▶ 0:19:42Chair Moran: The silence seems too depressing to me so we will start. Senator blumenthal is on his way and when he joins us he can make his opening statement. The hearing will come to order. Good afternoon, and thank you all for your presence here. We are here to consider the nomination for the v.a. Undersecretary for benefits.
▶ 0:20:06Chair Moran: I want to remind us that tomorrow our nation will take time to remember the americans who died in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, 2021, and the heroes who sacrificed their own trying to save others. 24 years later, september 11 is still a vivid and painful memory most americans, especially those who answer the call to serve following those attacks.
▶ 0:20:34Chair Moran: To those who stood to defend our nation in a moment of darkness, we thank you and the families for the sacrifice that was made. Post 9/11 veterans now represent 28% of the veteran population in america and face the highest rate of service-connected disabilities among the entire veteran population. The timely delivery of benefits is crucial to supporting veterans and their loved ones after service.
▶ 0:21:00Chair Moran: The veterans benefits administration is charged with administering disability and pension benefits, education benefits, along with military to civilian transition support, services, survivor benefits, and other resources to veterans after they have taken off the uniform. Responsibility of the v.a. Undersecretary for benefits is to make sure veterans and their families receive quality benefits in a timely manner as has been provided by law. We have an experienced public servant, Dr.
▶ 0:21:28Chair Moran: Karen brazell, before us today as our nominee for this important position. She served in the army and is a third-generation veteran. She understands the importance of an institution like bva and its impact on its families. V.a. Has reduce the backlog in benefit and competition claims by more than 50%. Fiscal year 2025, the v.a.
▶ 0:21:52Chair Moran: Is processing claims faster than in fiscal year 2024. I am pleased to see progress, but as we always say, there is still much more that we need to do to better serve veterans, survivors, and v.a. Beneficiaries. If confirmed, that will be your duty, doctor, to take upon that task.
▶ 0:22:18Chair Moran: I look forward to hearing your plans and priorities this afternoon, and I appreciate you being here. Appreciate your willingness to serve. Appreciate your family members that have joined you and the willingness for you all to take part in the role if confirmed. I will yield to the ranking member upon his arrival, but I think we will proceed with your testimony. I recognize senator blackburn to do so.
▶ 0:22:49Sen. Blackman: Thank you, --
▶ 0:22:53Sen. Blackburn: Thank you, Mr. chairman. It is in order to serve president trump's nominee to serve as undersecretary for benefits at the department of v.a. Dr. brazell is a third-generation veteran who served in the U.S. army before building a distinguished career in federal service, including senior leadership roles at the v.a., the deferment of the navy, the white house military office.
▶ 0:23:24Sen. Blackburn: She currently serves as senior advisor to secretary collins, leading efforts on acquisition reform, technology modernization, and enterprise planning to improve services for veterans. She also holds a doctorate in strategic leadership from liberty university with additional degrees in organizational management, computer science, and business administration.
▶ 0:23:51Sen. Blackburn: The veterans benefits administration is responsible for delivering over $250 billion in benefits and services to veterans and their families. But it continues to face a growing claims backlog, which has left too many veterans waiting for the benefits that they have earned.
▶ 0:24:18Sen. Blackburn: With more than 20 years experience in the government and private sector, her extensive knowledge and federal contracting I.t. And acquisition reform maker well-suited to tackle this challenge and to modernize the systems that our veterans are relying on. Ed Mr.
▶ 0:24:36Sen. Blackburn: Chairman come as we talked so many times in this committee, the fact that these systems are antiquated, that they are not up-to-date that the processes that caseworkers follow are antiquated, we know that someone who is competent and capable is needed.
▶ 0:24:56Sen. Blackburn: Indeed she is, and I am pleased to support her nomination and know that she will serve with integrity, with discipline, with a steadfast and unwavering dedication to our veterans. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 0:25:16Chair Moran: Raise your right hand. And let me ask you this question. Do you solemnly swear or affirm the testimony you are about to get before the U.S. senate committee on veterans affairs will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you god? Thank you. You are not recognized for your testimony. Thank you -- you are now recognized for your testimony. Thank you.
▶ 0:25:45Dr. Brazell: Chairman moran, ranking member blumenthal, and distinguished members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I am honored to be considered for the role of under secretary for benefits at the department of veterans affairs. I want to thank president trump for his nomination and secretary collins for his faith and confidence in me to lead one of the most consequential missions within the department.
▶ 0:26:10Dr. Brazell: I am equally grateful to the members of this committee for your unwavering commitment to veterans and for considering my nomination. This would be my second tour of duty, both at v.a. And with president trump's administration, and I do not take lightly what that means. Leadership requires sacrifice, requires giving more than those you lead.
▶ 0:26:37Dr. Brazell: In today's environment, volunteering for political service brings intense scrutiny, personal attacks, and disclosure of one's private matters. I have accepted those responsibilities because I believe there is no higher calling than serving our -- higher mission than serving our nation's veterans. My family's story makes this mission profoundly personal. I am a third generation veteran. Both of my grandfathers served in wartime, one in world war I and the other in world war ii.
▶ 0:27:05Dr. Brazell: My father, a vietnam veteran, served a 12-month deployment, and my husband of 40 years, first sergeant retired kent brazell, served in operation enduring freedom. I continued that legacy as an enlisted woman in the united states army.
▶ 0:27:21Dr. Brazell: I know the rigorous preparations for deployment, deploymentthe readiness checks, the long the readiness checks, the long hours, and the responsibility of ensuring that you and your fellow soldiers are ready for whatever lies ahead. Later, as a military spouse, I experienced deployment preparation from the other side, holding together a household, steadying children, and standing watch over the family so kent could focus on his mission abroad.
▶ 0:27:48Dr. Brazell: Those dual perspectives, both in uniform and as a spouse, provided me with a profound understanding of servant leadership. Kent is here with me today, along with our two daughters, jamie and jacquelin. My 88-year-old mother, a proud U.S. air force veteran, and my father-in-law, an almost 89-year-old retired U.S. air force veteran, are watching this hearing, along with other family and friends.
