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CATHY WURZER: President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Secretary of Veterans Affairs is expected to ease through the confirmation process with bipartisan support. David Shulkin currently serves in the VA as Undersecretary of Health. He was appointed to that position by President Barack Obama in 2015. That makes him Trump's first cabinet nominee from the Obama administration.

Democrat Tim Walz, who represents Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, and was just elected yesterday as the ranking Democrat of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, joins us to talk about this. If Shokin is confirmed, the two will be working together on reforming the second-largest government department, a department that has faced harsh criticism in recent years for poor medical care and long wait times. Representative Walz joins me on the phone this morning to talk about this. How are you this morning, Representative?

TIM WALZ: I'm well, Cathy, thanks for having me.

CATHY WURZER: Thanks for joining us. The President-elect, as you know, has described the VA in a number of ways-- corrupt, incompetent, completely broken. Do you buy into his criticism?

TIM WALZ: Well, I think it's a gross generalization. There's certainly been at times, at certain portions of the VA, that I think that was probably an apt description. I think as an institution overall, that's not the case. In many cases, they deliver quality care on time, as well or better than the private sector. But when you're dealing with our nation's veterans, if you're failing one, you're failing.

CATHY WURZER: David Shulkin is in the department already, though. Do you think he has what it takes to right the ship?

TIM WALZ: Well, I do, and I have to say, people have been asking, why did this take so long? I think what's happened is the campaign rhetoric that you quoted where President-elect Trump has stated that, I think maybe he just didn't know. He'd never been in a VA hospital, never experienced some of that.

And I think because of that, I think he took some time, I think he made a mature decision here, and I think he looked at someone who has proven over the last 18 months, under fire at a time of crisis, to have the skill set necessary, especially with a large health care organization. But I think also, he's proven himself to be very skilled at dealing with Congress. And as you said, and it's true, he has garnered bipartisan support from us.

I have to tell you, Cathy, when some of the names that were being floated, there was some great concern up here, and landing on Dr. Shulkin was really good news.

CATHY WURZER: I know you and Dr. Shulkin have been working to expand a program called Veterans Choice, which allows vets to seek private medical care. It's controversial, it's had some mixed results. How does that dovetail into what some Republicans want to do when it comes to privatizing some of the VA care?

TIM WALZ: Yeah, and I think, again, it's a campaign slogan for some people who don't understand that the VA has always used private care. They've done fee-for-service. In fact, last year about 31% of the appointments were outside. I think it's the right thing to do. It makes sense. If you've got rural veterans that need a blood test or whatever. Don't spend the money or send them up to Minneapolis. Do it in Sleepy Eye if you can. But that system has to be coordinated.

So I don't think there's a contrast here. I think what's happened-- and again, the choice of Dr. Shulkin shows to me that President-elect Trump gets this, that it's going to be a hybrid version. There's a core mission of the VA that needs to remain. Their our commitment as citizens to caring for them. This idea, it sounds enticing. Just give them a card and let them go wherever they want.

Well, that removes the responsibility from us. What if they have a wait line at a private hospital? What does the member of Congress do then? What about the research? How do we guarantee that research is going to be done on explosive industries or traumatic brain injury? That's what we direct as a nation.

So I think, and where Dr. Shulkin has been working on that, and the Choice Program, to be very honest, in some parts of the country, has worked pretty well. In Minnesota, I would call it a failure, it has not worked the way it needs to. And because of that, that's just another area where we tried this, let's expand, let's move forward, and let's give veterans those real choices while keeping that core mission intact.

CATHY WURZER: I'm betting you probably listened to some of the President-elect's news conference yesterday, and he said yesterday he'd like to see the VA work with some of the big hospitals across the country, including Mayo Clinic in your district. And we know that Mr. Trump evidently met with Dr. Noseworthy of the Mayo last month. What kind of collaboration would you like to see?

TIM WALZ: They already do it. Absolutely. They already do it. I think we could do more. Lots of research has been done. We've had numerous meetings over the past six to eight years with researchers at the VA, along with the Mayo folks.

I think Mayo went to the VA to ask them, how was the VA doing telemedicine? How were they doing some of this using technology, not just in face-to-face counseling maybe for mental health issues, but having peripherals that you can be setting in your home down in Albert Lee, and someone can be sitting in the Minneapolis VA, and you can see if that's skin cancer.

So, I think there's plenty of things here. I think we ratchet down this rhetoric. The false choices we get in politics that it's privatization or nothing, it's neither of those two things. It's a hybrid version. The VA needs to adapt to the 21st century. When we built VA hospitals, it was all inpatient care. There's no reason that we don't have urgent care open on Saturday and Sunday at VA clinics.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Representative Walz, thanks for the conversation.

TIM WALZ: Thanks, Cathy.