Blumenthal, Veterans Service Organizations Stress Detrimental Impact of Secretary Collins' Mass Terminations of VA Employees, Veterans

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – At a joint Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs Committees hearing today with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and other leading Veterans Service Organizations, Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) slammed Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins’ second mass termination of VA employees last night and the impact it will have on veterans and their families. Yesterday, Collins illegally terminated an additional 1,400 VA employees critical to serving veterans, in addition to the more than 1,000 VA employees terminated earlier this month, which included a number of veterans and military spouses.

“We are here today at a pretty momentous and important time. And I'm just going to be very blunt—our VA is under assault. The veterans of America are under assault,” said Blumenthal. “Just last night, another 1,400 members of the veterans family were fired from their VA jobs. Many of those who were fired are themselves veterans, who have dedicated their life to serving veterans. That brings the number to now 2,400 who have been fired with no credible explanation…If you believe that the VA is a system worth saving—and I think everybody in this room does—we are going to need your help. We are going to need you to be the voice and face of millions, and I mean millions, of veterans across the country whose care and benefits is at stake.”

During the hearing, DAV’s Executive Director Randy Reese emphasized the harmful impacts of the Trump Administration’s workforce initiatives, including Collins’ mass terminations at VA, on its members and veterans across America: “...would [we] rather have disabled veterans and their spouses unemployed than working at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs? I mean—that’s a sad thing to say. That’s happening.”

Reese said: “We view the series of actions – from the return to work, to hiring freeze, delayed resignation, probationary employees’ terminations—all as unprofessional acts. It’s not how you treat people. You don’t treat your own staff that way. These are not widgets, these are human people. That’s got to end.”

Following the hearing, DAV released the following statement on Collins’ mass terminations: “The recent VA workforce cuts are deeply concerning, especially given the unprecedented lack of transparency surrounding these decisions. Veterans and their families deserve clear answers on how these reductions will impact their care and benefits. Earlier this month, DAV, [Paralyzed Veterans of America], and [Veterans of Foreign Wars] released The Independent Budget, outlining the resources needed to properly support veterans—cuts like these move us in the wrong direction. We are calling for greater transparency to ensure veterans are not left in the dark about changes that affect their earned care. DAV remains committed to working with VA and policymakers to protect the care and benefits veterans have earned.”

Yesterday, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which represents 1.4 million veterans, also called on the Administration to end the indiscriminate mass termination of veterans following the additional termination of 1,400 VA employees by Secretary Collins last night.

In his remarks, Blumenthal detailed the real-life human impact of VA Secretary Collins’ continued indiscriminate mass terminations on veterans, which included Veterans Crisis Line employees: “My office spoke to one employee last night, moments after she found out that she had been terminated from her job with the Veterans Crisis Line, which of course saves people when they are thinking about taking their own life. She is a 100% service-connected disabled veteran and active-duty military spouse with outstanding performance reviews. Her job is to ensure training is provided to other Veterans Crisis Line responders, empowering them to do their jobs better.”

The Senator continued, “Another 100% disabled veteran who served his country for 14 years, did four combat tours, and has 10 years of service—fired. A veteran who was the lead coordinator on dozens of contracts for VA and had a five out of five performance rating on her last review—fired. A disabled army veteran who successfully transitioned out of homelessness and now has a bachelor's and two masters degrees, and who chose to serve his fellow veterans [at] the Veterans Health Administration—fired. I could spend the rest of the morning with a list. Real life impacts. These men and women were not fired because of poor performance, they were arbitrarily fired because someone looked at an algorithm or at a status and saw probationary, even though they might have been promoted and are in a probationary status in that new job, and decided, fired.”

The text of Blumenthal’s opening is copied below and a video link is available here.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you and the Ranking Member on the House side and my Chairman on the Senate side for your leadership. These issues have been bipartisan, and I think the record ought to reflect, Mr. Chairman, that we have a full room, standing room only, thank you all for being here today and showing your solidarity with the veterans of America. And we may have a couple of people from Connecticut, I'm not sure, but welcome to all of you. A few.