▶ 0:28:17Dr. Brazell: Their presence reminds me that military service is not just my story. It is our family's story, a legacy of service and sacrifice across generations. I used my v.a. Education benefits to advance my career, gaining firsthand insight into how these programs empower veterans to transition successfully, a lived experience that will always guide my leadership.
▶ 0:28:42Dr. Brazell: Over my 40-year career in the public and private sectors, I have worked to enhance veterans' access to the benefits they earned. I proudly served four years on active duty, then spent the next 16 years supporting kent's army career as a military spouse, experiencing the sacrifice, resilience, and strength required not only by those who serve, but also of their families. That perspective gives me a unique understanding of the human impact behind every v.a. Policy.
▶ 0:29:16Dr. Brazell: In the public sector, I have led at the intersection of policy, technology, and veteran advocacy. As v.a.'s chief acquisition officer and acting assistant secretary for enterprise integration, I managed a $30 billion portfolio and a workforce of over 12,000 professionals. I expedited the community care network contracts to expand private-sector care and modernized benefits systems to streamline intake, scheduling, and monitoring.
▶ 0:29:48Dr. Brazell: Always with accountability, transparency, and trusted outcomes for veterans. In the private sector I built on , that experience by modernizing health it and benefits delivery with technology companies. I deployed automation to accelerate claims intake, implemented real-time dashboards for oversight, and reduced backlogs that had kept veterans waiting too long for decisions. These innovations minimized errors and delivered more reliable outcomes for veterans and their families.
▶ 0:30:13Dr. Brazell: In every role, my focus has been to deliver results by listening to veterans, elevating underserved voices, and empowering teams that never lost sight of the mission, putting veterans at the center of every decision, fighting for their access to earned benefits, and ensure those benefits are delivered with dignity, efficiency, and urgency. Thank you again to president trump and secretary collins for entrusting me with this responsibility, and to the members of this committee for your trust and consideration.
▶ 0:30:43Dr. Brazell: I look forward to your questions.
▶ 0:30:46Chair Moran: Thank you very much. Before we go to the questions, I will recognized senator blumenthal for his opening statement.
▶ 0:30:53Sen. Blumenthal: Thank you. Thank you for being here, Dr. brazell. Thank you for your service to our nation in uniform and as a military spouse, and to your husband as well, who we discussed when you came to visit me. Thank you for that visit.
▶ 0:31:10Sen. Blumenthal: You know, the dva's core mission is something that they deserve and need, and it cannot be accomplished without sufficient resources, both in money and staff. The trump administration inherited one that was providing more benefits to more veterans than ever before as a result of the act that senator mourad and I and others on this committee championed.
▶ 0:31:40Sen. Blumenthal: For the past eight months, we have seen and affect the workforce drastically cut through hiring freezes and demoralizing initiatives like forced overtime, an end to collective bargaining for the vast majority of the veterans administration workforce, higher level reviews are veterans asking the v.a.
▶ 0:32:10Sen. Blumenthal: A second look at their claims because the processor made an incorrect decision. Those reviews have increased by 21%. I will put my full statement in the record, but let me just say that the mass exodus, about 50% of the v.a.'s regional office directors to leave federal service rather than implement the collective bargaining
▶ 0:32:41Sen. Blumenthal: Busting practices and policies are in effect undermining the ability of the v.a. To perform these essential functions. And it is not just the regional directors. More than 1000 claims processors have opted to leave instead of dealing with unreasonable commutes to unsuitable workstations or forced overtime. You have been a part of this administration.
▶ 0:33:09Sen. Blumenthal: You have been a part of the policies and practices that have undermined the v.a.'s ability to deliver health care and benefits. Many of these canceled contracts were directly under your purview. I know you have said you were not directly involved, but I will want to know exactly how we were involved in what has been done already by the v.a.. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 0:33:38Chair Moran: Mr. blumenthal, thank you. Dr. brazell, from your experience at the v.a., do you have any concerns about the bva 's workplace culture, what you see as the biggest hurdles that it faces been successfully serving veterans? What needs to change? If anything?
▶ 0:34:02Dr. Brazell: Chairman moran, thank you for that question. Just to be clear, I have not been involved in any of the bva operations. That is not my area of oversight right now, but I do you got some challenges with culture -- but I do believe we've got some challenges with culture. We don't make changes right away. We assess what is working well and what is not working well. I think it is important that we look at prioritizing claims modernization.
▶ 0:34:29Dr. Brazell: And I say that from the aspect of having one foundational data object. I have heard from veterans even when I served before, how come I have to give you guys my information over and over? I think it is important we have the veterans submit their discharge document one time and it is used across multiple systems. I also think there is an opportunity to digitize forms. We have a v.a. Form that is for the notice of beneficiary claimants.
▶ 0:35:00Dr. Brazell: It is a 15 page form. The first six pages are instructions of how to fill out the next nine pages. I think we can do better than what we have today for our veterans. And we also need to leverage emerging technologies. I want to look at workforce strengthening. Once confirmed, I will assess and review any challenges and look for opportunities for improvement. Finally, a veteran centered reform digital modernization of claims processing.
▶ 0:35:29Dr. Brazell: I think it is up what we look at where we can leverage emerging technologies to reduce -- we have a claims backlog right now of about 650,000 with compensation. Yes, we have done a great effort under this administration reducing that by about 37%. But I do believe there is opportunities where we can actually modernize that process to be more transparent to the veteran.
▶ 0:35:53Dr. Brazell: But most importantly, any emerging technology we bring to the v.a., we must have a human at the beginning and end of that process.
▶ 0:36:01Chair Moran: What do you see as your impediments to accomplish this?
▶ 0:36:06Dr. Brazell: Chairman moran, over the last almost nine months, I think a lot of it is the culture. We have relied a lot in the v.a. On our contractors, but we need our contractors because v.a. Does not have all the experts. It needs to be a balanced approach. But we have to have leaders willing to take risks. And I say those are calculated risks. Some people may misconstrue what I mean by risk.
