{"id":39342,"date":"2023-11-08T19:01:13","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T19:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/11\/08\/nearly-450000-staff-and-growing-just-how-large-will-va-get\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:56:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:56:37","slug":"nearly-450000-staff-and-growing-just-how-large-will-va-get","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2023\/11\/08\/nearly-450000-staff-and-growing-just-how-large-will-va-get\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 450,000 staff and growing \u2014 just how large will VA get?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is already the second-largest federal employer and one of the largest employers in the country<\/a>, swelling to almost 450,000 workers after a rush of new hiring over the last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VA Secretary Denis McDonough<\/a> thinks it needs to grow even larger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a risk that all of the sudden we\u2019re too big,\u201d McDonough told Military Times. \u201cThere are veterans who need access to health care. There are veterans who need access to mental health care. And we want to make sure that they know we\u2019re here for them and that they can get care with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But bringing in more staff<\/a> will also mean improving federal hiring processes and ensuring that incentives keep pace with private-sector competitors. It\u2019s a challenge that McDonough said his department has been preparing for since the pandemic upended a host of staffing plans and standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a wide-ranging interview ahead of Veterans Day<\/a> celebrations this week, McDonough shared his goals for the coming year and the obstacles that could block them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portions of this interview have been edited for length and clarity.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military Times: How big should VA get? Is there a point where it\u2019s a self-feeding animal, where you\u2019re <\/b>hiring people<\/b><\/a> for the sake of hiring people?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

McDonough:<\/b> My goal is that we have a relationship with every veteran in the country. There are between 18 and 19 million veterans in the country now. [This administration] has set a simple, straightforward goal that there will be more vets in our care when we leave than when we started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, that\u2019s a challenge, because we have a health care system that is disproportionately weighted to veterans more than 60 years old. And one of the real, tremendous opportunities of the PACT Act just for us to develop relationships with younger veterans who have not had a relationship with VA, and may have been dissuaded from having a relationship with VA because of some of the stories that they\u2019ve heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s remember, we\u2019re not metering out how much care goes to the community, how much care stays in house. We\u2019re trying to make determinations based on what\u2019s the highest quality outcome for veterans. What\u2019s the way to ensure the best possible medical and health care outcomes? And then on the benefits side, we\u2019re saying that these are your benefits that you have earned, so it\u2019s our job to get them to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VA across the board is aggressively working to ensure that the veteran experience of each individual veteran is positive, the outcomes are positive. [Veterans] feel respected, such that they go and tell their friends that this is a good place to get care or file for your benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\t