Hearing of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee - Nominations

Statement

Hearing of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee - Nominations

Chaired By: Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI)

Witnesses: Roger Baker, Nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Will Gunn, Nominee to be General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs; Jose Riojas, Nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Operations, Security and Preparedness; John Sepulveda, Nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Human Resources and Administration

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SEN. AKAKA: For the information of all of you here today, we have a long series of votes beginning around 10:40 this morning, and I want to ensure that we have a full hearing, and this is the reason we're starting sooner than -- than we had planned. And these -- these nominations are important to us. With the ranking member's cooperation, we are starting early here this morning.

It is my hope that we'll be able to finish before the votes and that's my intent. Should we need additional time, we'll work with Senator Burr on finding another opportunity, preferably this week. But otherwise, we'll -- we'll try to do it within the time before the votes.

That said, let me say good morning, aloha, and welcome to today's hearing to consider four nominations for positions within the Department of Veterans Affairs. This hearing will come to order. Roger Baker to be assistant secretary for information and technology; Will Gunn to be VA's general counsel; Jose D. Riojas to be assistant secretary for operations, security, and preparedness; John U. Sepulveda to be assistant secretary of -- for human resources and management.

I'm delighted to welcome all four of you nominees and -- and also your families and friends that are here today.

Just a housekeeping note -- after we have completed our opening statements, I will introduce each of the nominees in turn. Following my introduction, I will ask each to introduce family and friends and who are here today, and then to make your -- your statements.

So, once all four nominees have been introduced and made their statements, we will begin with our questions. So that will be the order of -- of the -- the hearing. Each nominee, if confirmed, will play an integral part and role in the overall management and day-to- day operations of VA, and we are making every effort to put together the VA leadership team so that you can begin to -- to work on VA matters.

Mr. Baker, if confirmed, you will be VA's chief information officer. VA has suffered with continued failures in the ability to deliver functional computer programs. Your challenge will be to reverse that course. You will also need to work with the Department of Defense to create a unified lifetime electronic health record for members of our armed services, and you will be responsible for resolving any IT issues as VA works to implement the post-9/11 GI Bill.

Mr. Gunn, if confirmed, you will be responsible for proactive legal advice and representation of the department. Given your experience in the Judge Advocate General's Corps, I'm confident that you possess the leadership ability to manage the decentralized VA legal system. You will be looked upon to provide a comprehensive evaluation of legislation, both introduced in the Congress and proposed by VA for its legal basis and impact.

Mr. Riojas, if confirmed, you will be responsible for coordinating VA's emergency management, preparedness, security, and law enforcement activities. These activities affect veterans on a daily basis, providing for the security of VA facilities, employees, veterans receiving care, and visitors alike.

The important task of preparing and coordinating VA's response to war, terrorism, national security matters, and natural disasters, while ensuring continued service to veterans, will also be yours. VA has a fine record of emergency preparedness. I trust this will remain the case under your watch.

Mr. Sepulveda, if confirmed, you will have the task of managing VA's human resources activities during a period when there are many VA employees who are retirement eligible. Your experience at the Office of Personnel Management coupled with your general management experience suggests that you have the qualifications for taking on the massive challenges of this office.

When carrying out your responsibility with regard to VA's labor management relations, I ask that you appreciate the unique relationship that VA employees have with the veterans they serve. This relationship goes beyond the bottom line and is based upon maintaining a work force, many of whom are veterans themselves, that has a sense of service and dedication.

I thank you all for being here today and -- and look forward to -- to your -- your testimony. I have the privilege this morning of -- to introduce the four nominees. Roger Baker is the president's nominee for assistant secretary for information and technology. Mr. Baker has 30 years of experience working in the field of information technology, including as chief information officer at the Department of Commerce from 1998 to 2001.

Prior to joining the federal government, Mr. Baker had an extensive career with software and IT firms, including leading the development of Internet and online banking systems at Visa International. He has also been a senior technology management executive at CACI and at General Dynamics.

In addition to his B.S. degree in computer science, he has a Master's in business administration from the University of Michigan. Mr. Baker, please introduce your family and friends who are here today, and when you are done please begin with your statement.

MR. BAKER: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am joined by my wife, Karen, my son, Alex -- (inaudible) -- in college at Old Dominion; friends, Bob and Ruth Guera (ph), Robin and Dan Matthews, Phil Kiviat (ph), and I'd really like to thank the members of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and in particular, the Office of Information Technology that have joined us today to -- to listen to the testimony and the hearing.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you. Thank you. Welcome, and good to have your family and friends.

MR. BAKER: Thank you, Chairman Akaka, and members of the Committee on Veterans Affairs. It's an honor to appear before you today and to have been by Secretary Shinseki and President Obama to serve our nation's veterans.

I'm a technologist and a technology manager.

I attended one of our country's finest universities and have worked for some of our country's best companies. Most of my professional career has been in the private sector, where I've had the opportunity to work at the forefront of high technology, including in software development and Internet banking, as you had mentioned.

While many of my friends and members of my family have served in our country's military, I reached military age during a time of peace. I've been blessed throughout my life to live in the comfort and security made possible by the service and sacrifice of our nation's veterans.

I was honored to accept President Obama's nomination to work for Secretary Shinseki and Deputy Secretary Gould, and, if confirmed by the Senate, to use my skills to serve the veterans whose sacrifices have made the good life I lead possible.

The assistant secretary for information and technology at the Department of Veterans Affairs is a challenging position. VA IT is one of the largest single consolidated IT organizations in the world, rivaling or exceeding that of most of the Fortune 20 largest companies, and Veterans Affairs has faced a number of highly public technology challenges over the last few years, including the loss of veterans' information and failed system development programs.

The consolidation of VA's IT assets into a single organization, which has largely been completed over the last (two ?) years, provides a starting point for addressing those challenges. But the road ahead is long and is unlikely to be incident-free.

If confirmed, I recognize that I will probably have many bonding opportunities, as we call them in the private sector, with the members of this committee and of your staff. Mr. Chairman, I commit to you that you will find me open, earnest, and honest when we have those opportunities to have frank discussions.

President Obama and Secretary Shinseki have expressed a compelling vision of a 21st century -- a VA that delivers proactive efficient services to veterans when, where, and how they want them; a virtual lifetime electronic record that supports a seamless transition from service member to veteran; an electronic VA that uses all the information available to it to maximize benefits and minimize waiting times and backlog; and a transformed VA that turns a veteran's experience from one of delay into one of delight.

To achieve the president's and the secretary's vision, VA must have a strong information technology capability. The VA IT organization must be able to reliably develop and operate the technology solutions that will enable the transformation of VA business processes.

I know there is no easy path, no simple answer, and no shortcut solution to creating a strong IT capability at VA. Achieving this will require hard work, disciplined management, and honest communications. But with the IT consolidation as a starting point, I believe that VA can achieve a substantial strengthening of its IT capabilities over the next four years.

My guiding vision is that the VA and the veterans we serve should have the best IT organization in the federal government.

In conclusion, if this committee chooses to confirm me, I am committed to doing my utmost to transform the department into a 21st century organization, focused on the nation's veterans as its clients and providing them with a level of service that they have earned through the service and sacrifices they have made to our country. Thank you.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much, Mr. Baker. I now would welcome Will A. Gunn. Colonel Gunn has been nominated to be VA's general counsel and is currently an attorney representing military members and veterans in private practice in Northern Virginia. Colonel Gunn is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and graduated with honors from Harvard Law School. He also has a Master of Laws degree in environmental law from the George Washington University School of Law, and a Master of Science degree in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

We welcome you, Colonel Gunn, and would ask you to introduce your guests. When you are done, please begin with your statement. Colonel Gunn?