▶ 0:36:36Dr. Brazell: Leaderships ensure their folks are uncomfortably comfortable, meaning as leaders we have to push our people to help them grow, to get them outside of the way they normally think. I am going to bring an industry perspective, spending the last four years in industry, really bringing more of those agile methodologies, encouraging them to take risks, but celebrating what we have learned from them when we take risks.
▶ 0:37:00Chair Moran: Thank you for your answer. One would think in human you describe that someone else previous to you would have decided this form makes no sense , is unfair, and inappropriate to our veterans. Those things that linger trouble me. Individuals's leadership matters. I also will tell you it seems the v.a. May be siloed from the rest of the department and even within the organization.
▶ 0:37:31Chair Moran: They may not talk to each other. This lack of communication can cause veterans too far -- to fall between the cracks. I will not ask this as a question because my time is about to expire and I have one specific thing to ask you. But I would ask you to look into this issue, how do you make the v.a. Part of an overall organization focused on veterans? I have a pet peeve.
▶ 0:37:57Chair Moran: Mostly what I know about the circumstances veterans are in a re what they tell me, what their emails tell me, what they tell my staff, and particularly the cases, the issues they bring to us to try to solve on their behalf, and I would love not because I don't want to do the work, in fact it is part of the most rewarding thing we do. Be a great day that would not require a united states senator to get the v.a. What needs to be done to care for an individual veteran.
▶ 0:38:29Chair Moran: One of my veterans in my hometown has raised this with me, and I raised this with the previous leadership at the v.a. It may seem like a minor thing, but the v.a. Sends out to veterans in kansas and across the country notice is to say their claim is "ready for decision." a month goes by, and a month goes by, and a month goes by. It is a misleading statement.
▶ 0:39:00Chair Moran: It is not ready for decision. If it is, still not decided. I would ask you to take some time to address this if you are confirmed and serving in that capacity. Veterans ought to know what to expect. In this case, we are misleading them about the circumstance they are in. I would welcome a response to that.
▶ 0:39:21Dr. Brazell: Senator, you bring up -- excuse me, chairman, you bring up a good point. I think it is important to be transparent, but we also have to be factual in our responses to the veterans. There is room for improvement and transparency. More outreach. More education.
▶ 0:39:41Dr. Brazell: And there is also more opportunity for us to collaborate collectively with you and your staff to ensure that whatever information we are disseminating to the veterans, that they understand. I am looking for the right words. Being on the other side, if I had a document I said your claim is ready for basically decision, I am thinking I am going to get notification in the next few days. We need to be clear what that means.
▶ 0:40:10Dr. Brazell: And that goes back to if we had a better -- not better, but improved claims processing where the veteran actually saw where their claim was throughout that entire process.
▶ 0:40:20Chair Moran: Thank you. Senator blumenthal.
▶ 0:40:23Sen. Blumenthal: Thank you. When you visited me, you said you had not been involved in contract cancellations. Have you reviewed any specific contract that has been canceled?
▶ 0:40:41Dr. Brazell: Ranking member blumenthal, thank you again for taking the time to meet with me monday afternoon. As I have relayed to your staff, who I met with last week, and you on monday, my role as senior advisor was to assist executive orders and ensure they were followed without any disruption.
▶ 0:41:03Sen. Blumenthal: You have not reviewed any specific contract? Is that what you are testifying? Just a yes or no because my time is limited. Have you reviewed any specific contracts that have been canceled? 31,000 contracts canceled. Have you reviewed any of them?
▶ 0:41:17Dr. Brazell: Ranking member, I believe it is only 2500 contracts that have been terminated.
▶ 0:41:22Sen. Blumenthal: Have you reviewed any?
▶ 0:41:24Dr. Brazell: I have reviewed some of those. Yes.
▶ 0:41:27Sen. Blumenthal: Have you reviewed the contract that was canceled to train v.a. Staff implemented suicide prevention pack act and mission act ended in services?
▶ 0:41:41Dr. Brazell: Ranking member, I do not recall that exact contract and will be happy to take that back to look.
▶ 0:41:46Sen. Blumenthal: You reviewed the one that maintains and operates v.a. Cancer registry databases in various states, washington, oregon, idaho, and alaska that was canceled.
▶ 0:41:59Dr. Brazell: I do not recall ed will be happy to look into that one follow this hearing -- following this hearing today.
▶ 0:42:06Sen. Blumenthal: Have you reviewed any of the contracts of your former employer in the national corporation?
▶ 0:42:14Dr. Brazell: Ranking member blumenthal, I have met the requirements of the law.
▶ 0:42:19Sen. Blumenthal: You have reviewed it or not?
▶ 0:42:21Dr. Brazell: I met all the requirements of the lot as it relates to my employer.
▶ 0:42:28Sen. Blumenthal: It is a yes or no. Yes or no?
▶ 0:42:31Dr. Brazell: It is not a yes or no. I met all the requirements.
▶ 0:42:34Sen. Blumenthal: Just for the record, your former employer received $70 million from the e v.a., no contracts canceled. So you can refuse to answer the question, which is what you are doing, but that is a fact. Let me ask you, Dr. brazell, do you support means testing v.a. Disability compensation benefits?
▶ 0:42:58Dr. Brazell: Ranking member blumenthal, if confirmed, I will do a full assessment and look into that program.
▶ 0:43:06Sen. Blumenthal: Do you support it?
▶ 0:43:10Dr. Brazell: Ranking member blumenthal.
▶ 0:43:12Sen. Blumenthal: It is a recommendation made by the omb director russell vought. He has recommended clawing back.
▶ 0:43:23Dr. Brazell: Ranking member blumenthal.
▶ 0:43:25Sen. Blumenthal: Will you tell the veterans of america you oppose this kind of extreme, cruel measure?
▶ 0:43:34Dr. Brazell: Ranking member blumenthal, we will ensure that every veteran's provided the benefits they have earned, timely and accurately.
▶ 0:43:45Sen. Blumenthal: You support eliminating competition payments to veterans rated 20% service disability or lower? Again, another proposal from omb director vought.
▶ 0:43:59Dr. Brazell: Ranking member blumenthal, we will ensure all veterans are provided the benefits they earned.
▶ 0:44:07Sen. Blumenthal: If you are confirmed, you are going to change the way disability benefits are calculated and ratings are determined?
