for Public and
Intergovernmental Affairs, I intend to do what I can to see that
positive, interesting stories about VA activities are provided to
reporters on a regular basis. I will direct my staff to ``pitch''
stories of popular interest aggressively to media outlets whose
readership would be interested in those stories. I will work more
closely with specialty media, especially the publications of the
veterans service organizations. My staff will prepare more products of
use to the media, especially op-ed pieces, feature stories and ideas,
and ``hometowner'' pieces. We will not neglect our responsibility to
provide the media with timely and accurate responses to inquiries they
have generated; but we also hope to provide them with information that
will illuminate activities the Department undertakes on behalf of
veterans and their families of which they may not have previously been
aware.
issue 5: enhancing communications with vso's and non-vso veterans at
the state and local level
Problem:
Washington does not always hear the issues of veterans at the
local/grassroots level.
Plan for addressing problem:
During Secretary Principi's confirmation hearing, he pledged his
commitment to strengthen VA's partnerships with veterans' service
organizations. To that end, he established a Regional Veterans Service
Organization Liaison Staff to address the needs and concerns of
veterans service organizations at the State and local levels
nationwide.
The Regional Veterans Service Organization Liaison Staff is
organizationally located in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, a
component of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and
Intergovernmental Affairs. The office consists of a regional veterans
service liaison coordinator, six regional liaisons and one program
support assistant. They report directly to the coordinator located in
VA central office. The VSO liaison officers are charged with developing
and enhancing partnerships with the State and local veterans service
organizations, as well as State Directors of Veterans Affairs,
attending conventions, meetings and other functions in order to provide
an effective communication channel for the Department with these
groups. The liaisons are also responsible for developing and
facilitating outreach activities to inform the non-VSO veteran
population and the general public in their regions of the various
programs, initiatives and goals of VA, and gathering feedback that will
potentially inform every facet of the Department's policy and outreach
efforts.
As Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, I
will directly participate in establishing goals for and monitoring the
progress of this new function to ensure it brings VA closer to the
pulse of the veteran community; thereby better serving veterans
affiliated with VSOs as well as those unaffiliated millions whose
interests are often similar and related to veterans in VSOs. Thus,
developing a linkage with VSOs holds the potential to benefit all
veterans.
issue 6: reaching the internal audience
Problem:
There is a lack of effective communication to the internal VA
audience.
Plan for addressing problem:
VA's internal audience--our employees and volunteers--constitutes a
critical stakeholder group as well as a powerful communications medium
reaching the veterans VA serves, deep into the communities in which VA
programs and facilities work. Employee awareness and understanding of
VA organization, mission, and issues not only impacts operational
effectiveness; it directly impacts the public's (America's veterans')
knowledge and perception of what the department does and how it
performs.
The Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs has a
responsibility to ensure the VA internal audience has accurate, current
and clear information about the organization, issues and management
priorities that affect their work. As Assistant Secretary, I will
assess the scope and effectiveness of VA's internal communications
efforts. This assessment will inventory current products and programs,
seek gaps or omissions in reaching the internal audience and explore
ways of integrating appropriate themes, messages and topics into all
internal media.
We have already identified areas of improvement: We will seek to
enhance the appearance and content of our internal journal, VAnguard.
We are enhancing the functionality of our website. We are developing
the ability to feed VA-produced ``news'' programs to our facilities in
a timelier manner.
issue 7: reaching minority veterans
Problem:
Recent studies indicate underutilization of some veterans benefits
by minority veterans.
Plan for addressing problem:
Minorities make up an increasing percentage of the armed forces
and, consequently, of the veterans' population, which itself comprises
virtually every minority sector in America. However, there are
indications that minority veterans are under-using some veterans
benefits. While we do not yet know the cause, it may be that they are
simply unaware of the benefits available to them. As Assistant
Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, I will work closely
with the Department's Center for Minority Veterans to increase outreach
efforts to minority veterans by insuring VA informational products are
distributed directly to mass media outlets serving minority populations
in the format, style and language these media require.
The Office of Public Affairs (OPA) will develop and update
comprehensive lists of electronic and print media serving minority
populations, nationally, regionally and locally. OPA will prepare
material specifically to meet the format and language requirements of
those media and the needs of their audiences. This information will
focus on issues of particular interest and value to veterans served by
those media, as well as information regarding access to the VA health
care, benefits and cemetery administrations. This initiative will
emphasize direct contact and service for these media through OPA
regional offices. This effort will be coordinated with facility public
affairs officers and minority veterans coordinators who will localize
OPA products for use with local minority media outlets.
issue 8: improving communications with veterans residing in rural areas
Problem:
Too often information produced in Washington never reaches the
customer.
Plan for addressing problem:
America's 24 million veterans live in big cities, rural communities
and overseas. No matter where they live, it is imperative they have
access to complete and accurate information regarding the benefits
available to them.
While commercial advertising is not a legal option for VA, the use
of the ``bully pulpit'' by the Secretary and members of the
Department's secretariat will draw attention to VA's accomplishments
and create demand for information. As Secretary Principi and his
leadership team travels around the country, VA must generate and
exploit media coverage. As Assistant Secretary for Public and
Intergovernmental Affairs, I will ensure the regional public affair
professionals leverage localized media coverage to directly provide
consumer information and to influence facility visits by veterans and
family members. Every town has its weekly community-based newspaper,
for example; we will develop the ability to reach into these channels
to address veterans who may not have access to the Internet.
VA must also leverage the dedication and expertise resident in the
veterans service organizations. Every town in America has its VSO posts
and chapters. Every governor in each state has a Director of Veterans
Affairs (or equivalent); State Veterans Homes are located in most
states; and most towns in America have public libraries. As Assistant
Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, I will work hard to
get information to them using traditional and electronic means, and I
will direct further development of collaborative efforts with these
great grassroots resources.
issue 9: getting homeless veterans back on their feet
Problem:
Research and experience has shown that veterans are far sicker than
the general homeless population and are reluctant to seek services.
Plan for addressing problem:
The Office of Homeless Veterans Programs within my organization
will actively participate and lead efforts with the Interagency Council
on the Homeless and other Federal agencies to collaboratively work to
improve coordination of services at the Federal level. We will actively
work with State and local governments and Native American Tribal
Governments, national housing and homeless advocacy groups and Veteran
Service Organizations to further develop and enhance our partnerships
to ensure comprehensive programs for homeless veterans are implemented.
We will continue to work to improve the community meetings designed
to assess the needs of veterans. Efforts to increase veterans access to
in-patient, outpatient and outreach efforts (efforts like Stand Downs)
need to be maintained or increased. As Assistant Secretary for Public
and Intergovernmental Affairs, I will work to enhance the outreach
efforts that are a vital component in the effort to assist these
veterans in need.
issue 10: outreach beyond the morning newspaper: getting beyond mass
media
Problem:
Traditional public affairs outreach is not consistently effective.
Too often releases don't get picked up; too often, few veterans get the
word.
Plan for addressing problem:
VA has ``wholesaled'' media releases to national and regional media
outlets, hoping for hits. A relative few editors, news directors and
reporters selected for their receptivity or importance are ``hand-
sold'' the story. The core problem is reliance on the traditional mass
media. The problem is aggravated with minority and rural veterans and
their families who potentially have less access and thus even less
information.
As Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, I
will encourage and emphasize creativity in marketing VA's story. The
office will augment traditional media outreach efforts with permission-
based email and local, grassroots media. Every county, every cultural
group, has its weekly community-based paper, focused on local people
and hungry for news pertinent to them. Every city has its talk radio
and cable-access TV. Every town has its VFW, American Legion, DAV, or
Rotary Club with veteran members meeting to discuss issues of interest.
We can no longer rely solely on the big-city daily to reach our
customers. We must go where they are.
VA has the resources to do this. Public affairs professionals staff
the seven regional public affairs offices. I will direct them to
aggressively identify and ``hand-sell'' community-based media that
serve our veterans, especially our minority, rural, and special-
interest veterans, such as women veterans.
Chairman Specter. Senator Rockefeller?
Senator Rockefeller. Mrs. Cragin, I liked what you said.
And I think that people come to a point where they say I need
to do something different, even though they are happy doing
what they are doing. I went through exactly the same
experience, probably a little bit earlier in life, which
totally changed my life. I think that happens in America, it
ought to happen in America.
One of the things that sometimes gets people nervous is
when people talk about Department of Defense and VA
cooperation. Senator Specter may not agree with what I am about
to say, but I am on the Finance Committee and we are in the
process of doing something which I think is going to eviscerate
Federal moneys over the next 20 years. I believe this tax cut
is not only going to pass, but it is going to grow over the
next year and a half so that we will be in budget deficit
funding within another year or so once again, as we were back
in the 1980's and it took us 15 years to get ourselves out of
that. So the case for working with the Department of Defense,
for which you have worked yourself, I think is compelling in a
whole variety of ways. I think that the old cliches that the VA
does what it does, and the DoD does what it does, and never the
twain shall meet is a way of thinking that is past.
I do not actually need to get a whole lot of answer from
you on that right now, unless you have something that you would
like to think out loud about, but it is something that I would
just like to put at you because I think there is going to have
to be a lot more cooperation, because I think veterans' budgets
are not going to keep up with veterans' needs. I think they
will fall farther behind than they are now because of what we
are doing.
