Wichita Standard

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal, along with 25 other senators, expressed strong opposition to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins' plan to reduce the VA workforce by over 80,000 employees. This includes at least 20,000 veterans. The senators argue that this reduction will negatively affect veterans' care and benefits which have expanded significantly since 2019 due to bipartisan legislation such as the PACT Act.

The group criticized Collins for announcing a proposal on Twitter that aims to cut the VA workforce back to 2019 levels. They emphasized that recent legislative efforts had expanded veterans' healthcare and benefits, and reducing staff would jeopardize these advancements. "We believe it is blatantly dishonest to claim veterans’ healthcare and benefits will not be impacted by the termination of up to 83,000 employees," they stated in their letter.

Highlighting several laws passed since 2019 aimed at improving veteran services, including mental health care acts and comprehensive veterans’ packages, the senators stressed how reducing staff could reverse progress made in areas like outpatient visits and disability compensation benefits.

The senators concluded by urging Secretary Collins to reconsider his decision. They warned that such cuts would lead to longer wait times for care, increased costs due to worsening medical conditions among veterans, and reduced mental health support. "We urge you to start putting veterans first – listen to your leadership and frontline staff on the ground serving veterans every day," they urged.

The letter was supported by Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer and other notable senators including Mark Warner, Bernard Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, Jack Reed, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker among others.