▶ 0:44:16Dr. Brazell: Ranking member blumenthal, if confirmed, I will follow the law.
▶ 0:44:22Sen. Blumenthal: Well, I am not asking you whether you will follow the law. I am really disturbed by these answers to my questions. I can't force you to be responsive. But I don't view that answer as responsive to my question.
▶ 0:44:43Sen. Blumenthal: Let me ask you, do you support the elimination of collective bargaining at the v.a.?
▶ 0:44:55Dr. Brazell: Ranking member blumenthal, that is under litigation so I have no comment.
▶ 0:45:02Sen. Blumenthal: Well, you have been working for the secretary. He has taken this action. And you are saying you can't comment on it?
▶ 0:45:12Dr. Brazell: That is correct.
▶ 0:45:14Sen. Blumenthal: Ok. Thank you, Mr. chairman. Thank you, Mr. chairman. Thank you for being here and your service. A lot a sacrifice from your father on down, so thank you. If confirmed as undersecretary of benefits, you will oversee the v.a.'s beneficiary program. Unfortunately come of this program has been riddled with fraud and abuse.
▶ 0:45:45Sen. Blumenthal: I sometimes even wonder if the v.a. Understands its purpose. In your own words, can you describe the purpose of the v.a.'s program and your priorities?
▶ 0:45:56Dr. Brazell: Senator, thank you for that question. My three principles, we will always put veterans first. We will follow the law. But we will ensure physical stewardship through accountability. And if confirmed, I will do a review of the current program in the state of our financials today.
▶ 0:46:19Dr. Brazell: But most important, we will ensure that we have processes and procedures in place to mitigate fraud, waste, and abuse.
▶ 0:46:27Sen. Tuberville: I think we are all still concerned about the legacy of the pack act and the leg the le nightmare that ensued. How do you ensure veterans receive their benefits swiftly while reducing regulations and receive the proper payments?
▶ 0:46:52Dr. Brazell: Senator, I think it is important that collectively we ensure the veterans receive timely and accurate benefits. And if confirmed, I will do a full assessment of that program to ensure veterans are afforded the benefits they have earned.
▶ 0:47:11Sen. Tuberville: Under secretary collins's leadership, we have seen record reductions in the backlog claims. In one month, v.a. Processed I think 300,000 claims. Is that right? Have you heard anything about that?
▶ 0:47:26Dr. Brazell: We went from about 650,000 in compensation down to about an inventory -- excuse me, inventory is 650,000 and we are down to about 145,000 processed recently.
▶ 0:47:43Sen. Tuberville: How can we ensure that continues? Do we need any people, any more eyes on the books? How does that work?
▶ 0:47:52Dr. Brazell: We have had --
▶ 0:48:02Dr. Brazell: We have had -- through the voluntary departure of folks, I believe we lost 1400, which about a thousand of those claims adjudicators. But what we have done, it is my understanding they currently have looked internally for other folks, upskilling the workforce to continually reduce the backlog.
▶ 0:48:28Sen. Tuberville: In your testimony, you state if confirmed you will work to strengthen interagency relationships between the dod, dol, department of ed to improve coordination and data sharing. Can you elaborate on how this will look in practice? How are you going to communicate with all of these?
▶ 0:48:50Dr. Brazell: Senator, it is important that we have the collaboration between all other departments and agencies and leverage their best practices. Within dod, the memorandum of agreement that was signed by the dod secretary and secretary collins allows for more data sharing and also allows for us to really look at a more streamlined transition when it comes to our service members departing military, especially
▶ 0:49:20Dr. Brazell: For their medical discharge exams.
▶ 0:49:23Sen. Tuberville: The one thing that I hear most back in my state of alabama from the v.a. And ever veterans is communication -- our veterans is communication. If we can comedic it better, we can solve a lot of these problems. Obviously not all of them, but communication. Some of my veterans, 400,000 back in alabama, they are much needed. More talk, more organization, and more explanation of what is in front of them. So thank you.
▶ 0:49:55Sen. Tuberville: Look forward to voting for you.
▶ 0:49:55Dr. Brazell: Thank you.
▶ 0:50:02Sen. Hirono: Thank you, Mr. chairman. I asked the following two questions of any nominees before my committees to refer to their fitness to serve for the position to which you have been nominated, so I will ask you. Since he became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?
▶ 0:50:26Dr. Brazell: Senator, I have not.
▶ 0:50:29Sen. Hirono: Have you ever faced discipline or entered into settlement relating to this kind of conduct?
▶ 0:50:35Dr. Brazell: Senator, I have not.
▶ 0:50:38Sen. Hirono: You noted that one of your responsibilities was to oversee the implementation of president trump's executive orders. Can you tell me what these executive orders were that you were overseeing the implementation of?
▶ 0:50:59Dr. Brazell: Senator, every executive order that was applicable to the v.a. Are the ones we were responsible for submitting.
▶ 0:51:07Sen. Hirono: I am asking for you to name them. Which executive orders are we talking about?
▶ 0:51:12Dr. Brazell: Reducing the fraud, waste, and abuse in federal contracting.
▶ 0:51:17Sen. Hirono: What about the executive order releasing thousands of people from the v.a. Workforce? Wasn't that an executive order?
▶ 0:51:26Dr. Brazell: Senator, we did not have a rift, nor have we released anyone from the workforce. Individuals voluntarily left the v.a.
▶ 0:51:38Sen. Hirono: So, really, Mr. chairman, I would like to know specifically what executive orders the president issued leading to v.a. And I would like to request the nominee to provide that information. Very specifically. So how many executive orders? Everybody should reduce waste and fraud. That is pretty broad. So I would like to know. Was that the only executive order you were asked to implement?
▶ 0:52:06Dr. Brazell: No, senator. I believe at the v.a. There was at least a dozen executive orders.
▶ 0:52:13Sen. Hirono: Good. Can you provide us with that list, please? Very specific. I commend you for your commitment to making sure our veterans receive benefits that they deserve and have earned, and I think your testimony was that there was a dramatic reduction in the claims backlog at the v.a.
