Blumenthal, Senators Introduce Sweeping Legislation to Reverse Damage from Trump Administration's Egregious Cuts at VA, Assault on Veterans

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – In response to President Donald Trump’s mass terminations of federal veteran employees and egregious attempts to slash Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) care and benefits, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) led a group of his colleagues today in introducing the Putting Veterans First Act—comprehensive legislation to protect veterans, military spouses, and VA employees indiscriminately targeted in the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) cuts at VA and across the federal government.

The Putting Veterans First Act is also co-sponsored by former Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

“The Putting Veterans First Act is a call to action at a moment of crisis for veterans. VA’s system of health care and benefits has been disastrously and disgracefully put on the chopping block by Elon Musk and Donald Trump,” said Ranking Member Blumenthal. “Their heartless and heartbreaking cuts, freezes, firings, and other malign directives will destroy lives and livelihoods if unchecked. That’s why we are introducing comprehensive legislation to ensure our government reverses course and puts veterans first—not tax cuts for billionaires. Veterans and their families have willingly sacrificed everything for this country, and they deserve a government that treats them with the dignity and respect they deserve.”

“At a time when the VA is already understaffed, Elon Musk and Donald Trump want to dismember the department by laying off 83,000 employees. They have already fired 2,500 VA employees as well as an estimated 6,000 veterans across the entire federal workforce, and more layoffs are likely to come if we don’t take a stand,” said Senator Sanders. “Veterans put their lives on the line for this country. We must do everything in our power to ensure they receive the benefits and care they earned. That is why today, along with Senator Blumenthal, I am introducing legislation that would reverse these disastrous layoffs and rehire the fired VA workers and veterans at other federal agencies. We must keep our commitments to the more than 18 million veterans who risked their lives to defend our country — not betray them.”

“If Donald Trump really cared about our nation’s heroes, he wouldn’t be firing more Veterans than any other President in modern history, slashing our VA workforce and jeopardizing the care and benefits earned by those actually brave enough to serve,” said Senator Duckworth. “After everything Veterans have sacrificed, it’s a stunningly cruel betrayal by the President to let Elon Musk inflict so much needless pain on their lives and livelihoods—all to carve out billionaire tax breaks that would make the richest in America even richer. Our legislation would help rectify the damage already done to our Veterans and bring an end to this chaos. Donald Trump never has our Veterans’ backs, but Democrats always will.”

“The Trump Administration needs to step up and stop attacking veterans,” said Senator Gallego. “Not only are they firing veterans in droves, but they’re also cutting VA programs and staffers. That’s why I’m supporting this bill to put a stop to these reckless firings, protect veterans’ private information from DOGE, and ensure the VA can’t be dismantled in secret.”

“President Trump has fired more veterans in his first few weeks in office than any U.S. President. This is unacceptable. These men and women have made tremendous sacrifices in service to our nation, and now they are being kicked to the curb by a President who has previously called servicemembers and veterans losers and suckers,” said Senator Kaine. “Every single one of my colleagues should stand in solidarity with our veterans, their families, and the hardworking Americans who deliver services they need, by supporting this legislation to protect veterans, military spouses, and VA employees from the Trump Administration’s mass, indiscriminate firings.”

“It’s outrageous that Donald Trump and Elon Musk recklessly fired veterans, and those who care for them, for absolutely no reason,” said Senator Rosen. “These selfless, hardworking men and women deserve respect and should’ve never been treated this way. That’s why I’m proud to help introduce this bill to reverse these terminations, grant full back pay and benefits, and protect our veterans and those who provide them with the care they deserve.”

“Veterans have spent years of their lives risking everything to protect American freedoms, but the Trump administration has decided to thank them for their service with mass firings,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Our veterans and their families deserve our respect, and this legislation would rehire veterans illegally fired by President Trump and Elon Musk, while ensuring they are protected from further reckless, chaotic terminations.”

“President Trump and Elon Musk are taking a wrecking ball to the livelihoods of tens of thousands of veterans and military spouses, turning their backs on VA employees who have given everything for our country,” said Senator Padilla. “These cold-hearted, indiscriminate cuts must be immediately reversed and can never happen again. Our legislation reaffirms our commitment to ensuring quality VA care, protecting employment for veterans, and safeguarding their data and benefits.”

“Donald Trump’s unlawful actions against the federal workforce are devastating to veterans, caregivers, servicemembers and their families, who serve in the federal government at a disproportionately high rate and rely on the federal government for support they’ve earned,” said Senator Hirono. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this legislation to take a first step toward correcting these disastrous firings and protecting the federal programs and services our veterans, servicemembers, and their loved ones rely on.”

“Veterans who stepped up to serve their country again shouldn’t lose their jobs because of reckless government cuts,” said Senator Kelly. “Cutting jobs and gutting the VA’s workforce threatens their care and benefits. We need to stop these reckless cuts, protect veterans and their families, and make sure they get the jobs, support, and respect they’ve earned.”

Among its many provisions, the Putting Veterans First Act would:

REINSTATE AND PROTECT MEMBERS OF THE VETERAN AND MILITARY COMMUNITY WORKING AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES NDSCRIMINATLEY FIRED BY DOGE

• Reinstates and provides full backpay and benefits to all veterans, military spouses, survivors, veteran caregivers, and members of the Guard and Reserves who worked in the federal government and all VA employees who were illegally fired, demoted, or suspended as part of the Trump Administration’s mass terminations; and
• Protects veterans, military spouses, survivors, veteran caregivers, and members of the Guard and Reserve who are civil servants by preventing their inclusion in mass terminations and providing them additional due process protections.

