Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093

(Washington, DC) U.S. Senator Larry Craig and other members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs will meet tomorrow, Wednesday, to review the funding needs of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern in room 562 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Barring technical difficulties, it will be webcast live and available for viewing later on the Committee's website: http://veterans.senate.gov. Audio may also be available - during the hearing only - at http://www.capitolhearings.org.

Panel 1

• Kenneth W. Kizer, MD, MPH, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Medsphere Systems Corporation
• Uwe E. Reinhardt, PhD, Professor of Political Economy, Economics, and Public Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Panel 2

• Joe Violante, National Legislative Director, Disabled American Veterans, representing the Partnership for Veterans Health Care Budget Reform
• J. David Cox, National Secretary-Treasurer, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO

Panel 3

• The Honorable Michael J. Kussman, MD, Under Secretary for Health, Department of Veterans Affairs

Accompanied by:

- Patricia Vandenberg, MHA, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Health for Policy and Planning, Department of Veterans Affairs

- Paul Kearns, Chief Financial Officer, Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs

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