And so I think your job is going to be harder because you
are going to have to explain to people who do not understand
what it is we are doing, or do not then like what they like
now; but then when they do not get the services they have a
right to expect, they cannot understand that. You are going to
have to be the one at the top, so to speak, who initiates that
explaining process.
But I am just interested in whatever thoughts you have
about cooperation between the Department of Veterans Affairs
and the Department of Defense.
Mrs. Cragin. I do not have any specific ideas. I just
recognize that those serving in uniform and veterans, as Robin
Higgins mentioned, there is a common thread and it is a common
audience. There may be ways to together tap into that audience
that would benefit both Department of Veterans Affairs and DoD.
Senator Rockefeller. OK. And that is fine. I would just
like to put that thought out there for everybody to think
about. I thank you very much.
Chairman Specter. Thank you, Senator Rockefeller.
We turn now to Dr. Jacob Lozada. He comes to this
nomination with 25 years of experience in a variety of
positions relating to the health care sector. He was in the
United States Army Medical Department, retiring with the rank
of Colonel. He has served in the private sector in a variety of
health care positions. He has a master's degree in health care
administration from Baylor, a Ph.D. in education from Walden.
Dr. Lozada, the floor is yours for any opening statement
you care to make.
STATEMENT OF JACOB LOZADA, NOMINEE FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR
HUMAN RESOURCES AND ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
Mr. Lozada. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Chairman
Specter, Senator Rockefeller, members of this committee, it is
a great honor and privilege for me to appear before you today
as President Bush's nominee for the position of Assistant
Secretary for Human Resources and Administration of the
Department of Veterans Affairs. Should I be confirmed, I will
be deeply humbled by this opportunity to serve my country and
our veterans those who have sacrificed for their country so
valiantly. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to
Secretary Principi for his support of my nomination, and also
to my family for their support throughout my entire
professional career and throughout this process.
The Department of Veterans Affairs faces significant
challenges in the area of human resources, and we must look at
innovative ways of addressing them. I am confident that working
as a team, with the support from the Congress, the veterans
service organizations, and those organizations that represent
our workforce, we can achieve the vision that you and the
Secretary have defined for the Department.
I strongly believe that human resources are the most
important element of any organization. They are not a cost of
doing business, but a valued asset that must be nurtured. I
also believe that the Department of Veterans Affairs can be a
leader in hiring, developing, and nurturing the best and the
brightest in the marketplace. I want to be part of this
exciting journey and, if confirmed, I promise to dedicate all
my efforts and all my energy, and all the experience that I
have gained throughout 26 years of active military service and
7 years of consulting in large organizations in the private
sector to help Secretary Principi and this committee achieve
the goals of the Department.
As I mentioned, I bring to this position 26 years of
experience in the military where I served in positions of
responsibility, including force structure, organizational
realignments, a health care executive, and an Inspector
General. And for the last 7 years I have provided consulting
services for large corporations and developed various IT-
related capabilities to empower human resources.
Mr. Chairman, I would consider it an honor to work with you
and other committee members, and to work with your staff to
meet the challenges facing the Department. It would also be an
honor to continue to serve our country and to serve our
veterans. I would be pleased to respond to any questions that
you may have. Again, thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lozada follows:]
Prepared Statement of Jacob Lozada, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for
Human Resources and Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs
Chairman Specter, Senator Rockefeller, and members of the
Committee, it is a great honor and privilege for me to appear before
you today as President Bush's nominee for the position of Assistant
Secretary for Human Resources and Administration of the Department of
Veterans Affairs. Should I be confirmed, I will be deeply humbled by
this opportunity to serve my country and our veterans who have
sacrificed for their country so valiantly. I would like to express my
deepest appreciation to Secretary Principi for his support of my
nomination to this position. I would also like to thank my family for
their support throughout my entire professional career.
The Department of Veterans Affairs faces many of the same human
resources challenges which most government agencies face. These
challenges result from an aging workforce, the competition for human
resources in a prosperous economy, and the need for established
organizations to transform themselves into lifelong learning and high
performing enterprises. We can meet these challenges by working
together and with the strong support and involvement of the Congress,
the veterans service organizations and our workforce representatives.
We must focus our efforts on developing innovative human resources
strategies that fully support the mission of the Department of Veterans
Affairs, on improving the quality and access to services, and by
supporting the strategic goals that Secretary Principi has defined for
the Department.
Human resources constitute the most important element of any
organization. they are not a cost of doing business, but a valued asset
that must be nurtured. The Department of Veterans Affairs can be a
leader in hiring, developing, and maintaining a highly motivated human
resource force. I want to be a part of this exciting journey and if
confirmed, I promise to dedicate my efforts, and apply my experience,
to achieve this vision.
If I am honored with your confirmation, I will bring to this
position 26 years of experience as a Commissioned Officer and
healthcare executive in the U.S. Army Medical Department, coupled with
seven years as a consultant in large corporations in the private
sector. During my military career I had the opportunity to lead large
organizations undergoing radical change; manage force structure,
personnel allocations and staffing; train and develop staff; and
maintain high performing teams. During my tenure in the private sector,
I have developed human resources programs for large organizations, and
led in the development of innovative training and knowledge management
capabilities in support of human resources programs.
Mr. Chairman, I would consider it an honor to work with you, other
committee members, and your staff, in meeting the human resources
challenges of the Department of Veterans Affairs. It would also be an
honor to continue to serve our nation's veterans. I would be pleased to
respond to any questions that you and other committee members may have.
Thank you.
______
Questionnaire for Presidential Nominees
part 1: all the information in this part will be made public
1. Name: Jacob Lozada
2. Address: 3847 Farr Oak Circle, Fairfax VA 22030
3. Position: Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Human
Resources and Administration
4. Date of Nomination:
5. Birth date: July 21, 1944
6. Birth place: San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico
7. Marital status: Divorced
8. Name of Spouse: N/A
9. Children, age: Valerie M. Lozada (29 years old) and Jason M.
Lozada (27 years old)
10. Education: Institution (city, state), dates attended, degrees
received, dates of degrees.
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, PR; 08/62-06/66;
Baccalaureate in Arts; 06/66
Baylor University, Waco, TX; 08/77-09/79; Master in Health Care
Admin.; 09/79
WALDEN University, Minneapolis, MN; 11/91-08/94; Ph.D. (Education);
08/94
11. Honors: List all scholarships, fellowships, honorary degrees,
military medals, honorary society memberships, and any other special
recognitions for outstanding service or achievement.
Department of the Army, Legion of Merit, 1993
Department of Defense, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, 1991
Department of the Army, Meritorious Service Medal, 1990
Department of the Army, Meritorious Service Medal, 1989
Department of the Army, Army Commendation Medal, 1989
Department of the Army, Meritorious Service Medal, 1987
Department of the Army, Meritorious Service Medal, 1985
Department of the Army, Meritorious Service Medal, 1983
Department of the Army, National Defense Service Medal, 1980 (est.)
Department of the Army, Meritorious Service Medal, 1978
Department of the Army, Army Commendation Medal, 1970
Department of the Army, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, 1970
Department of the Army, National Defense Service Medal, 1966
Department of the Army, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, 1966 (est.)
University of Puerto Rico, Merit Scholarship, 1962
12. Memberships: List all memberships and offices held in
professional, fraternal, business, scholarly, civic, charitable, and
other organizations you consider relevant for the last 5 years and
other prior memberships or offices
Fellow--American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)--1997 to
present.
President--Fort Detrick Chapter of the Association of the United
States Army (AUSA)--1996 to 1997.
Member--The Retired Officers Association (TROA)--1997 to present.
Participant and Mentor--Interamerican College of Physicians and
Surgeons National Hispanic Youth Initiative (NHYI)--1993 to present.
Member--Baylor University Alumni--1979 to present.
Member--WALDEN University Alumni--1994 to present.
13. Employment Record: List all employment (except military
service) since your twenty-first birthday, including the title or
description of job, name of employer, location of work and inclusive
dates of employment.
10/96 to Present, Managing Consultant EDS, Herndon, Virginia
04/95 to 09/96, Senior Healthcare Planner SHERIKON, Inc.,
Chantilly, Virginia
04/93 to 04/95, Principal, Booz, Allen & Hamilton, McLean, Virginia
14. Military Service: List all military service (including reserve
components and National Guard or Air National Guard), with inclusive
dates of service, rank, permanent duty stations and units of
assignment, titles, descriptions of assignments, and type of discharge.
05/93--Retired from active military service with honorable
discharge.
06/91 to 05/93--Colonel, Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations), United
States Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), Fort
Detrick, MD. Responsible for international programs, training, and
security.
06/90 to 06/91--Colonel, Executive Officer, Combat Casualty Care
Course (C4), Medical Readiness Training Institute, Fort Sam Houston,
TX. Responsible for directing the operations of the Combat Casualty
Care Course.
06/89 to 06/90--Colonel, Executive Officer, 121 Evacuation
Hospital, Seoul, Korea. Responsible for providing administrative
management and support to a U.S. Army Hospital.
06/88 to 06/89--Lieutenant Colonel, Special Action Officer, Academy
of Health Sciences, Fort Sam Houston, TX. Responsible for the Regional
Medical Expert (RME) and the Medical System Program Review (MSPR)
Programs.
