With 2,400 Veterans Affairs employees fired by the Trump Administration, and DOGE plans to cut about 80,000 more, the uncertainty of jobs and services has left Wisconsin veterans on edge.
As veterans’ concerns about the impact of these cuts continue to grow, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin hosted a roundtable Friday with local veterans and service providers at the Onalaska Legion Post 336.
“A lot of what we’re seeing happen has been done in the name of efficiency. … But what we’re seeing actually happen couldn’t be further from that goal,” said Baldwin. “It’s creating uncertainty, anxiety, frankly, for those who don’t know how it’s going to impact them and their mental health and their physical health and their ability to access the benefits they’ve earned in service to their country.”
By August, DOGE plans to cut 83,000 more jobs within the VA, according to a leaked internal VA memo.
Baldwin said the cuts will sacrifice veterans’ health, access to disability benefits and more for the benefit of the wealthy.
“DOGE may sound like a good idea, but the reason they’re doing this is in service of finding the room in the budget to fund massive tax breaks for corporations and billionaires,” said Baldwin. “We should not tolerate that, especially when we make promises to the people who serve us.”
While a federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s efforts to fire thousands of federal workers, the future of the massive cuts to several departments, including the VA, remains uncertain.
Veterans in attendance aired their concerns to Baldwin, and emphasized they already struggle with long wait times to access VA services.
Viroqua-based veteran Kate Young has struggled to even get on the line with someone for whole health resources, as she waited on an empty line for over an hour, and ultimately reached nobody.
“There’s wait time just trying to get a call placed, and I can’t spend my time – an hour – trying to wait for somebody to come on the line and take my call. I usually end up just hanging up and going about my day,” said Young.
With further DOGE cuts impending, she and others worry the situation and accessibility to other services offered by the VA will only worsen.
For Young, the potential inability to access many VA services is personal.
“I’m particularly concerned about the suicide hotline. While I was in service, I did lose a fiancé to suicide, and I later found myself in that same spot a few years later,” said Young. “When there’s cuts to that, it’s very triggering, and I’m angry that they would even do that when the suicide rate is so high in the military.”
About 20,000 of the jobs cut are expected to be positions held by veterans, according to Baldwin.
“They’re doing the best work they can – many of them are veterans that have taken a second job in the system,” said Lee Van Landuyt, a Hillsboro-based veteran. “They’re continuing to serve their country, and they’re not being appreciated. … This whole thing is upside down.”
Veterans service officers in La Crosse and Trempealeau counties are concerned about how cuts could affect functionality and response times.
“If they’re waiting eight months to schedule that appointment, that could jeopardize their health,” said Jane Brannan, La Crosse County veterans service officer.
Baldwin said despite enduring many obstacles, such as federal agencies stonewalling members of Congress trying to get information, she and other representatives are trying to fight back.
“We need to use the courts, we need to use the Congress, and we need to stand by our constituents as they tell their stories,” said Baldwin. “We need to elevate them as they bring public attention to what’s happening. … I want people … to know they have power and should not just roll over and say, ‘We’re going to allow an administration to overreach, break laws, to violate the Constitution.’ Everybody has power to be a part of the effort to push back.”
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