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.
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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,
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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
… Read More
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.
… Read More
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)
… Read More