06/85 to 06/88--Lieutenant Colonel, Chief of Force Structure,
Realignments, and Security, United States Army Health Services Command,
Fort Sam Houston, TX. Responsible for healthcare studies, force
structure, realignments, and security.
06/83 to 06/85--Lieutenant Colonel, Commander, 8th Evacuation
Hospital, Fort Ord, CA. Responsible for leading and managing a field
hospital.
09/79 to 06/83--Major, Assistant Inspector General, Office of the
Inspector General, United States Army Health Services Command (USAHSC),
Fort Sam Houston, TX. Responsible for evaluating Patient Administration
activities, Quality Assurance, Credentialing, Troop Medical Clinics,
and Health Clinics.
06/77 to 09/79--Major, United States Army Academy of Health
Sciences, Fort Sam Houston, TX and Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort
Gordon, GA. Student completing the U.S. Army-Baylor University Master
Degree program in Healthcare Administration.
04/74 to 06/77--Captain, Officer in Charge, United States Army
Health Clinic, Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. Responsible for managing the
delivery of medical care to eligible beneficiaries and providing
managerial and logistical support to a health clinic.
11/71 to 04/74--Captain, Chief of Admissions and Dispositions,
Valley Forge General Hospital, Phoenixville, PA. Responsible for
Admissions and Dispositions of Patients, Equal Opportunity Programs,
and administrative support to the Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation
Program of the hospital.
09/70 to 11/71--Captain, Student, United States Army Medical
Department Officer Advanced and Patient Administration Courses, U.S.
Army Medical Field Service School, Fort Sam Housion, Texas.
09/69 to 09/70--Captain, Executive Officer, 618th Medical Company
(Clearing), Seoul, Korea. Responsible for the administration and
logistics of several dispensaries and the maintenance of field medical
equipment.
09/68 to 09/69--Operations Officer, 36th Medical Battalion, Fort
Hood, TX. Responsible for medical operations of a Medical Battalion.
06/66-09/68, Training Officer, Executive Officer, and Company
Commander, 2nd Battalion, The United States Army Medical Training
Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX. Responsible for leading And managing an
Advanced Individual Training (AIT) unit.
15. Government experience: List any advisory, consultative,
honorary, or other part-time service or positions with Federal, State,
or local governments other than listed above: None.
16. Published writings: List titles, publishers, and dates of
books, articles, reports or other published materials you have written.
None.
17. Political affiliations and activities
(a) List all memberships and offices held in and financial
contributions and services rendered to any political party or election
committee during the last 10 years: None.
(b) List all elective public offices for which you have been a
candidate and the month and year of each election involved: None.
18. Future employment relationships
(a) State whether you will sever all connections with your present
employer, business firm, association, or organization if you are
confirmed by the Senate: Yes.
(b) State whether you have any plans after completing Government
service to resume employment, affiliation, or practice with your
previous employer, business firm, association or organization: No.
(c) What commitments, if any, have been made to you for employment
after you leave Federal service? None.
(d) (If appointed for a term of specified duration) Do you intend
to serve the full term for which you have been appointed? N/A
(e) (If appointed for indefinite period) Do you intend to serve
until the next Presidential election? Yes.
19. Potential Conflicts of Interest
(a) Describe any financial arrangements, deferred compensation
agreements, or other continuing financial, business, or professional
dealings which you have with business associates, clients, or customers
who will be affected by policies which you will influence in the
position to which you have been nominated: None.
(b) List any investments, obligations, liabilities, or other
financial relationships which constitute potential conflicts of
interest with the position to which you have been nominated: None.
(c) Describe any business relationship, dealing, or financial
transaction which you have had during the last 5 years, whether for
yourself, on behalf of a client, or acting as an agent, that
constitutes as potential conflict of interest with the position to
which you have been nominated: None.
(d) Describe any lobbying activity during the past 10 years in
which you have engaged for the purpose of directly or indirectly
influencing the passage, defeat, or modification of any Federal
legislation or for the purpose of affecting the administration and
execution of Federal law or policy. None.
(e) Explain how you will resolve any potential conflicts of
interest that may be disclosed by your responses to the above items.
(Please provide a copy of any trust or other agreements involved.) N/A
20. Testifying before the Congress
(a) Do you agree to appear and testify before any duly constituted
committee of the Congress upon the request of such committee? Yes
(b) Do you agree to provide such information as is requested by
such a committee? Yes
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Arlen Specter to Jacob
Lozada
Question 1. What is your assessment of VA's plans to deal with the
anticipated wave of ``Vietnam generation'' retirements in the next
several years? Do you believe VA is adequately prepared for the
imminent loss of experienced personnel?
Answer. VA is potentially facing a major crisis within the next few
years in terms of having the necessary skilled workforce to meet the
Department's needs across a variety of programs. Recognizing that these
projected staff shortages could have a negative impact on VA's ability
to serve veterans, the Department has already begun to take action to
address this important issue. To remain a competitive employer and
address this human capital challenge, VA's staff offices and
Administrations are working together to ensure that VA has a corporate
strategy that allows the Department to successfully compete for and
retain highly capable and experienced personnel.
I am very supportive of the actions already taken by the Department
to address its workforce planning needs and look forward to ensuring
that the Department has the ability to recruit, develop, and retain a
competent, committed, and diverse workforce that provides high quality
service to veterans and their families.
Question 2. What is your impression of VA's use of its special
hiring authorities--e.g., veterans preference, Veterans Readjustment
programs, Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action programs, etc.--to
facilitate the employment of veterans? How would you, if you are
confirmed, encourage greater use of these special hiring authorities?
Answer. VA enjoys a well-established track record of being a
leading Federal employer of disabled veterans, other preference
eligibles, and veterans who are not eligible for preference. VA
employment data, as of September 30, 2000, reveals that 28 percent of
VA employees are veterans, nearly 7 percent are disabled veterans, and
over 3 percent are veterans with 30 percent or more disability.
VA appointments comprised a major proportion of these special hires
Federal-wide in FY 2000. During this period, VA hired about 34 percent
of all VRA and 30 percent disabled veterans hired by the Federal
Government.
At every opportunity, as the Assistant Secretary for Human
Resources and Administration, I will aggressively promote and emphasize
VA's employment of veterans as well as the full use of all related
special hiring authorities.
Question 3. What lessons in leadership will you bring to the VA as
the Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration from
your service in the Army Medical Corps? There, you spent many years in
the field of hospital administration and health care management. What
lessons have you learned in that service which you can bring to VA?
Answer. My varied experiences in the military and the private
sector have afforded me multiple opportunities to learn valuable
lessons that can be easily transferred to my role as the Assistant
Secretary for Human Resources and Administration. In applying these
lessons and leveraging my experience, I will focus on VA's mission, and
develop goals in Human Resources and Administration to help achieve
VA's vision.
During my service as a Commissioned Officer in the Army Medical
Department, I had the opportunity to serve in numerous positions of
leadership both in permanent as well as field health-care facilities.
Some of the lessons in leadership, which I learned from my 26 years of
active military duty, include:
(1) Change is inevitable, and leaders must be proactive in
finding change before change finds them;
(2) Leaders must be visionaries and be willing to challenge
the status quo;
(3) Leaders must inspire and motivate others but to do so
must first be motivated themselves;
(4) Leaders must set high standards of excellence for
themselves, as well as others, and lead by example.
Some of the lessons, which I learned from my military experience in
hospital administration and health-care management, include:
(1) Providing services at low cost and high quality and with
high access is a highly demanding task; therefore, it is
incumbent for health-care administrators and providers to
develop innovative ways to deliver these services;
(2) Behind every direct health-care service provided in
support of the health-care team there is a human resource
person who must be hired, developed, trained, nurtured, and
motivated;
(3) Proving health-care services within an environment of
limited resources requires the development of highly efficient
teams;
(4) Beneficiaries will continue to demand improved access and
quality services while the cost for the provision of health-
care services increases;
(5) Human resources in health-care management must adapt
continually to the changes in health-care delivery and
technology;
(6) Health-care managers in the government health-care system
must be knowledgeable about issues that were normally assumed
to be private sector specific (i.e. managed care, financing).
Question 4. During your Army service, you rose to the rank of full
Colonel--a rank where, typically, you were the superior of all but a
few within the Army hospital setting. Will working in a civilian
medical environment require a different management approach than the
one that worked for an Army Colonel? Do you anticipate that the VA
management environment will differ from the Army's?
Answer. There are many similarities between working in a civilian
medical environment and service in the Army hospital setting. In both
cases, the mission is similar: providing high quality health-care
services to beneficiaries. In addition, civilian and Army health-care
leaders alike must perform under a constantly changing environment and
be good managers of resources, which are often limited.
I strongly believe that good management and leadership principles
can be universally applied. Leaders, regardless of the environment,
must have a vision and believe in that vision to inspire and motivate
others. Leaders must handle multiple demands, deal with changing
priorities, and practice sound communication skills with employees at
all levels of the organization. More importantly, leaders must
recognize the potential of their employees, value their diversity, and
create a team or unit that works efficiently and effectively together
to achieve a common goal.