COL. GUNN: Thank you, Chairman Akaka. I believe, if I'm not mistaken, my -- my guests are -- are en route for the most part. However, one of my fellow alumni from the academy, Mr. Gary Cowell (ph), joins -- joins me today. So I'm -- I'm pleased with respect to that.

SEN. AKAKA: Welcome.

COL. GUNN: Thank you. Chairman Akaka and other members, I'd just like to thank you for scheduling this hearing today. I'm honored by President Obama's and Secretary Shinseki's choice to nominate me as the -- for the position of general counsel in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

I greatly appreciate the confidence that they have in me to help accomplish their vision of transforming this department into a 21st century organization. I look forward to the opportunity and I consider it a sacred trust. I believe my professional and life experiences have well prepared me to serve as the general counsel for veterans' affairs.

You see, veterans hold a special place in my heart. I'm named after one of my mother's brothers who died in the Korean War, and my wife, Dawn, she and I are both veterans, and veterans do hold a very special place in -- in our hearts.

Her father, for instance, was a enlisted man in the Army during the Korean -- during the -- during World War II, and he served as an officer in the Korean War. In addition to that, a lot of other family members have also served in the military.

Chairman, I put on the military uniform for the first time 33 years ago when I entered the Air Force Academy in the summer of 1976. At that time, I was part of the class of 1980, which was the first academy class with women. I graduated four years later with military honors and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. I then served as an admissions adviser in the academy's Office of Minority Affairs, and I later spent two years as a contract negotiator.

I was then blessed with the opportunity to attend Harvard Law School, and while I was there I was elected president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, an organization that provided legal services to low- income individuals.

After graduating from Harvard in 1986, I spent the -- the next 19 years in a variety of challenging and rewarding assignments as a member of the Air Force JAG Corps. I prosecuted cases, I defended military members, I represented the Air Force in federal court, and I served as a White House Fellow.

I also taught as a JAG school instructor and served as a supervising attorney in several settings. For example, I was a staff judge advocate for Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina, and I served as chief defense counsel for Air Force defense counsel over an 11- state area. I then went on to serve as the executive officer to the Air Force Judge Advocate General, which essentially meant that I was the chief of staff for a department with over 1,000 attorneys.

I concluded my military career as the first ever chief defense counsel in the Office of Military Commissions, with responsibility for establishing the defense function and effectively representing the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- those that were brought before military commissions. In addition to my military service, last year I established my own law firm to focus on military law so that I could provide service to military members and veterans.

My first exposure to the Department of Veterans Affairs came in 1990, when as a White House Fellow I was assigned as a White House liaison to VA's Office of the Secretary. During that year, I gained an appreciation for several issues affecting the department, and I followed these issues from afar over the years.

If confirmed, I will join President Obama and Secretary Shinseki in their efforts to transform VA into a 21st century organization that is more people-centric, results oriented, and forward looking than ever before.

In addition to my being a veteran and my awareness of some of the issues affecting the department, I -- I would like to say that I'm also committed to developing leaders, a function that will be critical to transforming the department. Moreover, when I served in the Air Force, the -- the service endorsed the values of integrity first, service to others before self, and excellence in all we do. I went on to adopt those values as my own personal guidestars, and I'm going to bring those values with me to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In conclusion, if I am confirmed, I'll join a department that is more -- that has for more than 75 years cared for the men and women who have fought this nation's battles. I look forward to working closely with the members and staff of this committee to address issues affecting veterans and their families. I also look forward to working with the Veterans Service Organizations and VA's other stakeholders in order to advance the president's and secretary's vision for a 21st century VA. Thank you very much.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much, Mr. Gunn. Before I introduce Mr. Riojas, I'm going to call on our ranking member, Senator Burr, for his opening statement.

SEN. RICHARD BURR (R-NC): Mr. Chairman, I'm going to ask that my opening statement be made a part of the record. But I would say to the chair and for the purposes of other members that I had an opportunity this morning to sit down with all four of our nominees, to look extensively into their backgrounds, their experience, to see the areas that they will fill at the VA, and I feel extremely confident that we are the most fortunate at VA to have four incredibly qualified and passionate individuals chosen to be at the VA, and I look forward to this committee moving these nominations as quickly as possible. Thank you.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much, Senator Burr. Let me welcome Jose D. Riojas, the president's nominee for assistant secretary for operations, security, and preparedness.

After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, his 30-year military career included numerous and significant operational assignments throughout the world, including the U.S. Army War College. I say with pride that General Riojas spent part of his career with the 25th Division in Hawaii. General Riojas, aloha, and welcome to today's hearing. Please take a moment to introduce your -- your guests. When you are done, please begin with your statement.

GEN. RIOJAS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to introduce my wife of nearly 28 years, Susan (ph), in the red, to my left.

SEN. AKAKA: Welcome. Welcome to the hearing.

GEN. RIOJAS: Mr. Chairman, thank you for the kind introduction. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Burr, and other members of the committee, I am a veteran and I am honored to be before you today seeking your endorsement to become the assistant secretary for operations, security, and preparedness for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

I consider it a privilege to have been nominated by President Obama to serve at VA, and I appreciate the confidence that he and Secretary Shinseki have in me to help provide the best service possible to our veterans and to help transform the Veterans Affairs department.

I fully support President Obama's vision for change and Secretary Shinseki's effort to transform the Department of Veterans Affairs into a 21st century organization. I also fully support Secretary Shinseki's operating principles that call for VA to be people-centric, results driven, and forward looking. I believe my leadership experience in transforming organizations and using these principles in the past would serve me well, should I be confirmed.

I appreciate the time and attention you and your staff members have shown me in the past several weeks. I have given, and will continue to give, your guidance very serious consideration. It is clear to me that we jointly share a passion for serving veterans. If confirmed, I look forward to working continuously with you to constantly improve the care and attention that our veterans deserve.

My life has been shaped by those who have worn the military uniforms of our nation. Family members who are veterans, including my father, instilled in me a sense of patriotism, a love of country, which caused me to want to serve and protect this great nation of ours.

I was fortunate to have been able to wear the uniform of the soldier -- of a soldier for over 30 years. During that time, I was awed by the sacrifice of countless men and women who performed remarkable feats during extraordinary conditions in peacetime and in combat.

Today, my wife, Susan, and I have a son, Joshua, who is an Army captain serving in the Special Forces community at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On the 28th of this month, I will commission our daughter, Christina, as an Army captain and she will soon thereafter begin her service as a surgeon at Fort Gordon, Georgia.

So my past has been and my future is being influenced by those who have, are, and will be serving our great nation. Veterans have served me well and, quite frankly, made me successful. I would consider it an honor to play even a small role in serving them and would consider it a highlight of my professional life.

Should I be confirmed, I would like veterans to know that I would be committed to ever improving the operations, security, and preparedness within the VA so that continuous support can be given, regardless of the conditions, to include before, during, and after any natural or man-made disaster. The VA must be at its best during times of extreme circumstances.

I would like all the members of the VA team to know that I would be committed to providing positive leadership, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness within the department so that that support to veterans can be maximized. And I would like members of the interagency community to know that I would seek to establish open lines of communication and maximize collaboration integration between our organizations.

Finally, I would like all the members of this committee to know that I would be committed to working with you as a partner in serving veterans. Please know that, if confirmed, I am prepared to serve as the assistant secretary for operations, security, and preparedness with the utmost of dedication, commitment, and passion.

In short, if this committee sees fit to recommend my confirmation, I look forward to serving veterans in the best manner possible. Chairman Akaka and distinguished members of this committee, thank you again for your consideration. I look forward to any questions that you may have for me.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much, General, for your statement. Finally, we turn our attention to John U. Sepulveda, who has been nominated for assistant secretary for human resources and management.

