The Department of Veterans Affairs blocked the University of Phoenix, Perdoceo Education Corporation, Bellevue University and Temple University, from enrolling GI Bill students after the Federal Trade Commission laid enormous penalties on them for deceptive advertising.
The Department of Veterans Affairs blocked the University of Phoenix, Perdoceo Education Corporation, Bellevue University and Temple University, from enrolling GI Bill students after the Federal Trade Commission laid enormous penalties on them for deceptive advertising.
The head of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs told a U.S. Senate committee Tuesday that a potential move to cut 83,000 jobs at the agency was “a goal” — not a concrete plan.
But VA Secretary Doug Collins’ two hours of testimony did not satisfy Democrats such as Western Pennsylvania’s Chris Deluzio, who took part in a Washington, D.C. protest after the hearing.
“As they take a wrecking ball to veterans care, we’re gonna do everything we can to fight back and hold the line, to honor that promise this country has to everyone who served, the benefits and care that they have earned,” said Deluzio, an Iraq War veteran. He and others said veterans fired from other federal agencies should be rehired.
During his testimony, Collins punted on questions about mass layoffs, saying previous reports consisted of “false rumors, innuendo, disinformation [and] speculation.” Staffing reductions to shrink the agency were pending, he told the Veterans’ Affairs committee.
Dozens of veterans later gathered with Democrats to denounce Collins’ testimony. And Deluzio was joined by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who grilled Collins in Tuesday’s hearing.
“If you fire the people who have been hired in the last five years, you will be firing physicians, nurses, surgeons, counselors — workers who are front-line,” Blumenthal told Collins.
The secretary countered that some VA doctors and nurses don’t interact with patients, wasting agency resources by focusing on policy and administrative work. And canceled contracts — such as diversity, equity and inclusion programs — have already saved VA $14 million, Collins added.
Still, the group of Congressional Democrats and veterans’ advocates said they’d pressure the Trump Administration to keep VA workers on staff. That would, the Democrats and their allies contended, ensure reasonable wait times for appointments and benefits processing.
The VA’s obligations expanded significantly in 2022, after Congress passed the PACT Act providing coverage to thousands of veterans exposed to toxic military “burn pits.”
“So many toxic-exposed veterans of my generation [and] Agent Orange-exposed veterans from the Vietnam era are finally getting the benefits they’ve earned,” Deluzio said. “We should be investing in resources for the VA, and Donald Trump and his team are doing the opposite.”
At times, the hearing was heated. Collins said that when he took over at VA, he found an agency that was “broken.” The agency’s human resources department couldn’t hand him a list of employees within his first week, he said, calling the system “bureaucratically challenged.”
But Blumenthal said he’d gotten no response to more than a dozen letters asking for clarity on changes during Collins’ tenure. He accused the secretary of “running out the clock” to avoid answering questions.
“Will you submit to us, which you have failed to do, specific positions where workers have been fired already?” Blumenthal said. Collins didn’t answer, saying only 1,000 VA employees had been terminated so far, all of whom were serving as probationary workers.
“You’re not giving us facts, and facts are essential to accountability,” Blumenthal said.
About 2,400 VA workers were fired in February, but a court order reinstated about half of them in March.
Later on Tuesday, Collins took to social media to decry reporting that he believed spurred much of the questioning earlier in the day. He denounced three “hit pieces” by The New York Times, and said the outlet didn’t report on the VA in the same way under President Joe Biden.
“The Times refused to cover the Biden-era VA’s worst moments, including millions in improper bonuses for senior executives, a multi-billion-dollar budget scandal and rising health care wait times,” Collins said. “In a perfect world, [the Times] and its employees…could objectively report on this administration.”
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