In terms of VA, I do not believe that the management environment
will be that much different from the Army's. Both organizations have
great leaders, a well-defined mission, and similar challenges. In terms
of my Army service, the ability to lead highly effective teams, work
well with people, and work under considerable stress can be leveraged
well to the challenges facing VA.
Question 5. It is widely reported that a nurse shortage looms
ahead. Do you believe that is the case? Will VA be ``hit'' by this
shortage? How would you resolve it?
National nursing leaders and health-care organizations are
projecting a shortage of registered nurses, and I have no basis on
which to question this projection. The future supply of registered
nurses is not ensured given the current aging of the registered nurse
workforce and the decreasing number of students who choose nursing as a
professional career.
Answer. It appears to me that VA is taking positive action to
address the looming staffing crisis for nurses. VA's approach includes
education initiatives, attention to workplace issues, and improved pay
and benefits. VA is providing extensive education assistance through
the Employee Incentive Scholarship Program, the National Nursing
Education Initiative, and the Education Debt Reduction Program. VA is
using its flexibility to grant a variety of bonuses, awards,
allowances, and other cash compensation to nurses; providing non-cash
benefits, such as continuing education opportunities and flexible work
hours; working to leverage technology to support nurses; paying
attention to workplace issues, such as collegial decision-making, team
autonomy, and recognition of nurses' contributions; supporting outreach
efforts to students to consider nursing as a career; and mentoring new
hires to reduce turnover.
These efforts are excellent ways to deal with the looming nursing
crisis. Nevertheless, in my role as Assistant Secretary for Human
Resources and Administration, I will continue to explore any additional
options that could be implemented to ensure that VA has adequate
nursing staff resources to ensure veterans receive the care they
deserve.
Question 6. I am advised that VA has several programs designed to
recruit and retain nurses. But I have also heard that the programs are,
in many cases, not readily available to the people who truly need them.
How can VA assist those who need advanced training but who cannot
afford to take time off from work to secure it? How can VA assist
nurses in upgrading their qualifications if child care issues prevent
them from simultaneously working a shift at VA and also attending
school?
Answer. I have been advised that VA has implemented a National
Nursing Education Initiative (NNEI) that allocated $50 million over a
5-year period to assist nurses in attaining baccalaureate and higher
degrees in nursing. VA has also implemented an Employee Incentive
Scholarship Program (EISP) to make funds available to employees
pursuing academic education in a health-care occupation. One drawback
to both programs is that by legislative mandate, employees must be
employed for two years before being eligible for funding-this presents
a recruitment and retention disincentive, which we may want to look
again as we search for acceptable solutions to our nurse shortage
challenge.
VA recognizes that lifestyle and career responsibilities often
preclude many nurses from participating in traditional academic
programs. To address this issue, VA has implemented a number of
initiatives to support nurses in nontraditional academic programs. The
VA/Department of Defense
Distance Learning Post-Master's Nurse Practitioner Program was the
first of its kind to totally prepare clinical practitioners via
distance technology.
In addition, a number of VA facilities have entered into agreements
with local colleges and universities to provide course work to groups
of nurses taught at the VA facilities or via distance learning.
Finally, VA has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) to facilitate
nursing programs across the country that better meet the needs of VA
employed nurses.
As Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration, I
will promote the use of these initiatives and seek to discover other
ways to enable nurses to pursue advanced training as well as upgrade
their qualifications.
Question 7. Union members in the VA hospital system in Pennsylvania
are concerned that management is not recruiting staff at lower pay
scale levels fast enough to relieve overworked conditions that affect
job satisfaction and morale. Will you pledge to work with local human
resource directors, especially in Pennsylvania, to ensure that these
positions are quickly filled and staffing levels are proper?
Answer. In my role as Assistant Secretary, I will work with all
Administration Heads to ensure that their human resources program
officials receive appropriate guidance in order to effectively manage
human resources. In this specific case, I will work with the Under
Secretary for Health to assist him in determining the reasons for the
expressed concern that the Pennsylvania facilities are not staffing at
appropriate levels and to help them, if necessary, resolve any
impediments identified.
Question 8. Do you have any conflicts of interest which you have
not fully disclosed to the Committee, or do you know of any other
matter which, if known to the Committee, might affect the Committee's
recommendation to the Senate with respect to your nomination?
Answer. To the best of my knowledge, no conflicts of interest exist
that potentially could affect the Committee's recommendation to the
Senate.
Question 9. Have you fully and accurately provided financial and
other information requested by the Committee, and do you now affirm
that that information is complete, accurate, and provided in a form not
designed to evade?
Answer. I affirm that the information that I have provided is
complete and accurate.
Question 10. Do you agree to supply the Committee such non-
privileged information, materials, and documents as may be requested by
the Committee in its oversight and legislative capacities for so long
as you shall serve in the position for which you now seek confirmation?
Answer. I agree to supply the Committee information, materials, and
documents as requested by the Committee in its oversight capacity for
as long as I serve in the position of Assistant Secretary for Human
Resources and Administration.
Question 11. Do you agree to appear before the Committee at such
times and concerning such matters as the Committee might request for so
long as you serve in the position for which you now seek confirmation?
Answer. I will be pleased to appear before the Committee as
necessary.
Chairman Specter. Thank you, Dr. Lozada. You identify or
make reference to issues within the Department of Veterans
Affairs. Are you familiar with any specific problems that you
would like to tackle, if you are confirmed?
Mr. Lozada. Senator, the Department faces some challenges
which I am sure other departments in the U.S. Government face.
One of the challenges is the aging work force of the
Department. Another challenge is the competition that the
Department faces with corporations in terms of hiring and
attracting staff. Last, but not least, is the need for
established organizations such as the Department of Veterans
Affairs to transform themselves into life-long, learning and
high-performance organizations. So those are, in my opinion,
the three main challenges that the Department faces.
Chairman Specter. When you identify those you are really
talking about the problems that any organization faces. I would
suggest to you that the Veterans Administration faces much more
intensive problems, with an enormous workload, an enormous
number of veterans to serve, and it must do so with limited
resources. When you are a consultant in private industry, you
can pick your clientele and you can charge the clientele. The
Veterans Administration cannot do that. And there is a
continuing problem of inadequacy of funds.
The title of your position, Assistant Secretary for Human
Resources and Administration, could cover a vast array of
issues. Do you have any sense of the enormity of the problems
VA faces in trying to give care to veterans with the limited
resources it has?
Mr. Lozada. Senator, the challenges that the VA faces have
to do with access, quality, and the use of information
technology. Some trends, for example, in nursing and the
forecasted shortage of nurses, which should take place within
the next 2 or 3 years also present challenges. But all these
issues have a face behind, which is a human resource face and a
human resource initiative that needs to be developed and placed
within the context of the entire strategic plan of the
organization to make sure that the effects of these challenges
are minimized.
Chairman Specter. You identify the shortage of nurses,
which is very real, and your experience gives you that insight.
Do you have any thinking as to how to deal with the shortage of
nurses?
Mr. Lozada. I do not have any specific ideas or solutions
at this time. However, recent research suggests that there are
some factors that impact on this issue, and one of them has to
do with what is known as ``personal factors''--the work
environment. Interestingly enough, pay is the No. 5 factor; but
the organizational environment, empowering the nurses to do
their job, giving the nurses the place within the organization
that they should have is one of the main factors. So those are
personnel issues or human resources issues that we need to
address.
Chairman Specter. Dr. Lozada, the committee is going to ask
you to do the same thing as we have asked others. We ask that
you get to us a report on the 10 key problems which you have
observed, within 60 days, and the suggested solutions you have.
And put the issue of nurses at the top of the list as to how
you think the Veterans Department ought to face that.
Mr. Lozada. Yes, sir.
[The information referred to follows:]
potential nursing shortage
Registered nurses comprise the largest segment of health care
workers within VA. Currently, VA employs over 35,000 registered nurses
and nurse anesthetists. VA has traditionally been able to successfully
recruit to fill vacancies as they occur. However, VA medical centers
are experiencing difficulty in recruiting nurses in certain specialties
such as intensive care nurses, nurse practitioners, and nurse
anesthetists. Certain VA medical centers also report difficulties
recruiting licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and nursing assistants
(NAs). If nationwide projections for the next several years bear out,
VA is facing a potential shortage of skilled nurses, which could have a
significant effect on VA's quality of care initiatives. As of June
2001, 12 percent of the VA nursing population is eligible to retire.
Each year, an additional 3.7 to 5.3 percent of VA nurses become
eligible to retire. By 2005, 35 percent of the current VA nursing
workforce will be retirement eligible. Based on past experience, VA is
predicting that two-thirds of these nurses will actually retire by that
date. In summary, over one in five VA nurses today will be gone by
2005. The retirement eligibility projections for allied nursing
occupations are similarly high with 29 percent of LPNs and 34 percent
of NAs eligible for retirement by 2005.
Mitigating Action Plan:
Considering attrition and retirement eligibility, it is important
for VA to continue to devise recruitment and retention strategies to
ensure that we have the needed nursing staff to serve our veterans. For
example:
The Employee Incentive Scholarship Program (EISP) provides
scholarships of up to $10,000 per year for up to three years for
employees to pursue degrees for education in health care occupations
for which VA is experiencing staffing problems. As of June 2001, the
Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has awarded 189 scholarships for
over $1.7 million for employees pursuing degrees in the fields of
nursing and pharmacy.
