Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins told Newsmax on Wednesday that his department is making "tough" changes as part of a push for efficiency and denied claims that veterans' data is at risk due to recent layoffs.
The VA dismissed about 2,400 additional probationary employees this month in two rounds of layoffs that officials have stated will not affect the department's services.
However, Jonathan Kamens, who headed cybersecurity for the VA's web portal until his firing earlier this month, told the Associated Press that his dismissal means that VA.gov is "lacking essential oversight over cybersecurity processes" until they replace him.
"VA.gov has access to a huge number of databases within VA in order to provide all of those benefits and services to veterans," Kamens said. "So if that information can't be kept secure, then all of that information is at risk and could be compromised by a bad actor."
Collins pushed back on Kamens' statements in an interview with "National Report" saying that the department is "able to take care of our systems" and "protect data" despite the recent layoffs.
He said, "We are making changes, and … probationary employees and others who have taken early leave on the program have left. But it is sort of interesting to me that getting rid of one person here … is going to put our whole system at risk. Let me just say we're a little bit better than that."
Collins said the department is "able to take care of our systems. We're able to protect data. We're able to protect the information that we have, and we're going to continue to do so."
He continued, "The VA is up and running. The VA is still over 470,000 employees. We're taking care of the essentials."
Collins noted that transitions are "tough" and "difficult" for "people who are laid off … I am sympathetic to that. I've been on both ends of that ... I've hired and I've also been fired. So I understand … to an extent of what people are going through."
He said that these changes were necessary was the department focuses on efficiency and "making sure that we're doing what we need to do to put the veteran first and following … the president's orders."
Collins said, "We need to efficient government system that actually produces and puts out the benefit that it's supposed to. And that's what we do at the VA."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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