VA Sec to Newsmax: Job Cuts Necessary to Make Dept. Better For Vets

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins told Newsmax on Monday that his department will make whatever job cuts are necessary to fulfill its mission of taking care of the nation's veterans despite criticisms from Democrats and federal employee union leaders.

In an editorial for The Hill last week, Collins signaled he wanted a 15% reduction in the VA's civilian workforce, from 470,000 to about 398,000. But liberal Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., on Monday introduced legislation requiring the Trump administration to rehire any civilian employees who are veterans let go in President Donald Trump's efforts to streamline the federal government. Similar legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Derek Tran, D-Calif.

Collins told "Rob Schmitt Tonight" that Trump was elected to bring generational change to Washington, D.C., believing that if something the size of the federal government isn't working well, then it's time to find better solutions.

"What we're doing is we're following that guideline," said Collins, who represented Georgia's ninth congressional district from 2013 to 2021. "Fifteen percent is roughly about 80,000 employees. But let me just make very clear, that's our goal. We're going to set forth a very distinct pattern in which we look at our organization, how we're managed, how we're structured.

"We're going to have career VA employees look at that. We're going to have senior executives look at it. We may even have others look at it, as well, because we're going to make the cuts that need to be made so that we can continue to do what our mission is, which is take care of our veterans, both in healthcare [and] in our benefits side of the house."

The Biden administration added 80,000 jobs to the VA, including through the 2022 PACT Act, which expanded coverage to veterans affected by burn pits.

"The Biden administration took four years and put almost $130 billion in 80,000 employees on top of the VA," Collins said. "But yet, even these same senators and union members and others would say the VA is broke. We need to get help. But yet, the first time somebody like myself steps forward with real solutions to problems to say, hey, let's start asking better questions, then, you know, it's like all of a sudden disappeared. You can't have it both ways."

Collins, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command, said he has never wavered in his mission from the first day he took over as VA administrator last month following his Senate confirmation.

"Let me be very clear: We may be looking at [restructuring] the VA," he said. "We may be looking at how we deliver services. We may be [looking at] how many people it takes us to deliver a service. But one thing that is not on the table is benefits and healthcare. The veteran benefits and the veterans' healthcare [are] not on the table.

"That's not what's going to happen here. So, for the veterans out there … for those of you, and I've seen many of you, because as a member of Congress I used to get calls from you all the time in my office who were concerned about how the VA works. 'It took me this long to get this appointment' or 'I'm not getting help here.' I'm here to begin to ask those questions of why? And so far, when you've added that many people and you've added that much money and you're still getting the same results, we've got a problem."

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