The National Nursing Education Incentive (NEI) is similar
to the EISP, but awards scholarships only to nurses to obtain
baccalaureate or post-graduate degrees and training. Since March 2000,
1,639 VHA nurses have been awarded more than $18.5 million support for
tuition and expenses.
The VA Learning Opportunities Residency (VALOR) program
provides opportunities for outstanding students (at least 3.0 GPA at
end of junior year of college) to develop competencies in clinical
nursing while at an approved VA medical center.
Flexibilities in the Nurse Locality Pay Systems.
Establishment of youth program (VA CADET) to attract young
people (ages 14 or older) to experience the nursing care environment in
VA medical centers.
Education Debt Reduction Program to provide tax-free
payments to newly hired employees to help with costs of obtaining
training or degrees.
Extra salary step(s) for exemplary job performance or
exemplary job achievement. Employee recognition and incentive awards
programs. Recruitment bonuses, relocation bonuses, and retention
allowances. Travel expenses for interviews and new appointments. Family
friendly policies, flexible work arrangements, and on-site day care
centers.
aging workforce
The VA workforce is getting older and fewer young people are
entering into the Federal service. As of September 30, 2000, only 6
percent of the VA workforce was under the age of 31, 19 percent were
between the ages of 31-40, 36 percent were between the ages of 41-50,
and 39 percent of the VA workforce was over age 50. A significant
number of current employees are eligible to retire, including 16
percent of VA's health care staff, 24 percent of VBA staff, and 22
percent of cemetery directors. An even greater number of employees will
be able to retire by 2005. As a result of the projected turnover and
retirements in critical positions, VA is potentially facing a major
crisis within the next few years in terms of having the skilled
workforce to meet the Department's needs across a variety of programs.
Further, rapid changes in technology, an increasingly diverse labor and
beneficiary pool, higher turnover rates among new employees, and
different expectations of younger workers are forces that strongly
suggest the need for new recruitment and retention practices to meet
program goals. VA needs to define more precisely the workforce it
needs.
Mitigating Action Plan:
VA has made great strides in establishing a workforce planning
process. However, the following actions need to be implemented:
Develop and implement a workforce forecasting system.
Establish a Workforce Planning Council to oversee the
planning and operations of VA's workforce planning process. This
Council will be composed of top level, Department-wide VA executives
and will be formally established in September 2001.
Develop a Departmental Workforce and Succession Plan that
will articulate VA's corporate vision for workforce planning and
identify specific strategies to address the recruitment, retention, and
development issues within the Department.
Explore the use of emerging technologies to recruit and
hire young staff.
competition for human resources in a prosperous economy
Competition for human resources is a source of serious concern for
the entire Department. Due to the economic boom of the past decade, the
labor market has become extremely competitive, and knowledge and
technical workers are in high demand. This comes at a time when the
Government is less competitive. After decades of downsizing, criticism
of the Federal Government, and diminishing Federal budgets, the
Government is no longer seen as a secure, lifetime employer and often
cannot offer the same type of competitive salaries and rapid job offers
as the private sector.
Mitigating Action Plan:
VA needs to be more competitive. Examples of strategies to achieve
this goal include:
Making greater use of the recruitment and retention tools
already available.
Offering no-cost or low-cost educational assistance
programs to individuals in key occupations who commit to a number of
years of VA service in return for this assistance.
VA needs to be seen as a desirable place to work where skills can
be developed, advancement is possible, and employees have high degrees
of job satisfaction. The following incentives must be leveraged to
accomplish this difficult task:
The VA Learning University;
Leadership VA;
Increased use of Alternate Dispute Resolution to resolve
work place disputes;
Flexible work schedules;
Child care;
Transit subsidies.
succession planning
In view of the VA workforce demographics, VA anticipates a
Department-wide loss of seasoned leadership and institutional knowledge
due to the large percentage of employees eligible for retirement within
5 to 10 years. Moreover, VA is presently experiencing difficulty in
filling positions for senior leadership and for certain occupations,
e.g., nurses, pharmacists, and information technology specialists.
Mitigating Action Plan:
VA will develop a succession plan for predicting turnover in senior
positions and tracking the pipeline of candidates in the preceding
grades, so that steps can be taken to ensure an even flow of qualified
candidates. VA will develop a systematic training plan for senior
positions, focusing on human resources management, diversity, and
change management. In addition, VA will:
Identify individuals with potential leadership;
Provide leadership opportunities as well as mentoring
programs;
Publicize the use of VA's Intranet to heighten the
awareness of these opportunities.
change management
Since 1993, VA has undergone significant change. Changes in how we
deliver health care and benefits coupled with reductions-in-force, loss
of talent, buyouts, streamlining, reorganizations, and changes
politically make most hesitant to change and less responsive to
priorities. Change can be turbulent, chaotic, and confusing to those on
the receiving end. However, effective change management reduces the
amount of fear, hesitation, and anguish. Change should be an inclusive
part of the governance process, which includes defining the outcomes of
the change effort, identifying the changes necessary to produce
outcomes, implementing those changes in the least intrusive way, and
involving the employees in the process to ensure that they understand
the necessity.
Mitigating Action Plan:
VA will have a strategic change management plan approved by the
Strategic Management Council and assigned to a specific individual
responsible for change management such as a change management officer.
A change management officer will work collaboratively with each leader
to leverage change, customize the change process where necessary,
conduct gap analysis between the ``as is'' and the ``to be'' models,
and personalize the transition to the organization and its culture,
ensuring full communication with the employees. Managing change will
require a broad set of skills:
Analytical Skills--A Change Management Officer will know
how system analysis and financial analysis systems work within the
organization and determine the impacts to ensure continuity of change
management and its effectiveness during implementation.
People Skills--People come characterized by all manner of
intelligence, ability, gender, sexual preferences, national origins,
race, religious preferences, disabilities, socio-economic backgrounds,
education, beliefs, attitudes toward life and work, personalities, and
priorities. A Change Management Officer will be skilled in
organizational culture and communication or interpersonal skills.
Business Skills--A Change Management Officer will know and
understand how VA works. The skill set requires knowledge of the
organization, its culture, previous change efforts, customers, hiring,
rules of conduct, removals, equal employment, workforce development,
and business acumen.
workforce development
Patterns for providing efficient and effective care to our veterans
are changing. These changes may influence the types of employee
competencies needed and, therefore, the quality and structure of the
workforce we currently have. The challenge for VA today is to realign
our capital assets and human capital based on changing demographics and
veteran needs in order to ensure that we can perform our mission now
and in the future.
Mitigating Action Plan:
VA will continue training and development opportunities.
Specifically, VA will:
Review our current level of competency.
Establish programs that offer a wide range of educational
seminars and courses that improve overall performance and enhance
consultative skills.
Identify required future competencies.
Establish on-line human resources tool kits and libraries
that will provide current information to supplement and support new
skills and competencies.
diversity
VA is not effectively managing its diverse workforce and may not be
ready to manage an even more diverse group in the near future. The
changing demographics of the U. S. population reflect a mobile
population with a wide array of regional and national origin
differences. A diverse workforce will enable VA to relate to and better
serve veterans and their families. Aligning diversity with our mission
and business will also increase employee satisfaction and retention,
thus improving our competitiveness and productivity, increasing our
responsiveness, and adding value to our services.
Mitigating Action Plan:
VA executives will fully understand their roles and be ready to
manage the change. To achieve this goal, VA supports the following
initiatives:
A training program to help executives understand how
diversity issues impact organization cohesion, mission, performance,
accomplishments, increased awareness, and sensitivity.
Consolidation of recruitment efforts directed at
institutions with diverse populations to attract interns and scholars
to occupations in which VA has under-representation or projected hiring
needs. VA will involve more institutions of higher education and create
an internal system whereby disabled veterans are included in the
internship programs.
A strong affiliation with veterans service organizations,
minority institutions of higher education, and high schools for
internships at VA.
Partnerships with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and
Universities and the National Association of Equal Opportunity in
Higher Education to support internships for students attending
Hispanic-Serving Institutions or Historically Black Colleges and
Universities.
timeliness of complaint processing
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulation 29 CFR
1614.108(f) requires agencies to complete investigations within 180
days from the filing of a formal complaint. Although VA has made great
strides in decreasing timeliness and reducing our investigative
backlog, we are currently averaging 230 days to complete the
investigations.
Mitigating Action Plan:
All complaints pending over 180 days will be assigned to contract
investigators. This should achieve the following results:
Eliminate the backlog of cases pending over 180 days;
Increase the timelines of the investigative process.
recruitment/retention of health care professionals and compensation
Stiff competition remains in recruiting and retaining health care
professionals in the Federal Government. This issue is more noticeable
in efforts to recruit health care professionals, but includes employees
who work in connection with health care professionals to deliver
patient care services to veterans. Most private companies are paying
considerable bonuses to new doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, in
addition to starting salaries. Although Title 38 (which governs the
hiring regulations for health care professionals at VA) contains more
flexibility, its limitations do not fully meet the needs of the
facilities. Additionally, Title 5 employees are often limited in the
amount of compensation they can receive, e.g., overtime pay rates are
capped, certain employees are excluded from on-call pay and Sunday
premium pay.
