Ranking Member Takano's Opening Statement at the Full Committee Legislative Hearing
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WASHINGTON— House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) delivered the following opening statement at the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs full Committee Legislative hearing.
“In the audience and watching the livestream today, we are joined by former VA employees who were illegally and suddenly terminated by President Trump since he took office on January 20th. These are Americans, many of them veterans and military spouses, who are now unemployed, and I want to tell a few of their stories.
An operations manager in VBA who served nine years in the Air Force before continuing his service at VA. He’s 100% service-connected. All of his performance evaluations were outstanding or fully successful. Now jobless, thanks to Trump.
An IT specialist in VA’s Financial Technology Services. She’s a veteran spouse, and her performance was outstanding. She told us her family depends on her income. They are now left scrambling to figure out how to pay their bills and what they are going to do for health insurance, thanks to Trump.
An appellate attorney in the office of general counsel. He is a 100% service-connected disabled veteran with two Bronze Stars who served on four combat deployments. He had nine days until the end of his probationary period. Fired by President Trump.
A Training Specialist for the Warriors to Workforce program. Nearly eight years of service in the Navy. He had moved his family from Colorado to Maryland just to work at VA. He is his family’s breadwinner. Now jobless thanks to Trump.
These are just a few of the many responses Committee Democrats have received from VA employees, veterans, and military spouses. We are gathering information about these reckless firings as part of our oversight responsibilities, and it is absolutely heartbreaking to hear from these Americans who were victims of the illegal DOGE purge.
We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis unlike any America has ever faced. Our democracy hangs in the balance. The guardrails that check and balance our system of governance are rapidly weakening. Our institutions are literally being dismantled. Presidents Musk and Trump continue their blatantly illegal and unconstitutional rampage, which is premised on the belief that we won’t notice. That we won’t care as we see neighbors and friends harmed by these actions. We cannot pretend that is normal or right. This is not government efficiency, it is not fixing the bureaucracy. It is destruction.
My colleagues across the aisle accuse us of partisan fearmongering and hysteria as they yell and feign outrage, and I am sure they will continue to do so today, because they don’t want the public to learn the truth: that the illegal and unconstitutional actions taken by Musk and Trump are directly harming veterans and their families. Veterans are already suffering under this regime, and anyone who denies that is not telling the truth. The outrage should be directed at this, at what is really happening.
Many of those VA employees who have lost their jobs since January 20th were HR professionals. Their terminations, along with a rumored lock out from HR software and USAJobs, are already directly impacting VA’s ability to onboard mission critical positions like physicians, nurses, and disability claims raters.
We have also heard that DOGE cancelled a contract that VHA uses to recruit healthcare providers. Without the ability to recruit doctors, VA cannot sustain a stable healthcare workforce to meet the needs of veterans.
We have talked to veterans whose access to health care has been directly impacted by employee terminations. We know new clinics that would increase access to care cannot open due to staffing shortages. This is the truth, and it is our responsibility as members of Congress to tell these stories and to demand transparency from VA.
I am appalled that we are even here today considering the Restore VA Accountability Act. This bill makes absolutely no sense if we open our eyes to what is happening at VA with the ongoing purge of employees based on lies. Why would we even think about giving VA more authority to fire employees when they are haphazardly and illegally terminating employees as we speak?
Last week, the Office of Inspector General released a report that revealed United Health Group and TriWest Healthcare profited and pocketed nearly one billion taxpayer dollars in overpayments from VA through the community care program that these two third-party administrators have decided they just don’t want to pay back. Why are we considering a bill that would further enrich United Health Group and TriWest Healthcare, when they are caught up in a legal dispute with VA over the money they owe back to the government?
I want to share one final story from a terminated VA employee. She is a service-connected disabled veteran of the Marine Corps. A military spouse of 23 years and a federal employee for the last 7 with outstanding performance reviews. She is now facing immense emotional and financial distress. She writes, “I have given my life to serving this country, and now I ask my country to stand by me.”
With that, I yield back.”
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