Mr. Sepulveda brings over 25 years of experience as an innovative leader in the public and private sectors. He served as deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management, a position for which he has been -- was nominated in 1998 by President Clinton.

I can share that I served as ranking -- ranking member of the Subcommittee on Government (sic) Affairs Committee that considered the nomination at that time. It goes without saying that our committee, now Homeland Security and Governmental (sic) Affairs, favorably reported his nomination to the full Senate at that time.

Mr. Sepulveda earned two Master's degrees from Yale University and a B.A. degree from Hunter College. Welcome again, and -- and please share with us those -- those accompanying you this morning, and when you are done please begin with your statement.

MR. SEPULVEDA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm proud to introduce my wife, Awilda Rodriguez-Sepulveda, who is here, as well as several friends -- Jody Greenblatt (ph), Danielle Johnson Kutch (ph), Candace Reddy (ph), and Joe Mancias (ph).

SEN. AKAKA: Well, welcome to your family and your friends.

MR. SEPULVEDA: Thank you. Chairman Akaka, Senator Burr, thank you for the honor and privilege of testifying before you today.

I am deeply honored to be nominated by President Obama to serve as assistant secretary for human resources and administration at the Department of Veterans Affairs. I'm also honored to have Secretary Shinseki's trust and confidence to serve in this important position.

I would also like to express my profound gratitude to my wife, Awilda Rodriguez-Sepulveda, who has encouraged and supported my love and passion for public service for many years. To better serve those who have served this country with courage, dedication, and sacrifice -- our veterans and their families -- President Obama and Secretary Shinseki have called for the transformation of the Department of Veterans Affairs into a 21st century organization. Key to achieving the VA's transformation will be the strategic development and management of the department's human capital, the more than 280,000 employees at VA who work hard to serve our veterans and their families every day.

In other words, we must make sure that we have the right people doing the right job at the right place at the right time at all times. If confirmed as assistant secretary, I'll be responsible for providing leadership and management of the department's human capital assets and policies, working closely with the deputy secretary and the executive team. As Deputy Secretary Gould has already testified, VA must invest in its workforce to better serve our veterans and to support the transformation of the department.

This investment must include taking the following steps -- first, increasing professional training opportunities for employees, including managers; second, greater use of automation and technology to efficiently and securely process and manage all personnel actions including hiring, performance evaluations, employee benefits and records; third, promoting new and existing work life initiatives within VA to increase productivity and morale; and fourth, expanding succession planning and executing new and creative recruitment strategies to better prepare for the large numbers of retirements that will impact the department in the coming years.

If confirmed, these are some of the specific aspects of the human capital investment agenda at VA that I look forward to addressing. VA must -- must continue to strive to be a model employer of choice for veterans, people with disabilities, women, and minorities. Indeed, increasing efforts to expand the numbers of veterans employed at VA is and will continue to be a top priority.

I have been a public servant for much of my adult life, having served at the local, state, and federal levels. I know first hand how public servants carry out their jobs each day with dedication and professionalism. Consequently, I will ensure that all VA employees are treated with the respect that they deserve.

I also hope to lead the department's efforts to provide customer service training to all employees, especially those providing direct services to our veterans. We must make sure that all veterans seeking information or services from the department are always treated with the consideration and respect that they have earned and that they deserve.

I know that changing an organization as complex and as large (at ?) VA will be difficult, especially given that the department has to, in the short term, launch several major new programs and initiatives. However, if given the opportunity to serve, I would bring the necessary government experience and leadership skills in human resources and change management to contribute substantially to accomplishing the goal of a 21st century VA.

While serving as the deputy director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management -- the federal government's primary human resources agency -- I had the opportunity to lead and work on several internal and government-wide civil service reform initiatives. My nearly five years of service on an advisory panel to the intelligence community, which focused on diversity in human resources issues, familiarized me with many of the current capital -- human capital challenges facing federal agencies, including the VA.

My experience in federal transformation includes my participation and leadership in the successful modernization of two major programs at the Federal Housing Administration in the early 1990s, including the restructuring of 81 field offices and the creation of two processing centers.

If confirmed, I look forward to working with this committee to ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs successfully meets our nation's obligations to our veterans and their families no matter who they are and no matter where in our great country they may live. Thank you.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much for your testimony. Before we begin with our questions, let me ask Colonel Gunn to introduce your family.

COL. GUNN: Thank you, Chairman. (And sir ?) we've been joined by my wife, Dawn Latham Gunn (ph), by my parents, Willie and Elizabeth Gunn, by my son, Latham Gunn (ph), my daughter, Irina Gunn (ph), as well as by my pastors, Pastor Rosemary Bonner and also by Apostle Crosby Bonner.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much. Welcome to the hearing this morning. I will ask the nominees to please stand for the administration of the oath. Will you please raise your -- your right hand?

Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the responses you are about to give to questions, as well as your testimony and any answers to any pre- or post-hearing questions before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

(Witnesses are sworn.)

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you. Let the record note that the nominees answered in the affirmative. Mr. Baker, in your written testimony, you acknowledge the challenges you're -- you're inheriting in the position. Of course, if confirmed, this -- these will be your challenges. You note that there is no easy path, no simple answer, and no short-cut solution to creating a strong IT capability at VA. That being said, where -- where do you plan to begin to fix the problems and create solutions?

MR. BAKER: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In my view, this is a large-scale management problem. You know, key areas to focus on in the beginning are to address the issues with failed programs and the environment that allows programs to continue on for 10 years before being identified as failed programs, and fixing that from a management standpoint; clearly, a focus on continued good operational delivery of services to -- to the internal customers, to Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration; working with the people in the VA IT organization to improve skills and address skills gaps, to do training; and working with the partners at -- at the department, the -- you know, the vendors that work with the department that are probably half again as many staff as we have employees, to make certain that -- that we're getting the real benefit of the work that they do in a timely fashion.

I think those are probably the four starting points. There will be many, many challenges as we -- as we go along, and I think it's probably safe to observe that as, you know, as soon as we say here's where we want to start strategically things will start to pop up that we have to deal with, you know, to make certain that they are being appropriately dealt with from, you know, an -- an urgent standpoint.

SEN. AKAKA: You mention in your testimony seamless transition. My question to you at this point is how do you intend to work with the Defense Department on -- on records and -- so that they -- they can become seamless from Defense to Veterans?

MR. BAKER: Mr. Chairman, I have a -- a high expectation of what seamless transition means. The service members, when they join the military, don't expect that they're going to have to change complete organizations when they move from military service member to veterans. They, I believe, see themselves as working for the same government.

The records that DOD has about the service members' service and about their health are -- are vital to the VA being able to provide what appears to the veteran as something that (means ?) they've never left the same government.

Potentially, they can log in to the same websites with the same login IDs that they used to when they were in the DOD at VA, see the same sorts of information, and have an environment where it's clear that -- that we're supporting them.

Working with DOD -- (well ?) recognize that we currently spend -- we currently exchange a fair amount of information, both in the Bidirectional Health Information Exchange and on the benefits side, with information coming from the personnel information at DOD. But there's a lot more that can be done, and a lot of -- a lot of work that needs to be done to just make certain that that information comes to VA in a usable form. It's one thing to receive the information; it's another to be able to really use it and apply it to maximize benefits and minimize wait times.

I have numerous friends at the Department of Defense. I know that, if necessary, we can utilize General Shinseki and Deputy Secretary Gould's good contacts there to help leverage things, and -- and in the long term, I -- I guess I would just tie that question, how do we create a seamless transition, to the president's vision of that lifetime electronic record, because that is the key part. When you have that lifetime electronic record, when you can access that information at any time that you want to serve the veteran, that's going to provide much of what's needed for that seamless transition.