Mitigating Action Plan:
In order to attract and retain high quality professionals, greater
compensation flexibility is essential:
VA will publicize OPM's less stringent approach to allow
Federal annuitants to become re-employed without a reduction in
annuity.
Policy development and implementation of Repayment of
Student Loans for new employees will allow VA to be competitive with
private companies to recruit new talent.
incorporating adr into the eeo complaint process
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requires Federal
agencies to incorporate Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) into the
EEO complaint process. ADR is a range of dispute resolution mechanisms
that provide for the settlement of disputes outside traditional court
procedures and structure. Various benefits of using non-traditional
methods to resolve disputes include savings of time and money, party
satisfaction with the ADR process and outcomes, high settlement rates,
and improved relationships. In spite of VA Directive 5978, Alternative
Dispute Resolution, which requires each Administration to establish an
ADR program, some facilities involved in EEO complaints are not in
compliance with the directive. Further, there is no consistent buy-in
from VA management across the board.
Mitigating Action Plan:
The following strategies will be employed:
VA will continue to encourage the use of ADR throughout
the various stage of the discrimination complaint process, up to and
including the EEOC hearing stage.
VA's Office of Resolution Management (ORM) will provide
mediation training for senior executives in the Department.
ORM field offices will provide extensive training to key
facility individuals within their jurisdiction.
VA will continue to promote the use of ADR, particularly
mediation, and educate employees and management regarding the benefits
of ADR to the Department.
Chairman Specter. I note that your work in the military was
with the medical department. What experience did you have in
the United States Army Medical Department which would be
applicable to your new responsibilities in the Veterans
Department if you are confirmed?
Mr. Lozada. Senator, for 4 years I was the Chief of Force
Structure and Realignments for the Army Medical Command. So I
managed the entire force structure of in excess of 50,000
soldiers and civilian employees. I was also involved in
realignment actions that resulted in downsizing or right-sizing
of several organizations. In addition, while serving as an
Inspector General for 4 years, I inspected every hospital,
clinic, and organization within the Army Medical Department at
least three times. So I am intimately familiar with all the
challenges dealing with the provision of health care and access
which should translate very well into the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
Chairman Specter. Thank you, Dr. Lozada.
Senator Rockefeller?
Senator Rockefeller. Dr. Lozada, I was really impressed by
the way you answered those questions. I think you know your
stuff really well, and early, which is just the good fortune of
your career. Actually, I think you are a good person to reflect
on the question that I asked Mrs. Cragin. People have been at
work a long time trying to get VA and DoD to work together.
There really has not been a whole lot of progress. I have been
to a couple of hospitals which are shared by both and everybody
says that they work really well. I am sure there are some
cultural differences, but it is like everybody in Government
has to do everything their own way, they have to have their own
departments and it becomes a battle of turf.
Can you give some of your own reflections on why you think
the problems have existed in getting these two, in many ways
quite similar, organizations to work together, and what you
think might be done? Or just your reflections on it. I am not
going to hold you accountable for what you think ought to be
done.
Mr. Lozada. Senator, at the risk of losing some of my
friends on the DoD health care side, I think it is an issue of
culture. It is also an issue of a perceived threat of loss of
power, authority, scope of responsibilities. I believe there is
an issue of not understanding very well what the landscape
should look like. I believe that people like me who come to the
Department with a very good understanding of DoD health care,
and who also have a network and one-to-one relationships with
some of the DoD health care officials should help map out and
look for opportunities where there could be some gain. Because,
in the final analysis, there should be a win-win situation;
otherwise, it would be very difficult to engage both parties
into this kind of partnership going forward.
Senator Rockefeller. Do you foresee progress?
Mr. Lozada. Oh, yes. Yes.
Senator Rockefeller. Different parts of the world have
their cultures and they last thousands of years sometimes. We
are not that old as a Nation, but nobody has been able to
change a lot of our Government cultures very much. Do you think
because of budget situations or because of information
technology or whatever, that is beginning to change? What gives
you a sense that we can do better?
Mr. Lozada. I think it is beginning to change. I know
personally some of the leaders. For example, in the Army
Surgeon General's Office there are far-thinking, innovative
staff who are committed to making the system better. Really,
the beneficiaries are almost the same. The only difference
between an individual in uniform and a retiree is 1 day. You
are on active duty and then you retire or you ETS and the
following day you become a veteran. It is the same person with
similar health-care needs. I am very confident that there is
going to be a lot of progress.
Senator Rockefeller. Not for you to respond to, but the
most extraordinary experience I have had in my 17 years here on
the Veterans' Committee took place related to what we call the
Persian Gulf War Syndrome. To this day, my mind is boggled by
the unwillingness and inability of both organizations--I think,
in this case, particularly DoD--to respond to this, to admit to
this, to react to this. I know you remember those days. It is
just so important that we make the most of what we have, and I
think you understand that very well. I look forward to working
with you.
Chairman Specter. Thank you, Senator Rockefeller.
We turn now to Mr. Gordon Mansfield who is up for
confirmation as Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs.
Mr. Mansfield brings a record which should serve him well in
this position. In 1968, during a second tour in Vietnam, while
serving as a Company Commander with 101st Airborne Division, he
sustained a spinal cord injury which has incapacitated him. He
is a lawyer by profession, with a degree from the University of
Miami, has a Pennsylvania connection with a bachelor's degree
from Villanova University in 1964, always a good credential,
Mr. Mansfield, before this committee, along with a connection
to West Virginia. He is serving as Executive Director of the
Paralyzed Veterans of America since 1993. He had been for 4
years the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing in HUD, so there
is a record and understanding of the problems of the Veterans
Administration.
We welcome you here, Mr. Mansfield, and look forward to
your testimony.
STATEMENT OF GORDON H. MANSFIELD, NOMINEE FOR ASSISTANT
SECRETARY FOR CONGRESSIONAL AND LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Mr. Mansfield. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you,
Senator Rockefeller. Also, I would like to add my thanks to you
for having this expeditious hearing. I would like to mention
that I am honored by the President nominating me for this
position, and for Secretary Principi's involvement in that and
I look forward to working with him.
I have indicated the reasons in my statement that has been
submitted for the record why I believe that I am qualified for
the job. That includes, as you indicated, being a veteran, also
being a user of the system, having worked with the Congress,
and having had previous Government experience.
The Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs
responsibility in the Veterans Administration is to coordinate
communication between the agency and Congress. The office has a
good, experienced staff and I look forward to leading them.
The common goal here is serving veterans. I believe that
working with the committee members and staff that we can
continue to accomplish that goal.
Also, I would like to mention that my wife, Linda
Mansfield, is here in the audience. I would like to thank her
once again for her encouragement. She truly is the reason why I
have been able to serve as much as I have.
I would be pleased to answer any questions that you may
have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Mansfield follows:]
Prepared Statement of Gordon H. Mansfield, Nominee for Assistant
Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Department of
Veterans Affairs
Chairman Specter, Senator Rockefeller, and members of the
Committee, Good Morning. I am. Gordon H. Mansfield, nominee for
Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs of the
Department of Veterans Affairs. I wish to add my thanks to you for the
expeditious scheduling of this hearing. I also wish to express my
thanks to President George W. Bush for nominating me to serve in this
position. I am also grateful for the confidence and trust demonstrated
by Secretary Anthony J. Principi in requesting my nomination. He has
truly energized this Agency and laid out a vision for serving veterans.
I look forward to aiding him in fulfilling that vision, should I be
confirmed.
I believe I am qualified to fill this position by reason of my
education, my experience and my commitment to service on behalf of our
Nation's veterans. As a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United
States, I believe I have the background to understand the needs of
fellow veterans. As a combat wounded veteran, who is a user of the
Departments programs and services, I believe I can bring a special
insight to my position. My education, including law school, and
professional experience, working for a veterans service organization as
an Associate Legislative Director, Associate Executive Director for
Government Relations and as Executive Director have allowed me to
understand and appreciate the role that this Committee and the Congress
play in providing the needed authorizations and funds for the medical
services and benefit programs due our veterans.
The Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs' mission is to
serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary and other senior
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials concerning all
legislative and congressional liaison matters, and to develop
productive working relationships with Members of Congress and their
staffs, as well as, congressional committees, in support of VA's goals
to better serve our Nation's veterans. I believe my role in
accomplishing this mission is to ensure that the dedicated,
professional employees of the office are empowered and supported in
their work to achieve our defined goals.
Should I be confirmed, I view my role as leading an experienced,
professional and knowledgeable staff whose functions are to advise and
assist in maintaining open and effective communications between the
various elements of the Agency and the United States Congress. I intend
to carry out that role with diligence and enthusiasm. I look forward to
working with the Members of these Committees and their respective
staffs to achieve our common goal of serving our Nation's Veterans.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement, I will answer any
questions you may have.
______
Questionnaire for Presidential Nominees
part 1: all the information in this part will be made public
1. Name: Gordon Hall Mansfield
2. Address: 2401 Daphne Lane, Alexandria, Virginia 22306
3. Position: Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs
4. Date of Nomination: 30 April 2001
5. Birth date: 15 September 1941
6. Birth place: Pittsfield, Massachusetts
7. Marital status: Married to Linda K.C. Mansfield
8. Children, age: Gordon, age 29; Leon, age 28
9. Education: Institution (city, state), dates attended, degrees
received, dates of degrees.