▶ 0:52:45Sen. Hirono: Did that result in an increase in the number of requests for review of the claims decisions?
▶ 0:52:57Dr. Brazell: Senator, I am not quite sure your question.
▶ 0:53:03Sen. Hirono: So the claims backlog was dramatically reduced. So you made decisions. The numbers went from 600,000 to 100,000, or you reduced the backlog by 100,000 or you reduced it to 100,000. Can you clarify for me?
▶ 0:53:24Dr. Brazell: The current inventory is about 650,000.
▶ 0:53:25Sen. Hirono: Claims backlog?
▶ 0:53:27Dr. Brazell: Claims for compensation.
▶ 0:53:29Sen. Hirono: What was it before it got to 600,000?
▶ 0:53:32Dr. Brazell: It was over a million.
▶ 0:53:34Sen. Hirono: So since you made the claims decisions and reduced the backlog, when a claims decision is made, can the veteran asked for a review of your decision?
▶ 0:53:47Dr. Brazell: I believe they can.
▶ 0:53:49Sen. Hirono: So when you reduced the claims by 400,000 or so, did the request for review increase significantly?
▶ 0:53:59Dr. Brazell: Senatordr. Brazell: , I don't have the information but will provide that to you.
▶ 0:54:05Sen. Hirono: Can you provide that? Thank you very much.
▶ 0:54:08Dr. Brazell: Absolutely.
▶ 0:54:09Sen. Hirono: My concern is on the one hand you are reducing the claim's backlog but you are doing it so fast that the veterans are saying, wait a minute come I don't think that was right, so I would like to know what those numbers are. Your goal is to make sure our veterans get all the benefits they deserve. How many veterans are there in the united states?
▶ 0:54:30Dr. Brazell: By the dod account we have, it is over 17 million.
▶ 0:54:34Sen. Hirono: 17 million. Do you know what percentage of those veterans have access to veterans benefits?
▶ 0:54:41Dr. Brazell: I believe right now the account, what we have enrolled in the v.a., is around 8 million.
▶ 0:54:47Sen. Hirono: How many?
▶ 0:54:48Dr. Brazell: 8 million, little over 8 million.
▶ 0:54:51Sen. Hirono: So that means there are thousands of veterans who have not accessed veteran services. What is your plan to enable them to access services to find out what you can do to help them?
▶ 0:55:02Dr. Brazell: Senator, it starts with outreach. We have to improve our outreach.
▶ 0:55:06Sen. Hirono: Outreach how?
▶ 0:55:08Dr. Brazell: We have to be out there and talking to veterans. We have to be out there introducing the v.a. Because there will be a handoff when they leave the dod. They will be part of the v.a. Family. We have to start early discussing that transition, educating them on the benefits.
▶ 0:55:24Sen. Hirono: Excuse me. I have been told for the whole time I have been on this committee that there are millions, literally, of veterans who do not get that kind of outreach and we are always told by all of you there will be outreach. How do you intend to do outreach when the number of people working for the v.a. Is down? Secretary collins was asked and there is a plan to reduce another 80,000 or so.
▶ 0:55:52Sen. Hirono: How do you expect to increase her outreach if at the same time you don't have the people to do it?
▶ 0:55:57Dr. Brazell: We have a great veterans experience office, and we will leverage that veterans experience office when they are out there at events, with our community partners, with our internal and external stakeholders.
▶ 0:56:11Sen. Hirono: One more question then. What is your goal for reaching out to the 9 million veterans who are not accessing? Do you have a goal like within one year you would want to reduce the number of people who are not having access to what? Do you have those goals?
▶ 0:56:33Dr. Brazell: I don't have those specific goals today, but I think within the next year to 15 months, it is a probability we could address. Extended outreach.
▶ 0:56:44Sen. Hirono: Mr. chairman, I would like to really know how successful the outreach efforts are. I commend you for doing that. We just need to have them succeed. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 0:56:59Chair Moran: Make every effort to answer the senator's questions as you get the information.
▶ 0:57:04Dr. Brazell: Absolutely.
▶ 0:57:06Sen. King: Thank you, Mr. chairman. I was a little puzzled by your non-answers to senator blumenthal. Did you have any involvement whatsoever with the contract of your former employer? Don't tell me you follow the law. I am asking you a straight up question. Did you have anything to do whatsoever in the review of the contract with your former employer?
▶ 0:57:33Dr. Brazell: Senator king, I did not review the contracts of my former employer.
▶ 0:57:39Sen. King: Did you have any involvement whatsoever in that process?
▶ 0:57:43Dr. Brazell: Senator king, I am not a contracting officer, nor a contracting authority. I do not have that authority. Only a warranty contracting officer has the authority to award, modify, negotiate, or terminate a contract.
▶ 0:58:00Sen. King: I understand that. Asking you a straightforward question. Did you have anything to do whatsoever with the contract of your former employer? That is a pretty straightforward yes or no question. I did or I didn't.
▶ 0:58:11Dr. Brazell: Senator, I have not reviewed the contracts with my former employer.
▶ 0:58:15Sen. King: That is not what I asked. I asked, did you have anything to do whatsoever with that review?
▶ 0:58:22Dr. Brazell: Senator, I have not reviewed any contracts of my former employer. Again, I am not a contracting authority.
▶ 0:58:30Sen. King: For the third time you give that answer and for the third time I was it that is not what I'm asking. Were you involved anyway whatsoever with the review with the contract of your former employer?
▶ 0:58:41Dr. Brazell: Senator king, I have not entered that. I am not a contracting official or contracting authority. I have not reviewed the contracts of my former employer.
▶ 0:58:50Sen. King: You just lost my vote on this nomination. In your opening statement, you used the term risk three or four times or five times with regard to people under your supervision. I don't want the people under your supervision that are making decisions about benefits for veterans taking risks. What in the world did you mean by taking risks?
▶ 0:59:11Dr. Brazell: Senator, when you employ new technology, and I think you know that from your time at llb per our discussion when I visited you, there are opportunities for folks when you have to learn your mistakes. You have to fail fast. You do that in a test environment, understanding the constraints of the technology and how it is going to interface with the legacy systems when you go to a live environment.
