Thank you very much for your presentations.
I have a number of questions. The first one is for Ms. Burke.
When I was first elected, a veteran and his wife paid me a visit at my office. The veteran was in his forties and had tried to commit suicide a few weeks prior. He came to see me because he was at the end of his rope. He had suffered a serious accident while on a mission abroad and was living with a disability. When he told me his story, he talked about the blatant lack of compassion from the officer handling his file, the trouble he had getting the department to reimburse him for numerous medical expenses and the debilitating disability that had pushed him into trying to end his own life.
My question is a general one. What tangible measures are you taking to ensure that veterans are not pushed to the breaking point and that Veterans Affairs does everything in its power to help them, instead of being uncompassionate as was the case with this veteran?