University of Miami Law School; 1971-1973; Juris Doctor; June 1973
Washington College of Law; 1969-1971; n/a
Villanova University; 1959-1964; B.S.; June 1964
The Peddie School; 1957-1959; Diploma; June 1959
10. Honors: List all scholarships, fellowships, honorary degrees,
military medals, honorary society memberships, and any other special
recognitions for outstanding service or achievement.
US Army--Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart/
OLC, Vietnam Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Gallantry
Cross with Silver Star, Combat Infantrymans Badge, Presidential Unit
Award All awarded during period of service, 1964-1968
Villanova University--Alumni Medal for Distinguished Service 1996
President George H. W. Bush--Presidential Service Award 1991
11. Memberships: List all memberships and offices held in
professional, fraternal, business, scholarly, civic, charitable, and
other organizations for the last 5 years and other prior memberships or
offices you consider relevant.
The Florida Bar; American Bar Association; Federal Bar Association;
Legion of Valor of the United States; Disabled American Veterans;
Military Order of the Purple Heart; Paralyzed Veterans of America
(Executive Director, Ex Officio Member of Board of Directors)--resigned
February 2001; American Legion; The Army and Navy Club of Washington
D.C., The Capitol Hill Club; Civic Association of Hollin Hills; Nurses
of the Veterans Administration Foundation (Board of Directors)--
resigned February 2001; The Mills Brothers Society
12. Employment Record: List all employment (except military
service) since your twenty-first birthday, including the title or
description of job, name of employer, location of work and inclusive
dates of employment.
4/01 to present, Consultant, Department of Veterans Affairs,
Washington, D.C.
4/93 to 3/01, Executive Director, Paralyzed Veterans of America,
Washington, D.C.
12/89 to 1/93, Assistant Secretary FHEO, Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Washington, D.C.
7/89 to 12/89, Special Advisor to The Secretary, Dept of HUD,
Washington, D.C.
6/86 to 7/89, Associate Executive Director of Government Relations,
Paralyzed Veterans of America, Washington, D.C.
10/82 to 6/86, National Advocacy Director, Paralyzed Veterans of
America, Washington, D.C.
1/81 to 10/82, Associate Legislative Director, Paralyzed Veterans
of America, Washington, D.C.
3/79 to 1/81, Attorney, Private Practice, Ocala, Florida
9/76 to 3/79, Staff Attorney, Marion County Legal Aid, Ocala,
Florida
1/62 to 6/63, Proof Reader, Triangle Publications, Inc.,
Philadelphia, PA
13. Military Service: List all military service (including reserve
components and National Guard or Air National Guard), with inclusive
dates of service, rank, permanent duty stations and units of
assignment, titles, descriptions of assignments, and type of discharge.
9/68--Retired in grade of Captain, US Army for medical reasons,
Valley Forge Army Hospital, Valley Forge, PA.
3/68-9/68--Patient in various military facilities, Vietnam, Japan,
United States
11/67-2/68--Company Commander, C CO, 1st BN, 501st ABN INF, 101st
ABN DIV, US Army, Vietnam
6/67-11/67--Company Commander, C CO, 1st BN, 501st ABN INF, 101st
ABN DIV, US Army, Ft. Campbell, KY.
9/66-6/67--Staff Officer and Recon PLT Leader, HHH, 1st BN, 501st
ABN INF, 101st ABN DIV, Ft. Campbell, KY
8/65-8/66--Platoon Leader, 2nd LT, C CO, 1st BN, 5th CAV, 1st Cav
DIV, Vietnam
6/64-8/65--Basic Training, AIT Training, Officer Candidate School,
Ranger Training, Airborne Training, Grade of PVT E-1 to 2nd LT, Ft.
Gordon and Ft. Benning, Georgia
14. Government experience: List any advisory, consultative,
honorary, or other part-time service or positions with Federal, State,
or local governments other than listed above:
Executive Committee, Presidents Committee on Employment of PWD
Advisor, National Council on Disability
Member, Secretary of Labor's Committee on Veterans Employment
Member and Chairman, Architectural & Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board
15. Published writings: List titles, publishers, and dates of
books, articles, reports or other published materials you have written.
Monthly column for Paraplegia News, the national publication of
Paralyzed Veterans of America; last written in July 1989.
16. List all memberships and offices held in and financial
contributions and services rendered to any political party or election
committee during the last 10 years:
(a) List all elective public offices for which you have been a
candidate and the month and year of each election involved: None
17. Future employment relationships
(a) State whether you will sever all connections with your present
employer, business firm, association, or organization if you are
confirmed by the Senate:
Yes, I have resigned from Paralyzed Veterans of America.
(b) State whether you have any plans after completing Government
service to resume employment, affiliation, or practice with your
previous employer, business firm, association or organization: No
(c) What commitments, if any, have been made to you for employment
after you leave Federal service? None
(d) (If appointed for a term of specified duration) Do you intend
to serve the full term for which you have been appointed? N/A
(e) (If appointed for indefinite period) Do you intend to serve
until the next Presidential election? Yes
18. Potential Conflicts of Interest
(a) Describe any financial arrangements, deferred compensation
agreements, or other continuing financial, business, or professional
dealings which you have with business associates, clients, or customers
who will be affected by policies which you will influence in the
position to which you have been nominated: None
(b) List any investments, obligations, liabilities, or other
financial relationships which constitute potential conflicts of
interest with the position to which you have been nominated: None
(c) Describe any business relationship, dealing, or financial
transaction which you have had during the last 5 years, whether for
yourself, on behalf of a client, or acting as an agent, that
constitutes as potential conflict of interest with the position to
which you have been nominated: None
(d) Describe any lobbying activity during the past 10 years in
which you have engaged for the purpose of directly or indirectly
influencing the passage, defeat, or modification of any Federal
legislation or for the purpose of affecting the administration and
execution of Federal law or policy.
I have testified on behalf of and supported various initiatives
that relate to and support veterans, people with disabilities, and
issues regarding access to the built environment, while serving as
executive director of Paralyzed Veterans of America.
(e) Explain how you will resolve any potential conflicts of
interest that may be disclosed by your responses to the above items.
(Please provide a copy of any trust or other agreements involved.) N/A
19. Testifying before the Congress
(a) Do you agree to appear and testify before any duly constituted
committee of the Congress upon the request of such committee? Yes
(b) Do you agree to provide such information as is requested by
such a committee? Yes
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Arlen Specter to Gordon
H. Mansfield
Question 1. Veterans have complained to the Committee staff that VA
discourages them from seeking help from Members of Congress regarding
their claims; they are told, we hear, that Congressional involvement
will delay an already lengthy process. If you are confirmed, you will
head the VA office which is the primary point of contact for the
Congress on matters of constituent casework. How will you address what
many veterans perceive as VA ``scare tactics'' in discouraging
communications with Congress?
Answer. I regret to hear that any communication between the
Department and those veterans it serves would be perceived as ``scare-
tactics.'' I have heard, in the past, that veterans may have been
advised that a congressional inquiry would result in pulling that claim
out of its place in the queue. I have been told that the Veterans
Service Representatives do not discourage veterans from contacting
Members of Congress for assistance with their claims. If confirmed, I
would seek to ensure that no veteran feels that the Department would,
directly or indirectly, discourage anyone from fully pursuing his or
her rights. If I learned of a situation where this practice was not
being followed, I would personally intervene.
Question 2. Timely receipt of information requests from VA is
essential if this Committee is to carry out its legislative and
oversight responsibilities. Can we count on you, if you are confirmed,
to treat requests for information with the utmost importance? Can we
rely on you to assure that short deadlines placed on your office by
those requests will be met? Do you think you will have the power to
force a reluctant or nonresponsive VA bureaucracy to comply with
Congressional information requests on a timely basis?
Answer. I am personally committed to improving the Department's
communications with Congress. In my view, it is paramount that VA's
communications with Congress be prompt, accurate and responsive. I
recognize that if confirmed, I would have a unique opportunity to
foster a positive relationship and to improve the Department's record
with regard to quality and timeliness of responses to requests and
inquiries from Congress. Further, one aspect of the role of the
Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs is to
develop relationships with the senior leadership in the various VA
administrations and staff offices and to increase their understanding
of the benefits of being responsive and timely to Congressional
inquiries.
Question 3. United States Senators require that their personal
offices--both in Washington and within their States--receive accurate,
responsive, and timely service from VA medical centers and regional
offices when they seek to provide constituent services. Do you agree?
Will you perform a review of how local VA facilities respond to such
inquiries--starting, for example, in Pennsylvania?
Answer. I absolutely agree that all Members of Congress should
expect no less than accurate and timely responses to inquiries they may
have of the Department, both at the local level and here in Washington,
If confirmed, I intend to meet with each of the Under Secretaries to
review how well their field facilities respond to requests and
inquiries from State and District offices of Members. Where I find
areas of concern, I and my staff will work closely with those offices
to correct the specific problems. I would be happy to make the initial
evaluation in the State of Pennsylvania.
Question 4. Do you have the authority to require that VHA and VBA
staff be properly responsive to Congressional office requests for
constituent service assistance? If not, can you be of any assistance in
assuring such responsiveness?