▶ 0:59:41Dr. Brazell: Subtest it in a production environment -- so test it in a production environment.
▶ 0:59:45Sen. King: I don't like the idea of a test environment and risks being taken with people's lives and disability compensation. If you are talking about working a model, that is one thing. But if you are talked about real people and real decisions, the idea of risks and experimenting is not acceptable. What role did you have in the hall contract cancellation process?
▶ 1:00:11Dr. Brazell: Senator king, I recommended a structure for proper review by career senior leaders who independently evaluated contracts to decide which ones to terminate, d e-scope, or not renew.
▶ 1:00:29Sen. King: I thought the book of the process was done by a fellow at doge. Review in charge of that? Did you bring him in? I don't name, Mr. levine or something along those lines.
▶ 1:00:43Dr. Brazell: Senator king, we have no doge employees. They are v.a. Employees.
▶ 1:00:50Sen. King: But those who reviewed were doge. Is that not correct?
▶ 1:00:54Dr. Brazell: They were v.a. Employees.
▶ 1:00:57Sen. King: They were v.a. Employees. Are you familiar with the program are enlisted by doge? Done by elon musk. Worked at eva and developed the software -- the v.a. And developed the software on the contracts. You are denying he was ever involved in this process?
▶ 1:01:23Dr. Brazell: Senator, I did not say I denied he was involved in the process, nor did I deny that I know him. What I am clarifying for the record, the v.a. Employees.
▶ 1:01:34Sen. King: He was a v.a. Employee?
▶ 1:01:36Dr. Brazell: He was a v.a. Employee. He was a v.a. Employee.
▶ 1:01:41Sen. King: Do you feel that the contract review process was successful and effective?
▶ 1:01:48Dr. Brazell: Senator king, the contract review process has never been done before. But it did allow a lot of the senior leaders responsible, the career leaders responsible for the programs to be made aware of a lot of several of the duplicate contracts they had under their oversight.
▶ 1:02:11Sen. King: Several thousands were canceled. Wasn't it 16,000? There has been some dispute. The ranking member said thirtysomething. The number I have been using is 16,000. Is that the correct number canceled?
▶ 1:02:25Dr. Brazell: No, senator. The correct number as of today is about 2500 out of about 76,000.
▶ 1:02:32Sen. King: Well, that is a number we can check. In your answer to the questions from the committee, you said the fy 26 budget reflects no reduction in force. And yet I have the budget filing that says disability compensation -862 people. What am I missing? That sounds like a reduction in force to me.
▶ 1:03:03Sen. King: The budget of the administration for 2026 is 862 people fewer than the year before. Isn't that a reduction in force?
▶ 1:03:12Dr. Brazell: No, senator. I am not sure the document you are referencing.
▶ 1:03:16Sen. King: Is a v.a. Document. It is generating operating expenses. Disability compensation, -862.
▶ 1:03:30Dr. Brazell: Senator king, I was not involved in any budget development, and I have not been involved in any bva operations.
▶ 1:03:37Sen. King: Why did you say the fy 26 budget reflects no reduction in force?
▶ 1:03:42Dr. Brazell: Because we have not had a reduction in force, senator. We had voluntary separation.
▶ 1:03:49Sen. King: If somebody leaves, isn't that a reduction in force? You have fewer people to process claims, right? 862 fewer according to the budget submitted by the administration.
▶ 1:04:02Dr. Brazell: Those were voluntary separations.
▶ 1:04:06Sen. King: I understand that, but that is still 862 fewer people there to process claims.
▶ 1:04:09Dr. Brazell: Senator, I can't say if 862 people is going to impact the claims processing. If confirmed, I will do a full workforce assessment.
▶ 1:04:20Sen. King: Well, thank you. I have to say the contract cancellation process is one of the most disastrous I have ever seen in 25 years in this business. To say that a person who was engaged in that will now become in charge of the veterans benefits program, that is a lift for me. Thank you.
▶ 1:04:40Sen. Sullivan: Thank you, Mr. chairman. Miss brazell, I want to thank you and your family for wanting to serve. By the way, I want you to maybe talk a little but about your family and service. Your dad was a vietnam vet. Your husband served 40 years I think. No. Husband of 40 years. Sorry. You have served in the military.
▶ 1:05:09Sen. Sullivan: Can you give me a little sense of your military service and your family's military service and why you want this position?
▶ 1:05:14Dr. Brazell: Senator sullivan, first I want to thank you for your leadership on the camp.
▶ 1:05:22Sen. Sullivan: I will get to that, trust me. All my colleagues are leaving because I want them to hear. Your service and your family's, I think it is a big part of wanting to join the v.a.
▶ 1:05:37Dr. Brazell: It is. Again, services in my heart -- service is in my heart. It is in my, I don't want to say dna, but I grew up as an air force family member. We have been stationed everywhere. I was born abroad. One thing that I remember about my dad is he was enlisted. He took his g.I. Bill and went back and got his degree when he was in his 40's.
▶ 1:06:08Dr. Brazell: I remember when he walked across the stage with his bachelors degree. Me personally, I said it does not matter what your age is. Education is a continuous journey. Just like me. I just finished my doctorate. All four of my degrees I earned in high school while working.
▶ 1:06:26Sen. Sullivan: Didn't you introduce the g.I. Bill?
▶ 1:06:29Dr. Brazell: I did for my first two degrees.
▶ 1:06:31Sen. Sullivan: Good. Thank you for your service and your family's service. It is not always easy. When I say it is a family matter when you serve our country, either uniform or an important position like this, so thank you. Let's turn to camp lejeune. This is a real outrage from my perspective. I voted to provide the long-awaited relief for veterans and families who are affected by the water contamination at camp lejeune.
▶ 1:07:02Sen. Sullivan: And yet the biden administration department of justice, now the trump administration department of justice all predicted if you don't put attorneys fees caps on the awards that the trial lawyers would get all the money and the sick marines and their families would not get any. I know we have some vfw and american legion post members here.
