Democratic congressional leaders, including Rep. Bobby Scott (D- Newport News), on Tuesday morning heard accounts from local leaders and experts on the effects to veterans from Trump administration’s policies.
The testimony at the event at Norfolk State University centered on the staffing levels at the recently opened North Battlefield VA Outpatient Clinic, cuts to Veterans Affairs, and uncertainty in veterans’ health care and benefits.
The VA has plans to lay off as many as 80,000 staff by the end of the year. The federal government instituted a hiring freeze earlier this year and has also laid off thousands of probationary employees.
Dr. Sheila Elliott, a pharmacist who has worked at the Hampton VA Medical Center for 35 years and serves as the president of Local 2328 AFGE union that represents direct patient care staff, told the group that workers who are essential to veterans’ health care have lived in fear for their jobs since the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began making cuts to the federal government.
She said the list of VA employees that are exempt from layoffs, such as recreation therapists shows the “unnuanced approach” to how the VA functions.
“Recreational therapists work with veterans to improve physical fitness, reduce stress, anxiety, ultimately leading to a higher quality of life,” Elliott said. “I have seen first hand the impact of indiscriminate cuts on veterans access to services.”
Susan Hippen, a retired Navy Master Chief who represents the Veterans of Military Families Caucus, said in her recent visit to the North Battlefield Clinic, which opened in April at less than 30% of its full staffing level, that it is a “ghost town” and is failing to meet the needs of veterans on the Southside.
Among the services not being provided at the new clinic are dentistry and radiology, on top of mental health appointments already taking months to schedule, according to Hippen.
“Expressing my concern about the careless dismissal of the people who provide our care, process our claims, or assist with benefits should not be referred to as political fearmongering — it is a fact,” she said.
Scott closed the event by quoting President George Washington who reportedly said, “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive our veterans in early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation.”
“We owe it to our veterans to provide the health care they need,” Scott said. “Not only is it the right thing to do, it’s a national imperative.”
VA Secretary Doug Collins has insisted that the job cuts will not be a detriment.
“The department’s history shows that adding more employees to the system doesn’t automatically equal better results,” Collins told Congress last month.
Collins has said that the personnel changes would not hurt VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries, and that “mission-critical” positions were exempt from the reductions. The cuts, he said, would increase productivity and eliminate waste.
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