05.22.25 • Press Release
Early this morning, House Republicans passed the 2025 budget reconciliation bill, or "One Big Billionaire Payout" bill, harming veterans and punishing everyday Americans.
“This isn’t some routine budget bill. This is a reverse Robin Hood. It steals healthcare from veterans, food from hungry families, loan protections from students, and safety from nursing home residents. And it does all that to give billionaires a payday—with a price tag of $2.3 trillion in new debt. This isn’t about values.
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05.20.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON -Today, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Committee member Senator Angus King (I-ME), and House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) led a group of lawmakers demanding that VA Secretary Doug Collins immediately turn over complete, updated list of VA contracts that have been cancelled or are being considered for cancellation. The lawmakers also condemned Secretary Collins for misleading Congress, the public, and
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05.20.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON - Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano and Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Pappas held a press conference calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to reinstate the Veteran Assistance Servicing Purchase(VASP) program and issue a foreclosure moratorium for struggling veterans. They were joined by Alys Cohen, Senior Attorney with the National Consumer Law Center, and Maureen Yap, Senior Counsel for Fair Lending for the
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05.15.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON— Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) delivered the following opening statement as prepared at the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs hearing entitled, "Department of Veterans Affairs FY2026 and 2027 Advance Appropriations Budget Request”.
Thank you, Chairman Bost.
Mr. Secretary, when I first heard of your nomination to this position, I recall saying to my staff, “I think we will be able to do good work at VA with Doug Collins.” I had optimism based on your time as a Member of
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05.08.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON— This week, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs debated 18 bills at markup. Ranking Member Mark Takano and Committee Democrats offered dozens of amendments that would have ensured veterans were protected from foreclosure, that they would have access to healthcare if their Medicaid is cut, that their access to telemedicine would be protected, and that claim sharks would be held accountable for scamming veterans. Committee Democrats also fought to protect VA employees’ rights,
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05.07.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) reintroduced the VA Employees Fairness Act with 74 original co-sponsors. This bill brings parity to the federal workforce by ensuring full collective bargaining rights for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Title 38 healthcare professionals, including registered nurses, physicians, dentists, optometrists, chiropractors, and physician assistants.
"VA healthcare employees work tirelessly to
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05.01.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON- Today, Ranking Member Mark Takano of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee issued the following statement in response to VA’s cancellation of the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program.
“The Trump Administration turned its back on veterans at risk of losing their homes. With the sudden shutdown of the VASP program, as many as 80,000 veterans and military families have been stripped of a vital assistance program established to prevent the tragedy of foreclosure. In case
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04.30.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON- Today, Ranking Member Mark Takano of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee issued the following statement regarding Chairman Mike Bost’s request to have the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate former VA Secretary Dennis McDonough, former Under Secretary Joshua Jacobs, former Under Secretary Dr. Shereef Elnahal, or any other officials from the previous administration.
“Chairman Bost’s request is nothing more than a desperate political stunt. The truth is simple: at the end of
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04.29.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON— Today, House Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano issued the following statement on the 100th day of President Trump’s second term.
“In just the first 100 days of President Trump’s second term he has broken his promises to our nation’s heroes. ?Instead of improving VA care and benefits, he has gutted the workforce that serves veterans, stripped away critical protection, and slashed programs like VASP that help veterans keep a roof over their heads. Instead of
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04.10.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON— House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA), Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Development Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) pressed Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins to immediately reverse his decision to abruptly end the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase Program (VASP)—a VA program that helped veterans experiencing severe financial
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04.04.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON— Today, House Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano issued the following statement in response to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins’s announcement that VA plans to end the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program. The VASP program was designed to assist veterans and active-duty servicemembers with VA-guaranteed home loans facing foreclosure.
“Secretary Collins and Chairman Bost have repeatedly assured the public that no
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03.28.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON— Today, House Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s Executive Order ending union rights for countless federal employees, including Veterans Affairs employees.
“The right to join a labor union and the right to collective bargaining are foundational American principles. This Executive Order, effectively outlawing unions and unilaterally striking down collective bargaining agreements under the guise of
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03.26.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON -- Ranking Member Mark Takano and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal recently sent a joint letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins and Secretary of State and Acting Archivist Marco Rubio earlier this month expressing their concerns regarding the closure of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA) Office of Equity Assurance (OEA).
“Unequal treatment of veterans of different backgrounds is not a
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03.20.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON— House Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano issued the following statement following President Trump’s planned dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.
"The Trump Administration's decision to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education will directly and adversely impact veterans and their earned benefits. Student veterans take out student loans to support the cost of college at nearly comparable rates to non-veterans. Student veteran borrowers have seen
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03.18.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON — Ranking Member Mark Takano, who also serves as Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it will phase out veterans’ treatments for gender dysphoria:
“This isn’t cost-cutting, it’s cruelty. Secretary Doug Collins is unilaterally restricting medical care for transgender veterans, ignoring the clinical judgment of VA providers that have prescribed this care and the expertise of all the major
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03.15.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON — Ranking Member Mark Takano, who also serves as Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, released the following statement after the Veterans Health Administration rescinded a directive that ensured respectful delivery of healthcare to transgender and intersex Veterans:
“The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is supposed to ensure that every veteran is respected and supported after their military service—yet VA leadership is abandoning that mission and allowing veterans to
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03.13.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON—Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) responded to Judge William J. Alsup’s ruling that ordered six federal agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, to rehire thousands of probationary workers unlawfully terminated during the Trump administration:
"Judge Alsup's ruling rightfully recognized that these mass firings were, in the judge's own words, a 'gimmick' designed to circumvent proper procedures and protections for federal workers.
This ruling validates what we have
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03.10.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON- Today, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) granted Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) employees a waiver from President Trump's return-to-office order:
"President Trump's reckless and poorly conceived mandate would put veterans' lives at risk. This was not simply a matter of administrative inconvenience - it’s a dangerous policy that could have had deadly consequences for
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03.06.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON- Ranking Member Mark Takano and 65 House Democrats sent a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins condemning the Administration's reckless dismantling of the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), VA’s critical suicide prevention lifeline used by veterans in crisis and their loved ones. The line has received over 8.4 million calls since its creation in 2007.
Today’s letter comes in the wake of the Administration’s callous termination of over 2,400 VA employees and plans to terminate 83,000 more.
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03.06.25 • Press Release
WASHINGTON- Today, Ranking Member Mark Takano, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and members of the House and Senate sent a joint letter to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins denouncing VA's unconscionable Reduction in Force (RIF) memorandum that circulated on March 4th. Members are outraged by VA's reckless plan to gut its workforce by an estimated 83,000 employees through its Agency Reductions in Force (RIF) and Reorganization Plan (ARRP)
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