▶ 1:07:26Sen. Sullivan: This is an issue I have been fighting for because my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, to be honest, were more interested in giving their allies at law firms money, not sick marines and their families. I have been sick about it. It is the biggest issue, the biggest injustice I have seen in my 10 years at the senate. Everybody knows about it. Everyone kind of looks the other way. I was not looking the other way. The attorney general of the biden administration agrees with me, saying this is an outrage.
▶ 1:07:55Sen. Sullivan: You cannot have a law firm, 70% contingency fees, 65% contingency fees. Stealing the money from sick marines and their families. It is disgusting. So can you give me your commitment to work with the secretary, who is very committed to this, and the attorney general?
▶ 1:08:19Sen. Sullivan: I have had a lot of discussions with her on at least where we are on the current contingency fees. Anything above that would be against the law, anything above 25%. I am still trying to pass my bill to make those not so high. These are not trials. These are kind of already determined administrative procedures that under the law are very simple. I don't even think a lot of marines and their families need attorneys.
▶ 1:08:51Sen. Sullivan: They can work through the department of navy and you guys, but can you give me your sense on that? It is an issue I care deeply about and I have just been so disappointed on the other side of the aisle. Throwing the marines under the bus to help law firms. It is really disgusting.
▶ 1:09:08Dr. Brazell: Senator, no veteran should have to pay a third party to receive the benefits they have earned.
▶ 1:09:16Sen. Sullivan: Especially if that third party is charging them 70% contingency fees. Correct? 70% of the money goes to these law firms.
▶ 1:09:24Dr. Brazell: Agreed. Senator, camp lejeune is personal to me. My oldest brother was a marine. I should say former marine. He was medically discharged because of his toxic exposure to the water from his independent trucking job about a decade ago. So it is near and dear to my heart as well as all the other marines, family members that served or lived on camp lejeune.
▶ 1:09:48Sen. Sullivan: Is he still alive, your brother?
▶ 1:09:51Dr. Brazell: Yes, senator. He is. And he is watching today.
▶ 1:09:55Sen. Sullivan: Good. Tell him semper fi. Tell him I have his back. Tell him not to sign up for any of these darn, you know, law firms advertising. By the way, billions of dollars. You think they are advertising billions of dollars to help guys like your brother? No. They are doing it because they want to line their own pockets.
▶ 1:10:15Sen. Sullivan: Can I get your commitment to work with me at least a present way in which to ensure the attorney general of the united states under president biden said that if you are a law firm and charging 25%, they will go after you, civil and criminal liability speed we should do that. Can I get your commitment on that issue to work with me, work with this committee, and work with the department of justice to make sure that injustice does not happen to the marines?
▶ 1:10:47Sen. Sullivan: They have already suffered through the contaminated water forget we want guys like your brother to be whole. Can I get your commitment to work with me on that?
▶ 1:10:55Dr. Brazell: Yes.
▶ 1:10:56Sen. Sullivan: We will work with you and make sure people like your brother serve the marine corps honorably. By the way, there are no former marines. There is just marines. We will wreck with you together on that. I appreciate your commitment to that cause and appreciate you and your family's service. Thank you, Mr. chairman. >> welcome, Dr. brazell.
▶ 1:11:23Sen. Sullivan: I would like to associate myself with everything my friend from alaska had to say about I think some of the abuses, and it is even worse than that. I tried to get something done in hr1 to go after third-party litigation, so it is even worse. Now you have private equity. You have sovereign wealth funds from foreign nations investing in litigation. They get some of the winds. It is absurd.
▶ 1:11:54Sen. Sullivan: So we really do need a whole of the prime minister's and approach to getting people recognized. When our office worked on the camp lejeune toxins act, it was to do right by the families who had suffered. Now you have a bunch of slimy lawyers taking advantage and making more money than the people who were absolutely harmed. We need to go after every one of them. Actually in that same bill, it was the act I want to get to later on they created the headwinds.
▶ 1:12:25Sen. Sullivan: With all due respect to my colleagues, I voted against the bill because it was not ready for prime time, and you will be part of what will be needed to fix it. Let me poison the well and tell you I will support your confirmation. I will get back to a few questions in the time remaining, but I know the hour is late. Mr. chair, I want to read sarah berardo from the independence fun -- her husband died. I got the statement I want to read to you because I think it is appropriate. I spoke at his eulogy.
▶ 1:12:58Sen. Sullivan: "when my husband michael died on august when he six, his v.a. Pay an army retirement pay were deposited in our account the next day, august when a seven. Without any notice to become of those payments were then reversed on september 9, over drafting my account, and triggering fees. I had the means to cover it, but many surviving families do not. The lack of communication in that window between a veteran's death and the survivor benefits is undetectable.
▶ 1:13:26Sen. Sullivan: Families need clear notice and a process that does not leave them financially blindsided in the midst of all that grief." I would like unanimous consent to also have her statement in the record.
▶ 1:13:36Chair Moran: Without objection.
▶ 1:13:38Sen. Tillis: We have to fix this. I was there. I spent a lot of time at the home of the night he died. This is the last thing she should have had to experience. And she has the means to get through it. A lot of people don't. So now let me get mad so I won't cry.
▶ 1:14:02Sen. Tillis: I am hopeful that somebody with your background and information technology and supply chain and I presume large-scale implementations that we can finally get a scheduling system that works after billions of dollars have been spent, that we can finally get wait times down to a level that is except it will because they have grown in spite of all of the efforts on a bipartisan basis over several administrations to fix it.
▶ 1:14:32Sen. Tillis: How do we go about fixing that? Or how do you propose to come in? You got to know the situation. Tell me your method for actually going after this and giving me some hope that in my remaining time in the U.S. senate I may be able to see some progress.
▶ 1:14:47Dr. Brazell: Senator, you raise a senator, you raise a good point. That's unacceptable we would do the two of the rose family. We hope to address the and we have to ensure we have processes and procedures in place to actually have those capabilities of ensuring that weabout schedus of ensuring that weabout schedur the health care side, but I
▶ 1:15:19Dr. Brazell: Commit to you --
▶ 1:15:24Sen. Tillis: It's a broader problem. You will be the head of the vba. There will be a lot of transformational opportunities here. I think we are throwing money down on money pit. It's not about money, it's about the lack of service we are giving veterans by throwing that money down the pit. This is a $10 billion scheduling system.
