ICYMI: VFW Calls on Administration to Stop Indiscriminate Mass Firings of Veterans

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Yesterday, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) called on the Administration to stop the indiscriminate mass firings of veterans, who make up 30% of the federal workforce. This statement followed VA Secretary Doug Collins’ illegal termination of additional 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. The VFW represents 1.4 million veterans nationwide.

“Ten days ago, I shared the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ (VFW) concerns for the news of mass lay-offs coming out of our nation’s capital,” said VFW National Commander Al Lipphardt. “Since then, it has become clearer that the veteran community has been hit hard as probationary federal jobs are being axed across the country, to include the latest announcement of 1,400 more just let go from the VA.”

Lipphardt continued, “With veterans making up approximately 30% of the more than 2.2 million employed by the federal government, the potential of losing thousands of veterans from the government work force is troubling. A lot of these aren’t brand-new, off-the-street employees. These are employees who have been serving the American people for years, in uniform and in civil service, and at least some of whom have been or are being caught by a formality in administrative statuses. There are bigger ramifications in firing veterans than just faceless workers being let go. The American people are losing technical expertise, training and security clearances already bought and paid for by taxpayers. These veterans are now being told their skills are no longer useful to the government. We’re losing people who are genuinely committed to the mission and find a continued sense of purpose in what they do. On top of all this, studies show having gainful employment is a social determinate of health and gets ahead of arguably one of the root causes of veteran suicide. Since the federal government is the single largest employer of veterans in the nation, it’s veterans who are being indiscriminately harmed in this bull-"DOGE"-ing of the federal work force.”

Lipphardt stressed the indiscriminate nature of these terminations done with no “oversight or thought” and throwing veterans’ careers and lives into chaos: “I was wounded in combat during the Vietnam War. I am thankful that the medics who treated me chose not to take my whole arm for the sake of efficiency. It took a trained eye, a skillful hand and human intuition to fix me up and get me back in the fight. In my experience, those operating with a scalpel have a better chance at saving limbs than those who operate with a chainsaw. Unfortunately, it appears humans have been taken out of what is a human capital issue. It has been reported to us from veterans who have lost their jobs that the emails they received letting them go were disjointed, and inconsistent across the board. This leads us to believe they were automated with little to no oversight or thought. When it comes to complex problems, we rely on humans to make the right choices at the right times. We should never leave the hard decisions that impact people’s lives and livelihoods to an algorithm or an email distribution list.”

Lipphardt concluded: “On Tuesday, March 4th, I will testify before a joint session of the congressional veterans’ affairs committees to deliver the VFW’s priorities and call on Congress and this administration to put an end to the indiscriminate firing of veterans in the government workforce. I am also calling on VFW members to “march forth” and join me on that day. 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 made with those who have already served and sacrificed so much for America and their fellow Americans. It's time to apply pressure and stop the bleeding.”

VFW’s statement echoes the call of Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal and other Democratic lawmakers to stop the mass termination of veterans and VA employees – highlighting the disproportionate negative impact these terminations are having on veterans and their families.

In response to the additional 1,400 VA employees terminated yesterday, Ranking Member Blumenthal released the following statement: “Doug Collins continues to put the interests of veterans last with additional indiscriminate firings of VA employees who serve veterans, including patient-facing employees. We know these terminations are already impairing the Department’s ability to deliver timely and quality care and benefits to veterans, especially as it works to serve more veterans than ever before. These men and women were arbitrarily fired because Doug Collins views them as nothing more than a statistic for his press release. Make no mistake, these actions are destroying the trust veterans have in VA and will do long-term damage to VA’s ability to recruit and retain talented doctors, nurses, and others wanting to pursue a career serving veterans. Not only does it destroy trust, but it disrespects the service of a number of veterans and military spouses who work at VA – unjustly upending their lives and their careers. It is more critical than ever for my colleagues across the aisle to break their silence, join us in pushing back on these harmful cuts, and help stop this Administration from trying to balance the budget on the backs of veterans and their families.”

Last week, Ranking Member Blumenthal also led a group of 35 Democratic Senators calling on VA Secretary Collins to immediately reinstate the more than 1,000 VA employees terminated last week who serve veterans and their families nationwide, including critical employees combatting veteran suicide working at the Veterans Crisis Line.

If you are a VA employee or veteran impacted, please reach out to the Committee HERE.

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