Senator vows to hold all VA nominees over planned staff cuts
Military Times reports:
“Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego on Tuesday vowed to hold all senior Veterans Affairs nominees in an effort to force department leaders to reconsider massive planned cuts to the agency’s workforce in coming months.
The move by Gallego — a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and a Marine Corps veteran who saw combat in Iraq — came on the same day the committee held confirmation hearings for three senior department posts.
Republican leaders can still get around the holds and confirm those posts, but doing so will take extra floor time and procedural maneuvers. Gallego said the obstruction is worthwhile to highlight the potential dangers of VA leaders’ planned cuts.
“Let’s sit down and actually have a real review about where we can find efficiencies, where we can make investments in VA,” he said in an interview with Military Times. “Maybe that does mean that we have to close some areas, merge some areas, hire more people, invest in technology.
“But the fact is [the administration] is not doing any of that. They’re saying the best way for us to make improvements is just to cut the workforce. They’re not telling us how that actually is going to improve the lives of veterans, or if we’re actually improving efficiency.”
Last month, leaked documents revealed plans by VA leadership to cut the department’s workforce by more than 80,000 individuals, returning staffing to 2019 levels. VA Secretary Doug Collins has said the moves will make the department leaner and more focused without harming benefits delivery.
But Democratic lawmakers — and many outside advocacy groups — have questioned that assertion, noting that officials are performing a review of staffing needs and gaps after already publicly committing to the sweeping cuts.
The Senate has already confirmed the top leadership posts at VA: Collins and Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence.
Trump has not yet announced nominees for the Under Secretary of Health and Under Secretary for Benefits. Former Senate candidate Sam Brown, nominee for Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, was expected to quickly gain confirmation before Gallego’s hold.
But Brown faced mostly calm questioning at a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing Tuesday alongside James Baehr, Trump’s nominee to be general counsel for VA, and Richard Topping, Trump’s nominee to be VA’s chief financial officer.
Gallego said he will remove the holds if VA leaders “commit to abandon plans to unilaterally layoff over 83,000 VA employees.”
In a statement in response to the holds, VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz emphaiszed the need for staff changes at the department and insisted that “despite major opposition from those who don’t want to change a thing at VA, we will reform the department to make it work better for veterans, families, caregivers and survivors.””
My Commentary:
The first tRUMP misadministration did nothing to improve or better equip the VA to better serve our veterans. Wait times were unacceptably long and it was very difficult to get approval for specialty care. Disability and Compensation examinations were backlogged. The tRUMP misadministration made no secret that they wanted to eliminate the VA and privatize veterans care which would have cost veterans more out of pocket, would not shorten wait times, and would negatively impact other services such as the Veterans Crisis Hotline, Mental Health/PTSD/Drug and Alcohol Addiction programs, and housing assistance for homeless veterans.
The Biden administration worked diligently to improve care for veterans including passage of the long overdue PACT ACT expanding coverage for veterans exposed to toxic environments such as Agent Orange and burn pits as well as correct manning shortages which significantly decreased waiting times, sped access to specialty care and decreased the wait time for Disability and Compensation examinations.
Now this latest atrocious tRUMP misadministration under Collins and Lawrence are making draconian cuts to VA staffing without having any review or studies to define any real savings or benefits. Many of the tens of thousands of employees slated for these cuts are themselves veterans—some of whom are combat wounded. These cuts are not based on merit or performance and occurred so abruptly that it is clear there was no review at all.
This is disgraceful! Collins is nothing but a MAGA cheerleader who clearly is not qualified for such a position.
“Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego on Tuesday vowed to hold all senior Veterans Affairs nominees in an effort to force department leaders to reconsider massive planned cuts to the agency’s workforce in coming months.
The move by Gallego — a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and a Marine Corps veteran who saw combat in Iraq — came on the same day the committee held confirmation hearings for three senior department posts.
Republican leaders can still get around the holds and confirm those posts, but doing so will take extra floor time and procedural maneuvers. Gallego said the obstruction is worthwhile to highlight the potential dangers of VA leaders’ planned cuts.
“Let’s sit down and actually have a real review about where we can find efficiencies, where we can make investments in VA,” he said in an interview with Military Times. “Maybe that does mean that we have to close some areas, merge some areas, hire more people, invest in technology.
“But the fact is [the administration] is not doing any of that. They’re saying the best way for us to make improvements is just to cut the workforce. They’re not telling us how that actually is going to improve the lives of veterans, or if we’re actually improving efficiency.”
Last month, leaked documents revealed plans by VA leadership to cut the department’s workforce by more than 80,000 individuals, returning staffing to 2019 levels. VA Secretary Doug Collins has said the moves will make the department leaner and more focused without harming benefits delivery.
But Democratic lawmakers — and many outside advocacy groups — have questioned that assertion, noting that officials are performing a review of staffing needs and gaps after already publicly committing to the sweeping cuts.
The Senate has already confirmed the top leadership posts at VA: Collins and Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence.
Trump has not yet announced nominees for the Under Secretary of Health and Under Secretary for Benefits. Former Senate candidate Sam Brown, nominee for Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, was expected to quickly gain confirmation before Gallego’s hold.
But Brown faced mostly calm questioning at a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing Tuesday alongside James Baehr, Trump’s nominee to be general counsel for VA, and Richard Topping, Trump’s nominee to be VA’s chief financial officer.
Gallego said he will remove the holds if VA leaders “commit to abandon plans to unilaterally layoff over 83,000 VA employees.”
In a statement in response to the holds, VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz emphaiszed the need for staff changes at the department and insisted that “despite major opposition from those who don’t want to change a thing at VA, we will reform the department to make it work better for veterans, families, caregivers and survivors.””
My Commentary:
The first tRUMP misadministration did nothing to improve or better equip the VA to better serve our veterans. Wait times were unacceptably long and it was very difficult to get approval for specialty care. Disability and Compensation examinations were backlogged. The tRUMP misadministration made no secret that they wanted to eliminate the VA and privatize veterans care which would have cost veterans more out of pocket, would not shorten wait times, and would negatively impact other services such as the Veterans Crisis Hotline, Mental Health/PTSD/Drug and Alcohol Addiction programs, and housing assistance for homeless veterans.
The Biden administration worked diligently to improve care for veterans including passage of the long overdue PACT ACT expanding coverage for veterans exposed to toxic environments such as Agent Orange and burn pits as well as correct manning shortages which significantly decreased waiting times, sped access to specialty care and decreased the wait time for Disability and Compensation examinations.
Now this latest atrocious tRUMP misadministration under Collins and Lawrence are making draconian cuts to VA staffing without having any review or studies to define any real savings or benefits. Many of the tens of thousands of employees slated for these cuts are themselves veterans—some of whom are combat wounded. These cuts are not based on merit or performance and occurred so abruptly that it is clear there was no review at all.
This is disgraceful! Collins is nothing but a MAGA cheerleader who clearly is not qualified for such a position.