SEN. AKAKA: Yes. Well, thank you. We -- we will have another round here. I'll -- I'll then turn to our ranking member for -- for his questions.

SEN. BURR: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It looks like we'll do this together today, which is advantageous to us. A couple of housekeeping questions, if I can, for all of you and I'd just ask for a quick response, if -- if you would. As ranking member, I -- I have some obligations to oversight that I think all of you can understand. Do you pledge to submit timely answers to my questions? Let me start on that side. Roger?

MR. BAKER: Yes, sir.

COL. GUNN: I do, sir.

MR. : I do.

SEN. BURR: Do you pledge to submit testimony before the committee on time and agree to submit follow-up questions for the record in a timely manner?

MR. BAKER: Yes, sir.

COL. GUNN: Yes, Senator.

GEN. RIOJAS: Yes, I do.

MR. SEPULVEDA: Yes, sir.

SEN. BURR: Each of you stressed in your testimony the importance of the VA moving into the 21st century organization that I think we all want it to. What do you see as the greatest challenges in this transformation and how are you prepared to successfully tackle them?

MR. BAKER: I guess I'll start, Senator. Thank you. As -- as we discussed this morning when we met, the change management, you know, the organizational change is certainly the largest challenge that we will face.

One of the things you learn as a technologist is that you can create wonderful systems that no one wants to use because they -- they either haven't been trained, the interfaces to them are unfriendly, or the information there isn't of any use, or the processes there aren't of use to them. So, I think that -- that organizational change piece, making sure that we're serving the organizations from an IT perspective -- that we're serving the organizations that directly serve the veterans.

Our job is to partner with VHA, VBA, and NCA to help provide that service to the veteran. So from that technology standpoint I think that's the challenge. How am I prepared? I'd say I've taken my whole career to prepare for this one. As a CEO, you deal with these kind of problems all the time. Not on the same scale -- there are few organizations that are the same scale as the Department of Veterans Affairs. But this is what -- what my career has really prepared me for, both as a technologist and as a manager.

SEN. BURR: Great. Colonel?

COL. GUNN: Senator, as you know, the Office of the General Counsel has over 400 attorneys spread out over 22 regional offices, with about half of those attorneys being here, the other half spread out all over the country. Because of that, because of that decentralized aspect (we're ?) communication will be a challenge.

The Office of the General Counsel I see as being involved in all aspects of -- of transformation. We're going to have a piece in it, if nothing else, from an advisory standpoint to make sure that we are complying with law and with regulations and can provide advice with respect to what areas there need to be changes in order to effect transformation.

I -- I see that -- when you're talking about transformation one of the biggest challenges is simply that of communications. I think it's impossible to overcommunicate. With the decentralized structure that we have, then that places some special demands on -- on communication, particularly when, as -- as I see it, as I've seen the organization chart, if I'm confirmed I'll be the only political appointee in the Office of the General Counsel. So there are many people, as -- as we -- we discussed earlier, they could just wait me out if they wanted to.

So if we really want to effect change, we're going to have to -- I -- I would have to work very closely with -- with -- with those people that are already there and I'd have to listen to them, because I believe that there are a lot of good ideas that just aren't housed here in Washington but they're spread out all over the country and all over the organization.

In terms of my preparation, my background is one that I've been blessed with the opportunity to serve in some positions that have given me the opportunity to serve organizations in which I've been in decentralized environments. I think that, again, as Roger Baker just stated, the scale doesn't -- doesn't compare, but I have been in that situation and I'm up to the challenge.

SEN. BURR: Great. General?

GEN. RIOJAS: Sir, thank you for the question. I believe I would have several responsibilities relative to the transformation of the organization. One of them would be establish and maintaining an operations center that facilitates the flow of information and communications within the VA team so that predictive analysis can be made, recommendations can be made, so that decision makers can make timely decisions for the organization.

Just as importantly, I think that operation center would need to be an integral part of the interagency community so that VA as a department is seen as an asset to the national government as a whole, both before, during, and after times of crisis, emergencies, man-made or natural disasters.

SEN. BURR: Great. John?

MR. SEPULVEDA: Yes, Senator. I -- I have some experience in change management, and I can tell you, probably the -- the most complex challenge is motivating the people at the department to go in one direction.

As my colleagues mentioned, people are resistant to change, and because there are changes in administrations, people -- some people decide that they can wait out this administration if they don't like the direction that the department -- (inaudible) -- going.

So -- so the biggest challenge working with the deputy secretary, working with my colleagues, and working with the staff there is to motivate, direct, lead the -- the staff in a direction that helps to support the transformation.

And one of the ways that I would do that is, first and foremost, get an assessment of where the gaps are in terms of training, in terms of resources, in terms of leadership, and then the next is to really communicate the secretary's vision to the lowest level, to the highest level, so that we're going in the right direction and everybody has a stake in the transformation because ultimately, the transformation is meant to do one thing and one thing alone -- is to serve our veterans, and that's really the thing that supposed to unite us, and I'm hopeful that it will.

SEN. BURR: Great. Great. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much, Senator Burr. General -- I mean, Colonel Gunn, I understand that it will take you some time to get -- get up -- (inaudible) -- we call get up to speed on issues that are facing the General Counsel's Office. Some of the questions that I submitted for your response prior to this hearing were left unanswered because of your lack of familiarity with the issues. Will you agree to respond to those questions within next -- within the next 60 days so that they can be made part of the record of -- of this hearing?

COL. GUNN: Absolutely, Mr. Chairman.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much, Colonel. General Riojas, from the answers to your pre-hearing questions, it seems clear that you believe interagency collaboration and cooperation are important. Give me a few examples of how you will work with other government agencies to accomplish the mission of the office for which you are nominated.

GEN. RIOJAS: Mr. Chairman, thank you for the question. If confirmed, I think establishing and maintaining open lines of communications, specifically so that trust and confidence can be established and shared among the agencies, is a bedrock for that particular operation and that capability, and once those are established, information sharing among a organization is very, very important so that each organization can look at the capabilities and see that all the pistons in the engine can function and serve the nation as a whole would be my overall approach to establishing that collaboration and a partnership in the interagency community.

I have had experience in the past doing that. I currently serve as the executive director for the National Center for Border Security and Immigration Center of Excellence for the Department of Homeland Security where I have the opportunity to work in the interagency community. I'm very comfortable in that environment and believe that I could serve that -- in the position very well in establishing that capability for Veterans Affairs.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you, General.

Mr. Sepulveda, a major concern of mine is that VA should be a model employer when it comes to the important protections afforded by the Uniformed Service Members Employment and Reemployment Act (sic). I do not believe that an individual who has left a job to fight for this country should under any circumstances come home and have to fight to get the job back. Can you expand on what you intend to do to make sure that VA is fully compliant with USERRA?

MR. SEPULVEDA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for that question. You're absolutely right -- that when we have employees who are deployed they should not have to worry about whether or not the job is still there waiting for them when they return.

The fact of the matter is is that when Congress passed USERRA in 1994, the intent was to ensure that the federal government will always be a model employer, and if there's any agency within the federal government that should be a model employer of veterans and redeployed employees should be the Veterans Administration.

So a couple of things that I would specifically look to do -- one would be to make sure that all of our managers and supervisors and executives are fully aware and fully compliant with USERRA and understand what their responsibilities are -- their specific responsibilities that they have, and understand that they have to carry them out.

