Largest VA Staff Cuts in History: 30,000 Staff to Be Gone by September

VA Secretary announced his planned reduction of an additional 12,000 employees over the next three months

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Mark Takano released the following statement regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) announcement of the planned reduction of an additional 12,000 employees by the end of fiscal year 2025. VA has already shed 17,000 employees since President Donald Trump appointed Secretary Doug Collins. This dramatic reduction risks undermining the services our nation’s veterans rely on and have earned through their service and sacrifice.

“For months, Secretary Collins has accused Democrats of fearmongering when they sounded the alarm on VA’s downsizing efforts. Today, Democrats’ misgivings were confirmed.

The VA Secretary thinks that by mincing words about shedding tens of thousands of staff over six months and not calling it a RIF, he can avoid the consequences of the most significant staffing cut in VA history. The Secretary may debate the meaning of ‘large-scale’, but don’t be mistaken, a reduction of this size would be catastrophic to an already understaffed agency. The Secretary knows that VA’s workforce was expanded to meet the needs of veterans covered by the largest healthcare and benefit expansion in VA history, the PACT Act. He knows this, and he remains steadfast in taking steps that will dismantle its successes.

These decisions leave me with unanswered questions. Namely, will the Secretary request the Office of Personnel Managementto return the $726,000 paid for “layoff consultation services”? Which employees will be fired? How will 12,000 employees leave in the next three months? How will VAs ‘safeguards’ ensure that ‘staff reductions do not impactveteran care or benefits’? Given that, to this point, VA has intentionally ignored oversight and accountability of its decisions, this announcement should be met with deep skepticism as it fails to account for what happens after September 30.

VA’s announcement was padded with so-called successes meant to distract the unsuspecting reader. I refuse to stand by as VA continues to mischaracterize its efforts and purposefully mislead the public and the veterans it serves. These efforts demonstrate a shocking disregard for the dedicated workforce that serves our nation's veterans. The loss of 30,000 VA employees will be catastrophic, and veterans will suffer-  I hope the Secretary is ready to respond to this inevitable disaster.”

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