U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins says tens of thousands of jobs can be cut in the VA system without hurting veterans.
Collins made the comment Monday as he spent the day with Seventh District Congressman Tom Barrett, visiting VA hospitals in Michigan and talking to veterans in the state.
During a stop at American Legion Post 141 in Howell, Collins defended plans to slash tens of thousands of VA jobs, but said those cuts would not hurt the veterans who rely on the system for health care.
Collins vowed to protect veterans and VA employees from people who, in his words, want to scare them. He was asked if VA workers are frightened by the job cuts proposed by the Trump administration.
“A lot of VA employees right now are scared because we have people in the Senate and the media and everywhere else that are telling them things that are not true,” Collins replied. “I’ve had people, I’ve had actual reporters say you’ve fired 80,000 people. We’ve not fired 80,000 people, that’s a lie.”
A report by the Associated Press cited an internal government memo that said more than 80,000 jobs would be cut at the agency.
In a letter to Collins in early March, Barrett asked the secretary to make sure only VA employees who have truly not met the expectations of their assignment be dismissed. When asked if Collins agreed to that, Barrett was vague.
“We share a mission to make sure that we deliver care and benefits to veterans in the most efficient and productive way possible, and that’s going to take collaborative effort,” he said.
Collins has said cuts can be made without affecting VA patients by focusing on employees not working directly in patient care.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.