The second thing that I would look to do is to have HR staff work with these individuals so that when employees are indeed deployed that the supervisors and managers are already planning for their return so that they already know that within a period of time -- three months, six months, a year -- they're going to be returning and so that the manager and the executive has made plans to have that individual integrate quickly, seamlessly back into the workforce without any loss of benefits, without any loss of seniority, without any loss of stature within the organization. So those are two specific things that I would look to do if confirmed.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much. I'd like to call on Senator Isakson for any opening statement or questions you may have for our --

SEN. JOHNNY ISAKSON (R-GA): Thank you -- thank you, Mr. Chairman. I won't make an opening statement but I do have a couple of -- well, one question and one point to make. General Riojas -- is that correct pronunciation?

GEN. RIOJAS: Yes, sir, it is.

SEN. ISAKSON: How are you today?

GEN. RIOJAS: I'm doing fine, thank you.

SEN. ISAKSON: Since you're going to be (over ?) operations and security and preparedness, I would assume that would mean the VA hospital facilities' operations and preparedness. Is that correct?

GEN. RIOJAS: Yes, sir.

SEN. ISAKSON: (Inaudible) -- I'd appreciate when you're confirmed, which I'm sure will take place with your sterling reputation and record, I wish you would take a look at the Clairmont facility on Clairmont Road in Decatur, Georgia, which is the VA hospital there, where it's going through extensive renovations thanks to the help of the ranking member and the chairman when we got the authorization a couple of years ago.

But as a part of that, almost all the parking has been lost for a period of time and a -- a number of the VA patients who are coming, they actually have to get in line to have their car parked and some of the ones who are on oxygen are having to walk extensive distances to get to the facility because of the logistical problem with the VA. Now, the hospital is doing a great job of working. They've leased some parking spaces downtown for all the employees so they can shuttle them back and forth to leave as much available as possible.

But I had -- just yesterday had a conference call with veterans in the state and one of them who's on oxygen was talking about it. He has to take two extra tanks of oxygen just to go to the VA hospital in Atlanta to be able to get from where he is let off to where he goes. So if you would look into that I would appreciate it very much.

MR. SEPULVEDA: I will, sir.

SEN. ISAKSON: And Mr. Baker, if you get -- and I'm not -- I'm a hometown guy so I'm bragging about Georgia for a second. (You all have to apologize ?). I hope as you look at -- look at examples of IT and success in the VA you'll look at the Eisenhower Medical Center at Fort Gordon and Augusta VA Uptown facility. That probably -- they are the ones that developed the seamless transition from DOD health care to Veterans health care, and in particular, have a paperless transfer in terms of the medical side now.

(I note ?) it was on NBC Nightly News about two weeks ago -- was a feature on that facility and what they are doing. So I know medical -- I'm a big believer in medical IT and I think the VA is probably leading all health facilities in getting medical IT right. But there's an awfully good example of it there at Augusta at the Eisenhower Medical Center and the Uptown VA facility. So I urge you to take a look at that as soon as you can.

MR. BAKER: Thank you, sir. I will do that.

SEN. ISAKSON: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much, Senator Isakson. Let me return to the -- to the ranking member for further questions that he has.

SEN. BURR: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Roger, in pre-hearing questions you said that the VA, and I quote, "does not benchmark itself versus good private-sector organizations to determine where gaps exist." Very simple question -- what type of private-sector companies would you look to to go through that benchmark comparison?

MR. BAKER: Thank you, Senator. I -- I think there are two -- two sets of those. In the first case, we should be looking at other health providers, other insurance providers, understanding how they do business and how they use technology to best provide services to their clients.

The second thing is in areas like IT infrastructure, information security, we should understand who the best organizations in industry at doing those things are and learn from them, and benchmark ourselves against them. There are lots of services that will help us understand where our policy, procedures, and results rank against other organizations, and in that process we can learn a lot about how -- how and where can we improve, just by benchmarking ourselves.

SEN. BURR: What specific areas would you feel are most appropriate to try to benchmark?

MR. BAKER: Certainly, operational metrics. I personally would want to look at what are organizations like Kaiser Permanente and other folks doing relative to (uptime ?) for the systems and hospitals or what are things like -- insurance companies like USAA doing relative to insurance benefits and their ability to help those benefits processors move -- move the paper along, move the -- move the process along. So those are two relative areas.

I have a lot of experience in information security. I really want to look at how other very large organizations, like some of the major banks and some of the folks that have had substantial incursions and losses like we have, have responded to those, and have they done things that we could learn from in making ourselves better.

SEN. BURR: Great. I -- I do hope as you do that you will share that with the committee, as -- as I'm sure you will with the secretary.

Colonel Gunn, the VA General Counsel's office is responsible for representing the secretary before the U.S. Court of Appeals for veterans' claims. In February 2009, one of the judges from the court testified before this committee that parties from both sides, quote, "have time management problems but the secretary has the greatest number of requests for extensions of time." What steps could you take, if confirmed, to reduce any time management problems within the General Counsel's office?

COL. GUNN: Well, sir, of course, I have not had an opportunity to study, I believe it's Group 7, that deals with representation before the court. However, upon taking -- taking the position, if I'm confirmed, I would go in it and -- and launch a comprehensive study of the entire department, including Group -- Group 7.

I think that when -- when you talk about requests for time delays, having been involved in representation before federal courts and both at the trial level and also at the appellate level, you -- you, first of all, have to say do the -- do the resources that you have match the caseload that -- that -- that you have. And so that's -- that's one of the -- that's one of the considerations as to do we have the -- the necessary resources in order to accomplish the job in an -- in an effective manner.

The other consideration is do we have the training in place in -- in order to provide the representation that -- that needs to be provided. I would be looking at both of those issues going forward.

SEN. BURR: Thank you. I hope, if you -- if you find especially that there are assets that are needed, you'll share it with the committee.

COL. GUNN: Yes, sir.

SEN. BURR: We have a tremendous backlog within the appellate court, as I'm sure you're aware of, and in a bipartisan approach we have tried to do everything we can to alleviate that backlog. And as I said to -- to you this morning and to your colleagues, we can never forget the human face behind the VA, and that's the -- the veteran that's there for the services, and it -- it disturbs me when the secretary seeks an extension of time because we're forcing a veteran then to drag out the conclusion of -- of their appeal, and I think we owe it to them to do it as expeditiously as we can. So I look forward to any comments that you might have later on as to how we speed that up.

COL. GUNN: Yes, sir.

SEN. BURR: Last question, General. Your office has the oversight responsibilities for the VA's internal police force. In 2009, the VA's goal was to see that 89 percent of field police units were determined to be operating at, quote, "satisfactory levels," unquote. One, what does satisfactory level mean, and two, would you agree with me that our expectation should be that 100 percent of that police force meet satisfactory levels?

GEN. RIOJAS: Senator, thank you for the question. I'm not familiar either with the number or -- or that particular categorization of satisfactory levels. So I don't know what type of metrics were established and then how individuals were assessed against those metrics. So I'm not prepared to answer that.

SEN. BURR: Well, let me -- let me ask the question in a different way. Regardless of what that definition of satisfactory would be, would you not have expectations that 100 percent of those officers would meet that level?

GEN. RIOJAS: Sir, that's a very high number, and I'm not sure that anyone would set themselves up for success by establishing 100 percent. But I would say that it's incumbent upon us to select the right individuals, to train them, to lead them, to assess their performance along the way, and to reward their performance, good or bad, along the way. And we would seek to achieve the highest level of performance by those law enforcement officers.

SEN. BURR: I -- I appreciate your reluctance to -- to necessarily commit to a high number. I hope that's a goal that we can shoot for, though, and I would mention that that -- that field police unit is the law enforcement mechanism on that footprint -- that VA footprint, and it's absolutely essential that we train those individuals to know the population they're dealing with day in and day out.