Answer. While I do not have specific authority to require other VA
elements to be responsive, one of my first actions will be to meet with
all Administration Heads, Assistant Secretaries and Key Officials
asking that they and their managers make a commitment to provide
Congress quality information to meet assigned deadlines, in Washington
and at the field level. Further, I will review the current constituent
service processes in place and assist with any adjustments that may be
needed for their improvement.
Question 5. With the exception of your service as Assistant
Secretary at HUD from 1989 to 1993, you have been with the Paralyzed
Veterans of American since 1981. You served, most recently, as
Executive Director of PVA. Can a former CEO of a veterans service
organization adequately set aside the goals of the organization and
faithfully serve the Secretary and the President? Do you believe that
you will be able to carry out orders to take actions at VA that are
contrary to the positions you held and believed in and presumably still
believe in at PVA?
Answer. I assure you that I will faithfully serve the Secretary and
the President. I understand and appreciate the concerns you express
about my ability to carry out orders to take actions at VA that may be
contrary to positions I held at PVA. Not having a specific issue or
issues identified makes answering this question very theoretical,
though I can say that I am here to serve because I believe that
Secretary Principi has a personal commitment to carrying out the
Agency's mission to serve veterans and their families. I intend to
assist him to the very best of my ability in fulfilling that
commitment.
Question 6. Congressionally mandated reports are frequently not
delivered by VA until well after statutory deadlines. More often than
not, Committee staff must request progress reports on the status of
mandated reports which are past due. For example, a program evaluation
report on benefits for widows, mandated by law in the 105th Congress
and due one year ago, has still not been delivered to Congress. How
will you, if confirmed, address this problem? How will you assure that
requested or mandated reports are delivered on time.
Answer. As you know, the Office of Congressional and Legislative
Affairs (OCLA) was reorganized last year and a Congressional Reports
and Correspondence Service (CRCS) was created. The Service, in
particular, will focus on facilitating VA review and ensuring the
accuracy, consistency and the timely furnishing of materials to Capitol
Hill. I have already held meetings with the recently hired Service
Director to share with him my personal view that VA must do better in
meeting deadlines for mandated reports. If confirmed, I will be
receiving regular reports on timeliness of reports and will take
appropriate actions if I do not see quantifiable improvements.
I firmly believe the newly organized OCLA is an integral component
to successfully improving our communications with Congress. All VA
organizations have been asked to identify a primary point of contact to
work closely with the staff of CRCS to ensure the quality and
promptness of the Department's Congressional Communications. You have
my assurance and commitment that improving VA's responsiveness to
Congressional concerns will be one of my primary goals.
Question 7. Many members of this Committee, and the Senate as a
whole, are concerned about the implications of the CARES process. Will
you pledge to devote time to assuring that concerned members of the
Congress are kept abreast of progress and changes as a result of the
CARES process?
Answer. I share your view that decisions made as an outgrowth of
the CARES process could be far reaching and have significant
ramifications of interest and concern to Members. Consequently, I would
commit to devoting whatever time and effort are needed to ensure that
all affected Members of Congress are kept informed of the process, of
the recommendations, and of the decisions made in the context of CARES.
Indeed, as a former Veterans Service Organization official, I am keenly
aware of VA's responsibility to keep all stakeholders informed of and
involved in the process, so that ultimately, the history, plans and
decisions emanating from the process are fully understood by Members. I
am told that the CARES process currently includes requirements for
soliciting input and keeping Congress informed. If confirmed, I will
closely review the communications plan in place to ensure that it is
appropriate.
Question 8. Do you have any conflicts of interest which you have
not fully disclosed to the Committee, or do you know of any other
matter which, if known to the Committee, might affect the Committee's
recommendation to the Senate with respect to your nominations?
Answer. No
Question 9. Have you fully and accurately provided financial and
other information requested by the Committee, and do you now affirm
that that information is complete, accurate, and provided in a form not
designed to evade?
Answer. Yes
Question 10. Do you agree to supply the committee such non-
privileged information, materials, and documents as may be requested by
the Committee in its oversignt and legislative capacities for so long
as you shall serve in the position for which you now seek confirmation?
Answer. Yes
Question 11. Do you agree to appear before the Committee at such
times and concerning such matters as the Committee might request for so
long as you serve in the position for which you now seek confirmation?
Answer. Yes
Chairman Specter. Thank you, Mr. Mansfield. Your reference
to your wife suggests that we be very pleased to welcome her
here. If she would rise.
[Applause.]
Chairman Specter. Welcome.
Ms. Higgins, do you have any family members here?
Ms. Higgins. I do, but I think they might have gone out to
feed the meter. [Laughter.]
Chairman Specter. Well, first things first.
Ms. Higgins. Exactly. I have some family that lives here in
the area, my sister-in-law, Barbara Ross, and her daughter, my
niece, Hannah Ross.
Chairman Specter. They are not here at the moment?
Ms. Higgins. They are not here, but maybe they will read
this in the record.
Chairman Specter. Dr. Mackay, any relatives here?
Mr. Mackay. Yes, Senator, my wife, Heather, who is a native
Pennsylvanian, and her parents still live there. Heather.
[Applause.]
Chairman Specter. Where in Pennsylvania?
Mrs. Mackay. Springtown, PA. It is a very small town.
Chairman Specter. Nice to have you here.
Dr. Lozada, any relatives here?
Mr. Lozada. Yes, sir, I have Dr. Enrique Mendez, who is my
mentor of 30 years and was Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Health Affairs during the first Bush administration.
Chairman Specter. Would you stand, please.
Mr. Lozada. And Ms. Jane Sneed. [Applause.]
Chairman Specter. Thank you.
Mrs. Cragin, do you have relatives here?
Mrs. Cragin. Yes, sir, my husband, Charlie. [Applause.]
Chairman Specter. Senator Rockefeller is due in another
meeting, so he is going to have to leave us, although he has
done yeoman work here today. Thank you, Senator Rockefeller.
Mr. Mansfield, it was a surprise to me to hear complaints
from veterans that the Veterans Administration discourages them
from seeking help from Members of Congress regarding their
claims. Do you know that to be true?
Mr. Mansfield. No, sir, I do not know it to be true, and I
would like to followup on exactly where that information came
from.
Chairman Specter. I would appreciate it if you would.
We have a series of questions for you, as we do for others,
to be submitted for the record.
We send a lot of requests over to the Veterans
Administration and they customarily come back, as is the
practice with other Federal agencies, signed by the Liaison
Officer. We would like you to give special attention to
inquiries which come from this committee. I would be surprised
if your answer was other than we will certainly do that.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Mansfield. You can be absolutely sure that I will
certainly do that, sir.
Chairman Specter. We have good cooperation generally, but
cooperation is never quite as good as it is before
confirmation. That is important to carry forward our
responsibilities.
What suggestions do you have, Mr. Mansfield? You have been
in the field for a long time. What should the Veterans
Administration be doing that it is now not doing? You only have
5 minutes to answer. [Laughter.]
Mr. Mansfield. I would prefer to concentrate on what the
Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs would be doing
in the future because that is going to be my focus.
Chairman Specter. Start there.
Mr. Mansfield. What I would also recognize is the fact
that, in my view, the Office of Congressional and Legislative
Affairs is vitally important. The reason for the existence of
the agency, the authorizing legislation, the funding for the
agency on a yearly basis, and the oversight that is performed
on the agency comes from Congress. So, therefore, the agency's
relationship with Congress is vitally important to ensure that
it has the authority to do what it needs to do, that changes
are made as we go along and seek corrections that need to be
made, that the funding----
Chairman Specter. Do you have any insights as to what
congressional relations could do better than it is now doing?
Mr. Mansfield. I think the concentration needs to be on the
communications and the timeliness, making sure that we
understand exactly what the members of the committee and the
staff want and need, and that we get it to them in a timely
manner. Another improtant issue for the Office of Congressional
and Legislative Affairs deals with congressional reports. That
is a new responsibility for Congressional Affairs, one that we
are currently assessing and establishing process and procedures
for, and one that I would like to concentrate on so that,
again, we can get the Congress the information that it needs to
do its job in authorizing or budgeting or oversight.
The overall agency issues which need attention I think have
been identified by the Secretary. He has made the point that in
the area of benefits, he wants to ensure that the backlog is
taken care of. In health care, he wants to make sure that we
deliver good quality health care in a timely manner. He has
indicated that the personnel change that is coming with the
aging work force is important. The information technology issue
is important. Also the interraction and cooperation of the
various administrations and staff offices within the Department
have been identified by the Secretary as in important issue to
focus on.
Chairman Specter. Mr. Mansfield, I am going to ask you to
do the same thing I have asked the others. Within 60 days, give
us an appraisal of the 10 key problems and what you think ought
to be done about them. That is beyond the purview, really, of
your specific job title, but with your extensive experience
with your service organization, I am sure you have a lot of
insights and we would appreciate having the benefit of them for
the committee.
Mr. Mansfield. Yes, sir. deg.
Chairman Specter. Anybody have anything else they would
like to say?
[No response.]
Chairman Specter. That concludes our hearing. Thank you all
very much.
[Whereupon, at 1112 a.m., the committee was adjourned, to
reconvene at the call of the Chair.]
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