 Chairman Tester and members of the Committees on Veterans Affairs. Thank you for providing the opportunity to present the 2022 legislative program of DAV, Disabled American Veterans, and organization of more than one million members forever changed in wartime service. My written statement thoroughly details DAV's key legislative priorities for the 117th Congress and reports on our many programs and accomplishments. So today I'll just highlight some of our most crucial policy goals. I want to start by introducing my DAV colleagues joining me today. National Adjutant, Mark Burgess. National Headquarters Executive Director, Barry Zezanowski. Washington Headquarters Executive Director, Randy Rees. National Service Director, Jim Marsalek. National Legislative Director, Joy Elam. National Voluntary Service Director, John Klein-Dienst. Though they couldn't be here today in person, many of DAV's members are together watching this hearing from our annual Middle Winter Conference just outside Washington, D.C. I want to recognize the many DAV leaders who have been vital to our organization mission over the course of many years, including senior and junior vice commanders and leaders of the DAV auxiliary. I also wish to extend my gratitude to our National Executive Committee and our National Legislative Interim Committee, as well as my Chief of Staff, Thomas Aiella, for all their support. Of course, I want to recognize our many dedicated DAV members across the country who are supporting us from their hometowns. And finally, I wish to thank my wife, Susan, who remains my most steadfast supporter and partner. Mr. Chairman, I am a combat-wounded Army veteran of the Vietnam War. I served as an airborne infantryman with the Americal Division in a case on Valley in December 1970. But after being wounded by friendly fire, I was transferred to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. On patrol in January 1971, I was wounded again when I stepped on an IED. The explosion resulted in extensive damage to my left leg and foot. And I spent the next 15 months recovering at Walter Reed. Four years later, I began working for DAV as a National Service Officer and spent the next four decades advocating for my fellow veterans so they could have access to the health care and benefits they had earned. Early in my career, I met a Vietnam veteran named Tom, who desperately needed help. Like so many, he struggled with PTSD and their lingering physical and psychological tolls of combat. His disabilities and demons became so severe, he could no longer work. And after VA denied his claim, Tom began contemplating taking his own life. I knew he was particularly vulnerable to self-harm and accompanied him to a meeting with his Vet Center counselor. DAV took on his claim, appealed and ultimately won, providing him with additional financial support. With each small step, I could see the weight lift from Tom's shoulders. And after VA acknowledged his trauma and granted him the benefits and care he needed, Tom never considered taking his own life again. Tom was saved by the right combination of life-saving factors, but there are far too many situations that have ended in tragedy. Mr. Chairman, veterans' need for mental health services had grown substantially following two decades of wartime service. Today, VA's crisis line receives hundreds of thousands of calls, text and chat messages annually. In addition, VA's Vet Centers have seen a 35% uptick in the past five years. As these needs continue to grow, it's critical that Congress provide VA with all the mental health resources, staffing and support necessary to prevent suicide. Mr. Chairman, the VA Mission Act was designed to increase VA's capacity to deliver care both inside the VA and in the community. We know that most enrolled veterans prefer to receive their care directly from the VA, and clinical studies continue to show that the quality of care provided by VA is as good as or better than that provided by the private sector. That's why it's critical that VA remain the primary provider and coordinator of healthcare for enrolled veterans, even while continuing to improve the new community care network created by the VA Mission Act. And, as we have seen over the past two years of the pandemic, VA has been one of the most successful and reliable healthcare systems in the nation, providing timely access to care for more than 9 million enrolled veterans. VA also provided help to other healthcare systems and non-veterans under its fourth mission to provide support to the nation during national emergencies, disasters and wars. At the same time, VA is a national leader in medical care and training clinical professionals. That's why it is so important to maintain a robust VA healthcare system that is able to deliver a full spectrum of care. Mr. Chairman, a key section of the VA Mission Act was the creation of an asset and infrastructure review to develop and implement a plan to modernize and realign VA's healthcare infrastructure for the future. In just a couple of weeks, VA will put forward its facility recommendations. In order for the process to be successful, VA must provide complete