I think all of us up here can speak from experience that not a day passes that we don't have a veteran that has a problem with the delivery of care. It may be a real one or it may be a problem as they look at it.

GEN. RIOJAS: Right.

SEN. BURR: Unfortunately, if they confront somebody that does not have the skills or the understanding of the population --

GEN. RIOJAS: Yeah.

SEN. BURR: -- a -- a police unit could react in a -- a way that's not beneficial to the veteran, to the facility, or to the VA, and I know we -- we want to try to minimize any confrontations that exist like that. I appreciate it. And, again, I -- I look forward to a very quick process of confirmation for all of you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you, Senator Burr. Mr. Baker, following the recent failure of the new patient scheduling application, Secretary Shinseki ordered a top-to-bottom review. My concern is that the individuals conducting this review are some of the same people who were integrally involved in the -- in the patient scheduling project.

Please report back to me within 60 days of your confirmation with your personal assessment of how much of the patient scheduling is salvageable. In the meantime, do you have any initial thoughts about this latest failure or why VA seems to have repeated these failures?

MR. BAKER: Thank you, Senator. I certainly will look at that when I report back to you within 60 days. As I said in my response to a pre-hearing question, while I haven't had a chance to look in depth at this one, the briefing I was able to attend, my view is that a lot of the issue with patient scheduling and other failures is -- is an environmental one of dealing honestly with recognizing the fact that you are failing.

The program certainly showed evidence of having problems well before the 10-year mark and well before it was marked as a red program in the project schedule. And it's important to accept those things top to bottom, deal honestly with them, and if necessary, admit to yourself that you are failing and that substantial correction is required, not just incremental correction.

It's a common sense management discipline that, from my standpoint, I would plan to apply throughout, and maybe the most common sense is to create an environment where people in the organization feel they can be honest about where things are and have that be viewed as a positive and not a negative. And so that's just kind of an overall view of -- of the environmental factor. I certainly will report back on more detail when I have it.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you. Colonel Gunn, in your testimony you noted that while you were a White House Fellow you served as a liaison to the VA secretary.

COL. GUNN: Yes, sir.

SEN. AKAKA: And since that time you stated that you have followed many of the issues affecting VA from -- from afar.

COL. GUNN: Yes, sir.

SEN. AKAKA: From your perspective, what are the issues that -- that you have followed that will require your immediate attention, if confirmed as the general counsel?

COL. GUNN: Sir, issue number one goes to the heart of the secretary's vision for transforming the organization into a 21st century organization, and that is the -- the issue of being people- centric. In -- in both my -- my time in -- in the military, my time since I retired in -- in 2005, and -- and most particularly in -- during the course of the last year since opening my law firm, I've had the opportunity to talk to many veterans and -- and their -- and their families about the perception among many that the VA has a long way to go in terms of being a truly people-centric, customer-friendly organization.

And I see that as -- as really the heart -- the heart of the matter because if -- if we -- if we get there, a place where the -- the VA is considered a model of being customer friendly, then we've -- then from -- from my vantage point, everything else follows -- follows from -- from that.

So while I've -- I've looked at issues in terms of the level of benefits and -- and the various processes, all of those really pale in comparison to that central issue of being focused on the people and making those people feel like that they are what the -- what this department is most -- most concerned about.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you. Let me call on -- do you have any question? Senator Burris, do you have any statement or -- or questions for the nominees? This is your time.

SEN. ROLAND BURRIS (D-IL): Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, fellow senators. I'd like to congratulate the panel. I have interviewed two -- two of these gentlemen, Mr. Chairman, and -- well, three of them, really. Did I do you, Mr. Baker?

MR. BAKER: Yes, sir.

SEN. BURRIS: Well, I've interviewed all of them. (Laughter.) I had so many coming at me. I'm just -- I'm just trying to figure out whether or not I covered them all. But I do want to say that I found it very, very informative in our interview of these gentlemen, and I also found out, Mr. Chairman, that the paperwork that is involved in what they are doing is just tremendous.

I mean, there are just so many different forms that have to be filled out and so many -- so much vetting has to be done that -- (inaudible) -- advising they were definitely looking at that vetting process. But I would just like to check with Mr. Baker and see if, when he becomes confirmed, that he will definitely look at the information that is being misplaced and lost, and records can't be found so the hope that the information technology system will improve that somewhat. Or I'm pretty sure you haven't had a chance to go in there and look at anything but I would wonder if you had any type of views on what the situation is currently, prior to your going in.

MR. BAKER: Thank you, Senator. As you can imagine, I haven't had a chance to look at that closely and so I think the best response is that I'll come back to you with -- with some answers on that when I've had a few weeks to -- to take a look at where things are.

SEN. BURRIS: Please check that out because (what ?) my reports from my veterans are that they send some paperwork in and it gets lost. It gets misplaced. The computer systems aren't talking to the computer systems.

And some of it is, (and which will go to a HR question ?), is some of it is underresourcing -- that we don't have the personnel to really handle the volume and workload. Is that -- is that correct, Mr. Sepulveda, to your -- to your knowledge?

MR. SEPULVEDA: To my knowledge, we -- we have some challenges there. We have a great staff. People are working really hard. But the reality is is that the HR staff clearly needs some additional training and resources to help them do their job and to work in concert with the other departments within the agency. You're absolutely right. There's -- there's -- there's a lot that needs to be done but -- but -- but I'm pleased (from ?) what I've seen so far is that we have very dedicated people, good people. I think they just need some additional resources.

One challenge that I just want to mention about the HR is that the -- the retirement issue is going to be a major challenge because my understanding is that 50 percent of our HR team throughout the department is eligible for early retirement or regular retirement. So there's going to be that challenge that we're going to have to be facing and planning for very soon.

SEN. BURRIS: Well, we'll have to find a reason to -- got to extend their retirement because -- (laughter) -- given the current climate, some of them may have to stay on, right -- (inaudible)? But I think the federal pension probably is pretty good.

I'd like to just point out to Colonel Gunn -- Mr. Chairman -- (inaudible) -- seen this young man for years. We were on the ABA (ph) committee together when he was in JAG and I was an attorney general working with those issues. And I ran across the colonel when he came in. I was wondering whether or not that was the same Gunn I'd seen during those years, and Colonel, it's certainly good to see you again and to come back and make your acquaintance. We had a great time at the ABA taking care of those issues.

COL. GUNN: Yes, sir.

SEN. BURRIS: And being a -- a seasoned veteran and a lawyer. I'm sorry you graduated from Harvard and not Howard. But --

(Laughter.)

COL. GUNN: I understand.

SEN. BURRIS: -- being a seasoned lawyer I'm sure you will take care of the legal matters, and, of course, I want to compliment General --

GEN. RIOJAS: Riojas.

SEN. BURRIS: -- Riojas. (I ?) get your -- get your name right, General. Because I was chatting with him the other day and -- and I said -- well, I said, "Well, what rank are you?" And he says, "I'm a brigadier general." I said, "Wow. I just salute you."

(Laughter.)

So we're looking forward to the -- you all joining, especially the -- (inaudible) -- the knowledge that you all have (or ?) what -- now that you (all are ?) veterans you know what's going to be needed.

Please go in there and be committed to our men who made this country what it is.

My favorite expression to all of you military personnel -- and I never served in the military -- is the only way we can do in America what we do is because you all have done what you all did, protecting us and this country and giving us this quality of life. And we owe a great gratitude -- a great gratitude -- a debt to all of those individuals who served this country, and now you're all in a position as civilians to help them. Take care of them. They took care of us. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much, Senator Burris. Now I'd like to call on Senator Johanns for any statement or questions you may have.