As the Chairman indicated, we are here today in support of veterans, and it is very much a family affair. Less than 1% of all Americans these days have anything to do with service in our military. But they are among the most deserving, most patriotic, the most dedicated among us. Two of my sons have served, one as a combat infantry officer in Afghanistan in the Marine Corps, and the other as a Navy SEAL. They are both proud veterans, and they keep me on the straight and narrow.

We are here today at a pretty momentous and important time. And I'm just going to be very blunt—our VA is under assault. The veterans of America are under assault. Just last night, another 1,400 members of the veterans family were fired from their VA jobs. Many of those who were fired are themselves veterans, who have dedicated their life to serving veterans. That brings the number to now 2,400 who have been fired with no credible explanation. And I recommend to you the statement that was issued by the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander Al Lipphardt just last night. I am not going to read it all, but I ask, Mr. Chairman, that it be entered into the record if there is no objection. It says, and I'm quoting, “We are losing people who are genuinely committed to the mission and find a continued sense of purpose in what they do.” That describes just about all of our VA employees who have dedicated their lives, many of them, to serving our veterans. This past month’s assault in my view on the VA workforce and on the federal workforce generally will do significant and irreparable harm to the delivery of your care and benefits.

As I mentioned just last night, Secretary Collins fired another 1,400 more employees without notice and without cause. And all in the name of cost savings, even though we all know that the cost will be higher in the long run—if you don’t care for a veteran when he or she needs it now, it will only be more expensive later. As veterans, you deserve a VA comprised of the very best medical providers, claims processors, cemetery directors, and other critical staff, regardless of cost. But in this instance, the cost will be higher from these supposed savings. In the name of eliminating waste, Elon Musk and DOGE are laying waste to the VA. And the VA National Commander put it well when he said that Elon Musk is bulldoge-ing the VA and other agencies.

The attacks on the VA staff since January 20 are already having real-life impacts in the field, and all of you are hearing from our fellow veterans. All of you are hearing their stories, their individual life impacts. My office spoke to one employee last night, moments after she found out that she had been terminated from her job with the Veterans Crisis Line, which of course saves people when they are thinking about taking their own life. She is 100% service-connected disabled veteran and active-duty military spouse with outstanding performance reviews. Her job is to ensure training is provided to other Veterans Crisis Line responders, empowering them to do their jobs better. Another 100% disabled veteran who served his country for 14 years, did four combat tours, and has 10 years of service—fired. A veteran who was the lead coordinator on dozens of contracts for VA and had a five out of five performance rating on her last review—fired. A disabled army veteran who successfully transitioned out of homelessness and now has a bachelor's and two masters degrees, and who chose to serve his fellow veterans on the Veterans Health Administration—fired. I could spend the rest of the morning with a list. Real life impacts. These men and women were not fired because of poor performance, they were arbitrarily fired because someone looked at an algorithm or at a status and saw probationary, even though they might have been promoted and are in a probationary status in that new job, and decided, fired.

If you believe that the VA is a system worth saving—and I think everybody in this room does—we are going to need your help. We are going to need you to be the voice and face of millions, and I mean millions, of veterans across the country whose care and benefits is at stake. As we begin the first of six panels over the next two weeks, my fellow lawmakers in both the House and the Senate need you to be bold, candid, and strong. The VFW National Commander noted that next week, on March 4, he is going to be here before this Committee. And he said, "I want to see hats in the hallways of our Capitol as our legislative committee members engage with lawmakers in demanding that they ‘Honor the Contract’ the government has made with those who have already served and sacrificed so much for America. It’s time to apply pressure and stop the bleeding.”

I hope we see hats in the hallways. I hope we see heads in the hallways from all of you and others. And I really want to thank you for being here today. This picture is worth a thousand words. Let’s keep fighting. Thank you.

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