Mr. Chairman, I join you and Senator Rockefeller in welcoming our witnesses today. The Committee's effort to address sexual harassment in the VA is an important and timely issue.

I particularly want to commend the women who will testify before this Committee. It is difficult to talk about sexual harassment privately, but it is even harder to do it publicly. Their decision should send a message to VA that its policy of "zero tolerance" needs to be reviewed to ensure that its employees are protected from sexual harassment in the workplace.

Sexual harassment is intolerable. The actions taken by VA in sexual harassment cases do not measure up to rhetoric. For all the good intentions and training implemented by Secretary Brown, the "zero tolerance" policy has obviously failed, particularly in the one case this Committee will examine in today's hearing.

Mr. Chairman, I look forward to working with you and the other members of this Committee as we address this important issue.