SEN. MIKE JOHANNS (R-NE): I'll pass on the statement, Mr. Chairman. I'll just jump right into questions. First, to the entire panel, congratulations. I think just to be here is an important thing. Having been through a nomination process and confirmation process as a member of President Bush's Cabinet, I think it's just a great honor to serve your nation in this capacity.

Secondly, congratulations on outstanding resumes. All of you are enormously qualified to do what you're heading out to do. Let me, if I might, start out with General Riojas. We have, and still are, going through the issues relating to the flu.

GEN. RIOJAS: Yes, sir.

SEN. JOHANNS: Of course, that's gotten a lot of attention, not here -- not just here but in -- all across the -- the world, really. Give me your impression of -- of how well prepared the Veterans Administration would be to deal with something of pandemic circumstances -- what you would like to focus on. How do -- how do we ensure that our veterans are able to get the care they need? I'd just like you to cover kind of the bailiwick here in terms of that kind of very, very drastic situation.

GEN. RIOJAS: Senator, thank you for the question. If confirmed, those are exactly some of the questions that I plan on asking as I conduct my assessment about our internal capabilities. I think it's very important that we consistently, constantly focus on the veterans so that no matter what the circumstances may be prior to a flu challenge such as we have right now, or other man-made or natural disasters, that we be properly prepared for that internally.

I think that it's also very, very important that the organization as a -- as a -- as a department be integrated fully with other departments in our government so that proper integration in planning, preparation, and actually during or after a particular situation is effective and efficient, maintaining that service to our veterans but shifting it a bit, perhaps, to service to the nation.

I'm not well briefed or completely knowledgeable about what our exact capabilities are. But I do know assembling that information so that our decision makers within the department and, as appropriate, outside the department so that General -- Secretary Shinseki can take recommendations to the national departments would be very, very important, and I would take that lead in -- in that particular development.

SEN. JOHANNS: Uh-huh. I -- I really urge you to do that. When I was a Cabinet member we worked on avian influenza, and the conclusion I reached is this is just a matter of time.

GEN. RIOJAS: Yes.

SEN. JOHANNS: The viruses, as you know, ebb and flow, and in the -- in the influenza of 1918 it actually started out and it didn't look like it was going to be so bad.

GEN. RIOJAS: Right.

SEN. JOHANNS: And then it came back with a vengeance. And I just think we have to be prepared and very mindful that we've been lucky for a long time. So I encourage you to put that at the top of your list. Colonel Gunn, I'm going to ask you some questions here about veterans' claims.

COL. GUNN: Yes, sir.

SEN. JOHANNS: I think everybody on this committee has heard from veterans about painfully slow claims process and trying to get through that. Give us some ideas on how you might address that and how we can -- I don't know if we streamline or whatever. Give me some ideas on how we can improve the situation there for our veterans.

COL. GUNN: Senator, thank -- thank you very much for the question. In preparation for the hearing, I talked a bit with the -- the principal deputy at VA, Jack -- Jack Thompson, who's -- who's been there for -- for many years, and he informed me that there is a -- a working group underway to -- to look at exactly how the General Counsel's office can help -- help in that particular area.

The first -- directly answering your question, though, the first answer that I have really goes to my -- my colleague here at my -- at my right, and that --

(Laughter.)

MR. BAKER: Thanks.

COL. GUNN: Absolutely.

(Laughter.)

MR. : (Inaudible.)

SEN. JOHANNS: No. You can say that. We're going to hold you both --

(Laughter.)

COL. GUNN: Fair -- fair enough. In all sincerity, Senator, I -- I do see information technology as playing a major role, and -- and it's in this sense. In the last -- in the course of the last year -- well, actually last summer -- I opened my own law practice to provide service to veterans and -- and military members.

Ironically, even though that was my -- my goal and I envisioned that I would be representing people who were trying to obtain VA benefits, it just never -- never worked out and so the practice went in a different direction. I talked to, though, many people that were in that situation, and one of the frustrations that they had was the lack of transparency with respect to the claims process in the sense of they would submit a package and asking for, say, a disability rating, and then they would just wait. And they would try to find out information, and they found it extremely difficult and frustrating to just get information in terms of where -- where they stood.

And I would like to think that there are ways to -- to get around that so that, at a minimum, a -- an individual would be able to have more information in terms of, well, your package was submitted here -- it is now at this particular level. That is -- is reassuring, that in any process that if you know where -- where you stand and how long it's -- it's likely to take after that point, that -- that helps tremendously.

Senator Burris also asked a question about how do we get beyond lost documents and such, and again, looking at, okay, are there -- are there impediments right -- right now to -- to our using our -- our existing technology or developing new technologies so that we're not depending upon a paper record in that regard. Then I think that those are things that -- that certainly will -- will help.

And then, just finally, more germane to my responsibilities, if I'm confirmed as general counsel, I just think we have a -- an ongoing responsibility to make sure that the -- the people that are working with the claims out -- out in the field, that they know what the -- the impact of the -- the latest law as well as court decisions are. So we have an ongoing responsibility just to educate and we can't get beyond that.

SEN. JOHANNS: Uh-huh. I encourage you to work on this because you know as well as I do that delay feels like unfairness. You know, you sit there day after day. You feel you need these benefits and services and, you know, to the average veteran out there, as each day goes by, as each week goes by, it feels unfair. And so whatever you can do to -- to deal with that delay.

You know, the Veterans Administration has done some great things with technology. I remember getting a briefing a couple of years ago on medical records, and some of it is really trend setting. My hope is that we can move this technology to another level because I do think it's important. So I encourage all -- all of you to -- to work on that.

Boy, if there was one thing you could come back in a couple of years and say, hey, we've -- we've done better here, I think the whole committee would applaud, this would be the area. Thanks.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much, Mr. Johanns. Mr. Sepulveda, in your testimony you refer on several occasions to Deputy Secretary Gould's vision of an updated workforce with well-trained employees. Could you please give us now your preliminary thoughts on what specific steps you might take to help this vision become a reality?

MR. SEPULVEDA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for that question. I think that -- that, first and foremost, the vision that we're operating with is the vision articulated by the secretary, and, of course, the deputy secretary's job is to provide some detail and then the rest of us are -- if confirmed, are to provide some operational details to -- to that strategic plan.

Clearly, the area that I would be focusing on is the human capital, and that means several things because we have several challenges facing this department. One is the retirements -- the large number of retirements that are going to be coming in the -- in the next several years. When you have over 30 percent of your employees eligible to retire, and when you're talking about a department of 280,000, you're talking about significant numbers of people that you're going to have to plan to replace. That's one challenge that is going to have to be focused on.

So, in other words, what we're talking about is transforming the department but at the same time focusing on the operational issues to keep it running efficiently right now. So succession planning is one. The other is training. Again, it's incredibly important to provide the appropriate kinds of training at all levels so that service can be delivered efficiently.

And -- and I would like to include in that the customer service training that I mentioned before because I think it's important that we all get grounded continually in why we're there. We're there to serve the veterans. We're there to provide the best service possible with respect, with consideration, with compassion. And that's another part that I would be focusing on.

In addition, we have some major programs that have to be implemented -- the new GI Bill, the Priority 8 veterans, the OEF and OIF veterans that have to be integrated into the system. And we have also the -- the need to accelerate the quality and the timeliness of the processing of our benefits. So there's a lot of challenges that are occurring right now.

So in many ways we have to, frankly, walk and chew gum at the same time. We have to transform the department with a focus on the strategic vision that the secretary articulated and the president articulated, but at the same time operationally address the needs right now. And that's a big challenge and I -- I see -- I see my playing a -- a very supportive role there, working with my colleagues and the deputy secretary to make that happen.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you. And for the record, can you please report back to -- to the committee with a preliminary plan of action within 60 days?

