It goes to the full Senate next and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said her bipartisan support within the committee is a good sign that she will be able to get to work soon as assistant secretary for policy and planning at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Advocacy is especially important in areas we have highlighted in Connecticut, including invisible wounds like post-traumatic stress, veterans’ homelessness, women veterans’ issues, and veterans with disabilities,” Blumenthal said. “Her new national position provides a solid platform for expanding and enhancing some of the Connecticut initiatives that have proved promising.”

Schwartz has headed Connecticut’s department for 10 years and brings personal and professional credentials. She retired from the Air Force after a blast concussion made it impossible to continue her work as a bedside nurse. She’s been active in nursing and veterans’ groups and has both a master’s degree in nursing and a doctorate in public health from the Yale School of Medicine. She served on the national boards of directors of the American Nurses Association, Vietnam Veterans of America and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial.

Schwartz, 69, is the first woman to head Connecticut’s department and served under both Republican and Democratic governors.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the top Republican on the committee, tried to postpone a vote on another nominee Tuesday – Constance Tobias, who was nominated to serve as chairman of the Veterans’ Board of Appeals – because he hadn’t gotten all the documents he requested from her. That nomination still passed on an 8-6 party-line vote, but Schwartz’s drew no discussion or opposition.

Lawmakers including Burr have complained about problems with VA backlogs in handling appeals and in getting information is requested.

Schwartz’s new job, if approved by the full Senate, will be to come up with strategies for a changing veterans’ population, overseeing reams of data, evaluating programs and coordinating where resources should be used.

Her own injury in an aircraft on a training mission “gave me a framework to understand today’s veterans” she said before her confirmation hearing earlier this month. She said it took her a while to find the health and vocational rehabilitation benefits she needed after the life-changing injury, which kept her out of work for three years. The statistical data and research skills she honed as part of her doctorate will be useful in a new job that involves analyzing VA programs to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

“The needs of today’s veterans and their families are growing. Just as our military has changed, the needs of our veterans and their families have changed, and VA is transforming as an organization to meet them,” she told the committee at the hearing. “…We must continue to challenge the status quo.”

Schwartz, after 10 years leading Connecticut’s department, is nominated for assistant secretary for policy and planning of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Linda Schwartz

She’s got the professional resume to match the job – a doctorate in public health from Yale’s School of Medicine, nearly 20 years in the Air Force, a master’s degree in nursing and involvement in nursing and veterans’ groups.

“For the past 40 years, I have devoted my life and profession to caring for others as a practicing nurse, researcher and an advocate for veterans,” she told the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee that is considering her nomination. “Keeping faith with the men and women who are wearing the uniform has been the fundamental and overriding purpose of my work and a guide star for my life journey.”

But Schwartz made her own case most forcefully when she talked about her time as a consumer of VA services. Thirty years ago, she was a flight nurse on a training mission off the coast of Virginia when the door of the aircraft she was riding in blew off. The blast concussion she incurred ended her career as a bedside hands-on nurse – a job she loved. It took her three years before she hooked into the VA health system and other benefits.

“I was medically retired from the U.S. Air Force and the VA had no idea who I was or where I was and I had no idea where the VA was,” she told the committee.

Committee Chairman U.S. Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., asked if she would try to improve the disconnect between Department of Defense electronic medical records and those of the VA.

“This is a vital interest of my own,” she said.

“You’re taking it personally,” a pleased Sanders replied.

The medical records are one of many challenges facing the VA. U.S. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the top Republican on the committee, rattled off a litany of complaints about the department. Construction is delayed at many facilities, disability claims are backlogged and Legionnaire’s Disease broke out at a VA hospital. “It’s frustrating to the committee we always seem to be in crisis management mode,” he told Schwartz and two other nominees for top veterans’ jobs.

While waiting for the hearing to start, Schwartz said the transition from active duty to veteran status is “one of my greatest concerns and greatest hopes.” Her new job would entail coming up with strategies for a changing veterans’ population, overseeing reams of data, evaluating programs and coordinating where resources should be used.

Schwartz was introduced at the hearing by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, who called her a “relentless fighter for our veterans” and noted her involvement in many veterans groups. “The breadth and scope of her commitment to our nation’s veterans is truly remarkable.”

Blumenthal said Schwartz is the type of person to “speak truth to power”.

“I look forward to being a force to improving the system,” she responded.

Marsha Four, a Vietnam nurse and Bronze Star recipient, said after the hearing that Schwartz, her friend, is an innovative thinker who can see around challenges.

“She knows the issues. She knows the gaps,” said Four, vice president of Vietnam Veterans of America. “She knows what opportunities lie ahead in the future. She brings with her — her heart and soul.”

Schwartz’s nomination goes next to a committee vote, and then to the full Senate for approval. Sanders did not say when the vote will happen, but that the nomination would be moved along as quickly as possible.

“I see absolutely no issues,” with the nomination, Blumenthal said. “She has been very bipartisan in her service. She has strong support.”