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members of the committee.

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I'm sure they are interested in

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the same outcome.

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Thank you.

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Chair tester: Senator king?

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Sen. King: Before beginning my

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questions, it is now been, let's

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see, 3.5 years since the Johnny

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isakson-david Rowe veteran bill

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passed, and in that bill was a

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requirement for the V.A. To

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provide back payments for

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domiciliary care in veterans

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homes.

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We still don't have the final

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rule.

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Two and a half years.

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Eisenhower retook Europe in 11

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months.

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Do you think we can get this

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rule out sometime?

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Would you take that message

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back, thank you?

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Dr. Kaboli: Yes, thank you,

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senator king.

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I will take that message back.

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Sen. King: Just send any mail --

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just send the email,

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Eisenhower with an exclamation

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point.

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We ought to be knocking down all

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barriers.

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It is better for the patients,

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it is better for the providers.

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We find that people with

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telehealth appointments tend to

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make the appointments more

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frequently.

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And for people with behavioral

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health and mental health issues,

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you don't have to sit around in

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the waiting room and feel

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uncomfortable about who else is

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there.

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If there are any authorities

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that you need, any extension --

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I don't think there are to be

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extensions, they are to be made

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permanent.

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-- They ought to be made

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permanent.

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That is one of the most

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important things we can do

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particularly for rural veterans.

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Internet is important, but if

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you can also make telehealth

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facilities available -- how

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about this, how about setting up

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telehealth kiosks in American

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legion posts?

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Vfw posts?

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We have places were veterans go

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in virtually every town in

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America.

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Let's think about that is a

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possibility for extending access

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particularly in communities

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where broadband access is

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difficult.

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Now, I am confused about

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personnel.

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We've seen a report that over

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the next five years you're going

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to have to hire 21,000 new

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people to keep up with expected

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growth.

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One of the facilities,

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coincidentally, anticipating the

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most growth is the veterans

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hospital in Augustine, Maine.

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They need to hire nearly 800 new

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staff.

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But then secretary Mcdonough is

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talking about zero growth, and

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your budget calls for cutting

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10,000 fte's.

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I'm confused, are we going hire

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the people we need or not?

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Dr. Kaboli: Thank you, senator

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king, I will take the first shot

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and then asked my colleague to

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help out.

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We had a lot of discussions over

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the last couple days

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specifically about this.

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The word "Strategic" came up a

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lot, how we are doing strategic

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hiring, making sure we are using

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the fte and the budget we have

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in the right places.

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Over the next, I'm guessing,

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weeks and months, we will be

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looking at this very carefully

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to decide where we need to put

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the resources and where we need

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to put the people.

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You're right, it doesn't really

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compute when you say you need

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more people but then we are at

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keeping fte even.

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I will let Mr. Vlosich answer,

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too.

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Mr. Vlosich: At the local level

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we are working with the national

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office -- for those areas that

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are growing, they are allowing

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us to move around our fte.

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We are recruiting fte and we are

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still doing that.

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Sen. King: If you are

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rationalizing the organization,

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I have no problem with that, as

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long as we don't end up with

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less service.

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Mr. Vlosich: No, the services

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will not be impacted at all.

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We have the staff we need to

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equip each the mission.

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-- To accomplish the mission.

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We are looking at all of our fte

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nsync is the best place to put

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them -- fte and seeing where is

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the best place to put them into.

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Sen. King: Mr. Heiman,

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transportation is a huge issue.

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Lome example, a town of caribou

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in the north of Maine, uni

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contractor deal to bring one

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veteran down for diet -- you had

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a contractor deal to bring one

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veteran down for dialysis.

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They put somebody on the staff

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to do the driving and it saved

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$7,000 in a month.

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Saved the veterans

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administration.

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I hope you will think about

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where and when additional staff

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to provide this kind of

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transportation can really make a

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difference.

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Mr. Heiman: Yeah, I appreciate

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that, senator king.

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We do have the program you're

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referencing at 128 V.A. Medical

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centers.

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There are over 100,000 vehicles

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in the fleet providing

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similar-type services.

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I would reference that this was

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included in the president's

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budget submission for fy24 in

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relation to the highly verbal

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transportation grant protest the

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highly --in relation to the

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highly rural transportation

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grant program.

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This is critical to highly rural

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areas.

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Our proposal is to expand your

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25 states for the county level,

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to expand it to 50 states that

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would have access.

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The other expansion is that the

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eligibility criteria would

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include tribal and county vso's

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--

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sen. King: We will be talking

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with them the next panel.

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Transportation is really

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important.

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We have a large state dual -- to

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give you an idea of how tall

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Maine is, caribou to Portland,

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Maine, it's halfway to New York

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City.

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Chair tester: I don't know if

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you want to start talking --

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sen. King: I know.

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[Laughter]

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That is why I prefaced it.

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He is in a state that you have

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to fly to get -- the point is

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transportation is really

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important for rural, and I hope