00:00Senator King.
00:01Mr. Chairman, I intend to support the Access Act
00:04and really appreciate the work that you've done
00:07and the ranking member on bringing it to a place
00:10where we can, I feel comfortable supporting it.
00:14Although I do want to, I mean, there's an underlying discussion here
00:18about the VA system versus private services.
00:25And I just want to be sure that community care is always an adjunct
00:30and not a replacement.
00:32That's the way I view it.
00:34And it was originally designed to provide services, as you suggest,
00:38in rural, that were more convenient, that were closer to home.
00:44But I just worry about the privatization nose of the camel
00:52going under the VA tent, and I think this is something
00:56this committee is going to have to continue to discuss.
00:59And Senator Blackburn, I've heard you say about remote working
01:01and people coming.
01:02Some of our most successful companies in Maine found during the pandemic
01:05that remote work was indeed productive,
01:08and the folks that they're working in those companies
01:11aren't coming in at all, but they're very productive,
01:13and they found them to be more successful.
01:15So there's nothing inherently wrong with remote work.
01:18It depends on the nature of the job.
01:19So, as I say, I'm going to support this,
01:24but I think we're talking about a delicate balance here
01:27of providing convenient community care,
01:31and we want to be sure that the community care standards
01:34are the same as the VA.
01:36We haven't gained anything if the VA wait time is two days
01:40and the community care wait time is four days,
01:42or whatever number it is.
01:44So, again, I really appreciate the work that you've done on this.
01:47I want to continue to be engaged in this issue,
01:50and I think it's one that is going to engage this committee
01:53over the next few years.
01:55This issue may...
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