transparency of the data and assumptions used to make their facility recommendations, particularly the market assessments. With more and more veterans turning to VA, Congress must ensure it has the right healthcare infrastructure and the right locations to meet the rising demand for care. Mr. Chairman, as the VA works to increase its capacity to meet the physical and mental healthcare need for those who serve, it must continue to create an environment that is free from harassment. We must truly welcome all veterans. The VA has made notable strides to reduce harassment, including the introduction of bystander intervention for training staff and veterans. Congress must continue to oversee the implementation of VA's zero tolerance policy for harassment at all VA facilities. We also looked at Congress to ensure that veterans who have experienced military sexual trauma are able to receive the benefits and services they deserve. For these veterans, fighting to prove their case to the VA, sometimes for years, takes a damaging emotional toll. We call on Congress to pass legislation that would codify evidentiary standards within the MST claims process, enhance communication with affected veterans, improve VA's training and procedures, and expand mental health services for MST providers. Another way to VA support seriously injured and ill veterans is by supporting their family caregivers. Thanks to the leadership and work of these two committees, the comprehensive caregiver program is expanding to veterans of all eras. However, according to VA, through January 6 of this year, over 86% of these new applicants have been denied eligibility. Clearly, something is wrong. A couple of weeks ago, Secretary McDonough announced VA was undertaking a comprehensive review of the program and new eligibility regulations that went to effect last year. We call on these committees to hold oversight hearings and work with VA to ensure severely disabled veterans who rely on family caregivers get access to these life-changing benefits. Finally, Mrs. Chairman, I want to take a few minutes to talk about the importance of Congress taking action to address the toxic legacy of burn pits and other exposures. As a Vietnam veteran and a DEV benefits advocate for 41 years, I know the long-term negative health effects of Agent Orange. I lived through the long struggle before Congress and VA took action to recognize the damage from these toxic exposures. That struggle continues for some Vietnam veterans even today. It's long past due for VA to recognize that hypertension is associated with Agent Orange's exposure. And if VA won't act, then Congress must do so through legislation. Unfortunately, the same inaction has plagued generations of veterans suffering from conditions linked to other toxic exposures like radiation, contaminated water, and burn pits. After years of work by DEV and other veterans organizations, together with good faith efforts by leaders of these committees on both sides of the aisles, Congress may finally be nearing decisive action, but only if you work together. Later this week, the House will be voting on the PAP Act, the most comprehensive legislation on burn pits and toxic exposures ever introduced. For members of the House, we urge you to vote yes on passage of this bill and to oppose any amendments that would weaken or limit this legislation. The Senate has taken critical steps toward the same goal though with a different tactical approach. Last month, the Senate passed legislation to expand healthcare coverage for combat veterans, and this committee is working on at least two additional bills to create a legal framework and establish new presumptions related to burn pits. We urge all senators to continue working in good faith to pass the most comprehensive package of burn pit and toxic exposure bills possible in the Senate. Ultimately, it will take true bipartisanship for the House and Senate to reach a compromise on significant legislation to be approved before the end of the year. I want you all to know that DEV and our members across the country are ready to help and that we will be watching. There's precious little time to lose. Veterans' lives and well-being are truly on the line, and they deserve better. Mr. Chairman, the 1921 novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, captured the intense mental stress felt by soldiers during World War I, as well as the difficulty they experienced transitioning back to normal life after returning home from the front lines. Eric Marie Raymark wrote that his book would tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war. Must have changed since the time of its writing, both about war and about how we were able to care for those scarred during their time in military service. Our brave men and women need not be resigned to the fate Raymark wrote about, yet for all of our medical and scientific advances, we are still losing veterans each and every day due to their pain and despair. Together, we have the opportunity and the obligation to do better. May God continue to bless DEV, the men and women who serve this great nation and the United States of America. Thank you.