MR. SEPULVEDA: Yes, sir.

SEN. AKAKA: Thanks. Mr. Baker, from what you have learned in the short time since you have been nominated, do you have -- do you have any initial thoughts about what is working in the Office of Information & Technology today and what is definitely not working?

MR. BAKER: Senator, I think -- thank you very much for that question because I think sometimes, publicly, the department gets focused on what's not going well, and I think there are a number of things that are going very well.

Every day I have, since -- since I've been advising the secretary here for a few weeks, seen the operational reports coming through from the IT operations piece, and every day the systems at the hospitals, the systems for the benefits organization, run -- run well, provide good response time, and support the operations of the department.

Clearly, the department has made major strides forward in the last few years on information security and moved from one where -- where, I think rightly, they lived most days in fear of what was going to happen next to one which is a much more controlled environment. As Senator Burris points out, it is not perfect and there are continued issues to -- to look at with information loss.

But I think the way to phrase it is knock wood, we haven't seen another laptop lost or unencrypted piece of information go out. So there -- there are good, good things going on in there. On the negative side, I think it's very clear that -- that the VA has a systems development issue in delivering successful programs. Had one failed it would be one item, but there has been a string of those.

And so the question that -- that I have to enter with is how do you solve that problem. First, how do you stop the failures from taking so long to surface? Because in any organization with 300 or more programs ongoing, there are going to be failures. The question is can you stop them before they become runaway failures. So that's an area.

Certainly, I think just having the right people in the right place with the right skills to provide the services is something that -- that I want to look at. Do we have the right amount of staff? Are we meeting appropriate metrics for an organization of our type in responding to trouble calls and providing services to the organizations that are -- that are meeting the veterans' needs?

So just a couple of examples of positive things and negative things that I think are -- are aspects of the organization at this point.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you. Before I call on Senator Burris for any other questions, Colonel Gunn, in a recent oversight visit to the Board of Veterans' Appeals, committee and staff found that there is no tracking system to ensure that claims remanded from the Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims or the Board of Veterans' Appeals comply with the statutory mandate that some claims be adjudicated more quickly than others. Will you please report back to the committee within 60 days with what can be done to rectify this issue?

COL. GUNN: Yes, Senator.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you. Let me complete it with Mr. Sepulveda. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Government Management and the Federal Workforce (sic) of the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, I am committed to making far greater use of telecommunicating opportunities throughout the federal workplace. What are your thoughts on how VA might expand these opportunities and what emphasis will you place on telecommunicating?

MR. SEPULVEDA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for that question. Obviously, when we're talking about the numbers of facilities and staff spread out around the country serving a growing number of veterans and their families that are located in all parts of the country, including rural areas that are not being served adequately, this telecommuting -- not telecommuting -- telecommunications becomes extremely important, particularly in terms of telemedicine and in terms of training, distance learning. There's a whole variety of -- of activities that can fall under that category, and -- and I think that that is essential that we focus on.

I personally believe that we have to do that, and we have to do it with greater strategic attention and in a much more coordinated way. And certainly, I'm going to look forward to working with my colleagues here, particularly Mr. Baker, in how do we do that. And -- and the other -- (laughter) -- he gets all the -- he gets all these --

(Laughter.

)

But -- but also, the -- the other -- the other part of this is -- is part of the cultural change and the training, to get managers and supervisors to also feel comfortable and being able to delegate authority to staff in other parts of the country and be able to provide the supervision and the direction over great distances. That's a cultural change that has to be part of the transformation that we're talking about at the department, and certainly, I'm going to be working very closely with the -- with the executive team and the deputy and -- to make that happen.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much. Senator Burris?

SEN. BURRIS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just one -- one last point and then I might have a comment if I decide to try to collect my thoughts on it.

But I would just like to follow up with a question with Colonel Gunn in reference to his views on the rulemaking process. If we aim to build a 21st century organization, as you said, VA will need to adapt quickly to various needs that arise. The current rulemaking process is burdensome and takes an inordinate amount of time to complete. How do you propose to improve the process of both changing rules and implementing new ones in terms of your thoughts along those lines, Colonel?

COL. GUNN: Senator, thank you very much for -- for the opportunity. I must -- I must say, I have not devoted a great deal of thought to that at -- at this point in time. However, certainly, as I -- as I go into the department and transition I will focus on that.

The little bit that I know right now is that there is a -- a group within the Office of the General Counsel that's focused on, I would say, handling the rulemaking process and being the shepherds of that for the department, and that's a relatively new development. And the limited discussions that I've had thus far suggested that has been -- that has proved to be a success. So I'm -- I'm going to look into it and see what -- what we can do in order to enhance it and improve it.

SEN. BURRIS: And just to comment, Mr. Chairman -- oh. (Laughter.) We lost the chairman. You know, I just want -- having been in government for so many years and even worked in the federal government for a while but I didn't go through a confirmation process -- but being in the government in a large state, when you set in with -- when you go in to these agencies with your plans and your ideas and your commitments, there's a thing called the inertia in the bureaucracy. And you have all these great ideas and plans, and you get in there and you want to try to deliver them.

You've been questioned by us and you want to try to report back to us. But staff really is not attuned to -- they weren't up here answering these questions. They don't know what you all are trying to bring about. And therefore, they've been there for 20 years and know all the answers, and you're going to come up against some of that.

I just hope that you all are prepared. I know some of you all have been in government before so you're familiar with that. I'm pretty sure the general and the colonel have dealt with the military chain of command and fortunately, the civilians don't operate like the military. And you're going to find that those opportunities or those ideas and the answers that you've given us, and the desires and the hopes of making change is not going to be easy, and I just hope that you all will prepare to deal with that and keep your goals in mind, and to focus -- (inaudible) -- how you can move the agency.

And this is no bad mark on the employees. I mean, there's just a -- there's a thing called protecting their turf and protecting their jobs, and innovation is something that they just don't adhere to very easily. It's just like trying to turn a battleship around in, you know, in the -- in the middle of a lake, if you ever got it in the lake. And you will find that the employees are not on the same page as you are.

So just as a little word of wisdom from an old government employee, a person who's spent all of his life in government -- just be mindful of how you can move your people to get your ideas and your agenda into place along with your superiors, because, you know, there is a deputy secretary and -- (inaudible) -- you know, you've got Secretary Shinseki, who you're going to have to also report to, and you're also going to have to try to carry out those plans and those ideas to try to improve the system.

And the only reason why we have jobs, primarily, is because there are problems. If there were no problems there would be no jobs. So when you create a new position -- I mean, a new -- a new idea or a new program, that will create some new problems, which means some more -- more jobs.

So I just hope that you all will keep that in mind as you go into these great responsibilities that the president has nominated you on, and -- and hopefully you can -- and pray that you will get confirmed on, and you will go in there and not let your ideas and -- and your commitment to us get pushed aside by the bureaucracy and the people who don't want to move because it's going to be difficult. And I want you all to be aware of that and just hope and pray that you can deal with it -- my advice to such four distinguished appointees. I'm honored to know you all. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

SEN. AKAKA: Thank you very much, Senator Burris. To all our panelists today, I just want to tell you that I appreciate very much your desire to serve our nation's veterans, and for the information of members and staff, I would like to -- to move these nominations as soon as possible. To that end, I ask that any post-hearing questions be sent to the committee's legislative clerk by the close of business tomorrow.

And again, thank you for bringing your families, your friends, and I look forward to working with you in this 21st century course that we are taking. It looks good and we have lots of work to do, but we can do it very well together. Thank you. This hearing is adjourned. (Sounds gavel.)

END.

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