{"id":31549,"date":"2025-02-24T15:05:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T15:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/02\/24\/va-secretary-emphasizes-reforms-accountability-for-federal-workforce\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:32:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:32:24","slug":"va-secretary-emphasizes-reforms-accountability-for-federal-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2025\/02\/24\/va-secretary-emphasizes-reforms-accountability-for-federal-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"VA secretary emphasizes reforms, accountability for federal workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In his first public address to a veterans organization, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins <\/a>vowed to improve the department\u2019s benefits delivery and expand medical care while bringing reforms to the workforce to refocus its work on people, rather than bureaucracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want this to be heard clearly by every organization, but especially by those inside the VA walls and the VA workforce: We will not settle for anything less,\u201d Collins told Disabled American Veterans members at their winter conference <\/a>in Washington, D.C., on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is not about the VA as an organization. It is about the veterans that we serve. If we are not serving the veteran, then the VA is not in the position it should be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comments came just nine days after department leadership dismissed about 1,000 probationary workers<\/a> \u2014 and amid fears that thousands more could be let go<\/a> in coming months. President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has made cutting back the number of federal workers a top priority, installing a hiring freeze across government agencies and culling numerous positions deemed irrelevant or non-critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\t