US EditionCollins, Dems spar over whether VA needs key fixes or full overhaul
- Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins testified on May 6, 2025, in Washington about plans to cut up to 80,000 staff from the 480,000-strong VA workforce.
- Collins said rising medical wait times and claims backlogs worsened despite workforce growth, prompting the need to reduce what he called a "bloated" bureaucracy by roughly 15%.
- Democrats disputed Collins' claims, warning that cutting schedulers and support staff would harm veterans’ care, while Republicans echoed his call for a department overhaul amid increased criticism.
- Collins stated, "Something has to change, and it's up to us to make that change," noting no front-line workers have been or will be fired, and the White House proposed a 4% funding increase despite planned cuts.
- The debate over VA’s future and budget for fiscal 2026 intensifies as lawmakers balance workforce size, funding increases, and veterans’ access to care during the ongoing department restructuring.
11 Articles
11 Articles
‘Money and people do not solve the problems’: Collins defends upcoming VA workforce cuts
The Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing for significant cuts to its workforce, after hiring surged under the Biden administration. VA Secretary Doug Collins defended the upcoming workforce cuts, saying increased staffing hasn’t always led to better service for veterans. “The department’s history shows that adding more employees to the system doesn’t automatically equal better results,” Collins told the Senate VA Committee in a hearing Tu…
VA chief defends workforce cuts and promises to protect veteran care
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins told senators Tuesday that downsizing the VA workforce is essential to reforming a bloated system, despite bipartisan concerns that the plan lacks transparency and could jeopardize care for veterans. Collins defended the downsizing as a push to eliminate waste and refocus resources on front-line care. He also stressed that the 15% workforce reduction is a preliminary goal but not a final target. “This revi…
Army Times
Collins, Dems spar over whether VA needs key fixes or full overhaul
Both Republicans and Democrats agree that the Department of Veterans Affairs is not perfect. On Tuesday, the two sides fought over just how not perfect it is. In testimony before a Senate oversight committee, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins portrayed his department as a bureaucracy in severe disarray when he took over three months ago. But he insisted reforms from the new administration since then have set operations on the right track. …
Patty Murray grills VA secretary over planned layoffs, handling of computer system rollout
WASHINGTON – New Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins faced tough questions on Tuesday about his plans to lay off 70,000 to 80,000 employees and speed up the nationwide deployment of a troubled computerized patient medical record system that first launched in Spokane in 2020.
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