House Democrats say they have "deep concerns" with the return-to-office mandate within Veterans Affairs, asserting that having employees on site to better serve veterans is creating "inefficient conditions" for veterans, The Hill reported Monday.
In a letter dated March 28 but released Monday by Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, 20 Democrats are looking for answers from VA Secretary Doug Collins regarding a "lack of clarity" in making VA employees show up in person.
"Within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), we have heard from countless stakeholders, veterans and Department of Veterans Affairs employees that by carrying out President [Donald] Trump's blanket return-to-office policy, your administration is damaging veterans and employing trust in the VA, disrupting and impeding veterans access to care, and creating untenable and inefficient conditions for both veterans and the VA workforce," the lawmakers wrote to Collins, who took office on Feb. 5.
Collins told Newsmax last week that he assumed a workforce with a "laissez-faire attitude" and a "lack of what we'll call structural awareness."
"When you look at that, you add things that don't need to be added in ways and places that shouldn't have been added and it took away from probably places where we could have done better, which is veterans' care, healthcare, and also veterans' benefits," he told Newsmax.
To that end, the VA on Feb. 3 announced that thousands of staffers would return to the office, putting an end to remote work that was implemented during the COVID pandemic.
However, the Democrats called the mandate "irresponsible," adding, it "leaves behind millions of veterans who rely on VA employees working remotely."
Collins told Newsmax on Saturday that the changes are going to make people used to the status quo "scream a little bit."
"I just have this sort of maybe simple mindset that, you know, if you're actually spending billions of dollars and employing hundreds of thousands of people and your goal is to service veterans in their healthcare and their benefits, then maybe that should be the goal," Collins told Newsmax.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.