PROTECT THE QUALITY OF VA CARE, BENEFITS, AND EMPLOYMENT

• Prevents VA from instituting a hiring freeze if it could result in increased costs to the Department or reductions in benefits or care to veterans;
• Bars the Department from closing, removing, or realigning offices or programs at VA that were authorized by Congress and prevents any closures without Congressional notification;
• Requires the VA Secretary to notify Congress, labor organizations representing Department employees, and impacted employees a year in advance of any changes to telework or remote work policies at VA, in response to Trump and VA’s draconian return to office policies;
• Requires VA to certify to Congress that for each removal of an employee from the Department under Reduction in Force efforts, the move will not impact delivery of care or benefits of veterans. This provision was drafted in direct response to VA’s disastrous plans to cut more than 80,000 employees leaked in a damning internal memo last week—which VA Secretary Collins continues to claim will have no impact on care and benefits, despite providing no evidence to support his claims; and
• Allows any employee who accepts a contract for a deferred resignation offer, including Musk’s “Fork in the Road” offer, to rescind or nullify, without penalty, that contract up until their last day of employment.

INCREASE TRANSPARENCY AND OVERSIGHT OF VA STAFFING, CLAIMS BACKLOG, AND WAIT TIMES DATA

• Requires VA to answer questions from Congress within reasonable time limits to prevent infringement on Congress’ oversight authorities. The Trump Administration’s VA officials have not responded to more than 20 of Ranking Member Blumenthal’s requests for information and more than a dozen of letters. There are countless more unanswered letters and requests for information from Democratic and Republican lawmakers;
• Increases transparency around VA personnel information by improving existing VA staffing reports with data on positions within Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), National Cemetery Administration, Board of Veterans Appeals, and other offices within the Department;
• Requires VA to report to Congress regarding the number of VA research personnel who were terminated or had their period of employment reduced since January 20, 2025 and the research projects they were involved with. This is in direct response to the lack of information provided regarding DOGE’s cuts to VA research;
• Codifies VBA’s weekly report regarding the current VBA workload including totals for pending and backlogged compensation, pension, and education claims and requires it be published VA’s website; and
• Requires VA to publish wait times for private sector care (community care) publicly on its website similarly to its reporting on wait times for various types of care at VA.

PROTECT VETERANS’ PRIVATE DATA FROM DOGE AND UNELECTED BILLIONARIES

• Prohibits DOGE from accessing or altering any veteran or VA data, including health records, contracts, and financial data without meeting typical, appropriate qualifications and passing background and security checks;
• Requires deletion of any data obtained in violation of the above requirement; and
• Bars any policies related to DOGE that would harm veterans and their families served by VA.

DETERMINE THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF DOGE’S RECKLESS CANCELLATION OF CONTRACTS AT VA

• Requires VA to report to Congress quarterly on costs associated with policy changes prompted by DOGE and the Trump Administration, such as cancelling contracts, wrongfully terminating employees, and closing offices of the Department; and
• Requires a pause on efforts to cut and cancel VA contracts pending a full review and report to Congress on contracts that were cancelled, which contracts VA plans to restore, and overall impact to veterans' care and benefits. This was drafted in direct response to VA Secretary Collins’ reckless cancellation of hundreds of contracts providing direct services and care to veterans. Collins has yet to share the full list of cancelled contracts with Congress.

PROVIDE CRITICAL MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR FORMER AND CURRENT CIVIL SERVANTS

• Requires each agency to cover the costs of three months of mental health care for any veterans, military spouses, survivors, veteran caregivers, and members of the Guard or Reserves they fire, demote, or suspend; and
• Ensures each agency provides mental health counseling services to current federal employees and past employees for three months following their termination or suspension.

PROVIDE EMPLOYEMENT ASSISTANCE FOR MEMBERS OF THE VETERAN AND MILITARY COMMUNITY FIRED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN TRUMP’S MASS TERMINATIONS

• Requires the President to provide employment assistance and opportunities for veterans, military spouses, survivors, veteran caregivers, and members of the Guard and Reserves who are fired, demoted, or suspended from civil service as part of his Administration’s mass firings; and
• Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the Secretary of Labor to utilize federal programs to increase hiring and training opportunities for the military and veteran community, in addition to developing partnerships in the private sector to support this effort.

A link to the bill text and section by section can be found HERE and HERE.

Veterans make up 30% of the federal workforce, with approximately 640,000 veterans working in federal agencies. For decades, Administrations of both parties have made hiring veterans and military spouses to work in the federal government a priority—including President Trump’s previous Administration. Last week, an internal memo leaked the Trump Administration’s plans to cut more than 80,000 VA employees, which would include at least 20,000 veterans, who make up 25% of VA’s workforce.

The Trump Administration’s mass terminations have already led to the unprecedented firing of more than an estimated 6,000 veterans. The Administration has refused to provide Congress with information detailing the exact number of veterans fired. In addition, many of these terminated employees had exemplary performance records and multiple years of work experience in government service.

-30-