{"id":81970,"date":"2025-04-02T20:56:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T20:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/04\/02\/theres-a-war-on-vets-dems-launch-plans-to-counter-trumps-va-moves\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:49:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:49:33","slug":"theres-a-war-on-vets-dems-launch-plans-to-counter-trumps-va-moves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2025\/04\/02\/theres-a-war-on-vets-dems-launch-plans-to-counter-trumps-va-moves\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018There\u2019s a war on vets\u2019: Dems launch plans to counter Trump\u2019s VA moves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Angry over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2025\/03\/06\/va-secretary-insists-massive-staff-cuts-needed-to-refocus-department\/\" target=\"_blank\">planned cuts at Veterans Affairs facilities <\/a>and a lack of communication from department leaders about those moves, congressional Democrats are plotting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2025\/04\/01\/senator-vows-to-hold-all-va-nominees-over-planned-staff-cuts\/\" target=\"_blank\">confirmation holds<\/a>, legislative obstruction and unofficial hearings in an attempt to create public outrage over the administration\u2019s changes to veterans programs and benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s a war on veterans,\u201d said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., at a Wednesday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/03\/24\/senate-democrats-plan-shadow-hearings-on-controversial-va-cuts\/\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cshadow hearing\u201d on Capitol Hill<\/a> highlighting their complaints about the looming plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPresident Trump has already fired more veterans than any president in the history of the United States \u2026 and they have already told the country that [VA leaders] are going to lay off another 80,000 people at the VA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wednesday\u2019s event \u2014 the first in a series planned by Democrats on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/03\/11\/gop-senators-eye-legislative-guardrails-as-va-prepares-mass-job-cuts\/\" target=\"_blank\">Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee<\/a> \u2014 featured testimony from veterans who lost their government jobs in the initial waves of dismissals connected to President Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to shrink the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2025\/03\/06\/va-secretary-insists-massive-staff-cuts-needed-to-refocus-department\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA secretary insists massive staff cuts needed to refocus department<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Secretary Doug Collins confirmed leaders are looking at trimming 80,000 workers to slim down the growing VA bureaucracy.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About one-third of federal employees are veterans. White House officials have not said how many of the dismissed workers are veterans, but outside groups have estimated that more than 5,000 former military members have been caught up in the cost-cutting efforts so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And critics say that number will only grow. VA Secretary Doug Collins has announced plans to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2025\/03\/05\/trump-administration-plans-to-cut-80000-va-employees-memo-says\/\" target=\"_blank\">trim his agency\u2019s workforce back to 2019 staffing levels<\/a>, a move that would eliminate more than 80,000 of the department\u2019s roughly 480,000 workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2025\/03\/06\/va-secretary-insists-massive-staff-cuts-needed-to-refocus-department\/\" target=\"_blank\">interview with Military Times<\/a> in March, Collins said efforts will be made to consider veterans status in job cuts and contract cancellations, but that the federal government should not serve as an employment program for the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also has repeatedly vowed that individuals who work directly in veterans health care or processing veterans benefits will not be impacted, and that veterans will see more support as a result of a more efficient department, not less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Democrats in the House and Senate have disputed those claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They call the department reform plans haphazard and cruel, without a clear guideline on how to protect veterans benefits and support services amid plans to create savings in government operations. Much of the anger at Wednesday\u2019s event was focused on the Department of Government Oversight and billionaire Elon Musk and their opaque authority in the administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFear and chaos, that\u2019s how this administration is running every agency,\u201d said Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii. \u201cVA is a very critical part of the health care that veterans deserve, and they don\u2019t know what is happening to VA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee ranking member Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Wednesday\u2019s hearing is the first step in a series of attempts by his caucus to slow or halt the controversial reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The caucus plans similar hearings every few weeks throughout the spring, highlighting potential dangers of the White House\u2019s VA plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., has announced a hold on all VA nominees until Collins withdraws his plans for significant staff cuts. Blumenthal went further on Wednesday, promising a hold on VA and some Defense Department nominees until more information is released on workforce and contracting changes at the veterans bureaucracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the senior Democrat on the veterans committee said lawmakers are looking at procedural moves to slow down floor business in protest of the VA cuts, and their refusal to publicly testify on the proposals. House Democratic leaders are planning similar tactics in coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cObviously, our tools are limited, since we\u2019re in the minority,\u201d Blumenthal said. \u201cBut we\u2019re going to use every one of them as effectively and promptly as we can. And ultimately, we\u2019re going to take this to the veterans themselves, enlist them in this fight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to Wednesday\u2019s threats of obstruction from Democrats, VA officials repeated a statement from earlier in the week criticizing the moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cImagine how much better off veterans would be if lawmakers like Sen. Blumenthal cared as much about fixing VA as they do about protecting the department\u2019s broken bureaucracy,\u201d said VA Press Secretary Pete Kasperowicz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVA health care has been on the Government Accountability Office\u2019s high-risk list for more than a decade, and GAO says VA faces \u2018system-wide challenges in overseeing patient safety and access to care, hiring critical staff and meeting future infrastructure needs.\u2019 Under Secretary Collins, VA is working hard to fix these and other issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins is expected to testify before both the House and Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committees \u2014 and the chambers\u2019 respective appropriations panels \u2014 later this spring. But those dates have not yet been announced, and Republican leaders of the panels have not publicly pushed for congressional questioning of the VA leader in the near future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic lawmakers vow to block bills, slow nominations and hold their own hearings to protest planned cuts to veterans 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