▶ 1:15:48Sen. Tillis: Can you assure me that you will do right by the veterans and right by congress to spend this money effectively and get the lead on target and succeed?
▶ 1:15:58Ms. Brazell: Senator, it will require the internal and stakeholder engagement but I will ensure we will require the right stakeholders at the very beginning to ensure we deliver to our veterans.
▶ 1:16:15Sen. Tillis: I think we need to step back and we ought to have a discussion in which the extent to which the benefits administration has been affected by any decisions of congress. Here's what I will leave you with and I hope you will commit to me that you will come back here. Often times, the problems we see in various agencies are result of bad decisions made by us. Well intended, but not very well thought out in terms of how to implement them.
▶ 1:16:46Sen. Tillis: Then we bring you back here and flog you for not being able to implement something that we are responsible for not having thought through the implementation. So I would really appreciate if you could come back to us, not necessarily in an open hearing, but give us a stop, start continue of the things we are doing that are working and the things we should stop doing because it puts you further away from the things we are asking you to accomplish.
▶ 1:17:13Sen. Tillis: That would be very helpful if we could get some report back specifically within the vba within 90 or one hundred days. Can I get that commitment from you?
▶ 1:17:24Dr. Brazell: Senator, you have my commitment.
▶ 1:17:29Sen. Tillis: Thank you, Mr. chair.
▶ 1:17:30Chair Moran: Thank you Mr. chairman. I just want to be clear about some of your responses to senator king and senator hirono. Is it your testimony that nobody has been discharged or fired?
▶ 1:17:50Dr. Brazell: Outside -- it is my testimony that nobody has been -- nobody has been risked.
▶ 1:18:06Sen. Blumenthal: No one has been discharged or fired? In other words involuntarily separate, whatever you want to call it. I don't know what rift means. Tell me in the language that veterans can understand. But been fired?
▶ 1:18:22Dr. Brazell: Senator blumenthal, not to my understanding.
▶ 1:18:27Sen. Blumenthal: Not to your knowledge? What about the thousands of probationary employees that have been discharged and told they don't have a job anymore?
▶ 1:18:36Dr. Brazell: Ranking member blumenthal, I believe that is under litigation so I cannot comment on that.
▶ 1:18:47Sen. Blumenthal: You can't comment? But how can you say no one has been fired when in fact thousands of probationary employees have been told, you are discharged? And by the way, thousands have been hired back. Because lo and behold, the vba discovered it needed them. Are you aware of that fact?
▶ 1:19:09Dr. Brazell: Ranking member blumenthal, I am not aware of that.
▶ 1:19:16Sen. Blumenthal: You are not aware of it but your testimony as no one has been fired? I cannot believe that testimony. Have you spoken to anyone at your former employer? Since you're beginning work at the v.a., anyone at the international corporation?
▶ 1:19:41Dr. Brazell: The only inter--- individuals I spoke with was to get information about my financial disclosure.
▶ 1:19:46Sen. Blumenthal: So you haven't talked to anyone other than the person who was in charge of your financial disclosure facts?
▶ 1:19:56Dr. Brazell: That is correct.
▶ 1:20:02Sen. Blumenthal: Are you aware of the people that have been separated from the v.a., and it's in the thousands, is it not?
▶ 1:20:17Dr. Brazell: I'm not sure what you're asking me.
▶ 1:20:18Sen. Blumenthal: One third of them have been veterans, correct?
▶ 1:20:22Dr. Brazell: I can't confirm.
▶ 1:20:25Sen. Blumenthal: What proportion have been veterans?
▶ 1:20:28Dr. Brazell: Ranking member, I don't have that number. I will be happy to provide that to you following this hearing.
▶ 1:20:42Sen. Blumenthal: In the v.a. Workforce, isn't it a fact that 25% to 30% are veterans?
▶ 1:20:44Dr. Brazell: Ranking member, I don't have those statistics and I would have to get back with you following this hearing.
▶ 1:20:54Sen. Blumenthal: You have worked at the v.a. Under the trump administration. You've worked now for seven months and you don't know what proportion of the workforce are veterans?
▶ 1:21:08Dr. Brazell: Not at the top of mind -- what I can recall.
▶ 1:21:16Sen. Blumenthal: Did you ever care to find out?
▶ 1:21:19Dr. Brazell: Absolutely. I'm a veteran myself but those have not been statistics I asked.
▶ 1:21:28Sen. Blumenthal: You did care to find out but you don't remember?
▶ 1:21:29Dr. Brazell: That's not what I said, senator. I do care as a veteran. I think it's important that we look to always hire our veterans first but I don't have the metrics for you at this hearing. I will be happy to provide those following this hearing.
▶ 1:21:48Sen. Blumenthal: Mr. chairman, I hope that this witness perhaps in written responses after this hearing will provide some answers to us. I think you can tell from our side that we are frustrated, because these are answers that the veterans deserve.
▶ 1:22:15Sen. Blumenthal: Veterans agree to disagree but they don't have a lot of tolerance for people who won't answer.
▶ 1:22:22Chair Moran: Thank you senator blumenthal. I think this hearing is about to conclude. I want to give you Dr. the chance to say anything you would like to say that maybe you want to clarify or something you wish had been asked for anything to add to the record.
▶ 1:22:42Dr. Brazell: Thank you chair member moran. I want to thank the committee for their time and consideration for my nomination and if concerned -- confirmed, I will ensure all veterans are delivered timely and accurate benefits.
▶ 1:22:58Chair Moran: Thank you. There are no further questions. I think the committee -- thank the committee members and certainly the witness for being here today. With what senator blumenthal asked and anything you are agreeing to do, anyone who would like to submit a question for the record for this nominee should do so as soon as possible but no later than the close of business tomorrow. I did not say that quite correctly.
▶ 1:23:29Chair Moran: But should do so as soon as possible, and then we need your response shortly thereafter. Is it your testimony today that the response will be considered by the committee in your nomination process. And with that, the committee is adjourned.