By: Stephanie Kalota
Founder, Veteran Legislative Voice & AHG Correspondent
But how is this affecting our veterans? In actuality? A LOT… and we are only 38 days into this administration. At the direction of DOGE, the Department of Veterans Affairs planned to cut “billions of dollars in planned contract cuts following concerns that the move would hurt critical veterans’ health services, lawmakers and veterans service organizations said Wednesday.” But AP News reports that those planned cuts are now suspended. They “ obtained the full list of 875 affected contracts, which shows the cuts would affect everything from cancer care to the ability to assess toxic exposure. The list underscores how the Trump administration’s approach to broad spending reductions has immediate and potentially unintended consequences, generating significant concern not just among Democrats but also Republican lawmakers.” Thankfully it appears that the VA is doing a more detailed review of the planned cuts. Many of these funding plans were approved in legislation like the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022.
Now on to the firings of VA employees. The Department of Veterans Affairs reported that they recently let go 1400 probationary employees after over 1,000 employees were already let go in January. Both press releases assured that the mission-critical positions are exempt from these firings and that these firings have enabled the VA to redirect over 181 million dollars to healthcare, benefits, and services for VA beneficiaries. But Veteran Service Organizations have been sounding off with concern about these actions. Randy Reese, executive director of Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Washington Headquarters, stated, “The recent VA workforce cuts are deeply concerning, especially given the unprecedented lack of transparency surrounding these decisions. Veterans and their families deserve clear answers on how these reductions will impact their care and benefits.” Task & Purpose stated that “The national commander for Veterans of Foreign Wars, Al Lipphardt, recently noted that roughly 30% of the 2.2 million people who work for the federal government are veterans and, as a result, the military community is being hit hard by the layoffs.”
