Veteran advocacy leader defends Trump's shake-ups at VA, calls for reform to support veterans
EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump's Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, has proposed a 15% workforce reduction with a goal of cutting 80,000 jobs at the VA.
Retired Lt. Col. Jim Whaley, CEO of Mission Roll Call, a veteran advocacy non-profit, said such VA reform is necessary to improve veterans' lives across the United States.
Whaley told Fox News Digital that veterans want to see less bureaucracy at the VA and more "community care" to cut wait times and increase services at local VA hospitals, but "if it was easy, somebody would have solved it."
"Every American and politician, from both sides of the aisle, can agree that we want to make sure we take care of our veterans," Whaley said. "We just got out of over 20 years of war, so there are a lot of veterans and their families that need help. We want to make sure that every dollar that the American taxpayer is paying to support the VA is spent wisely, and that veterans are getting the care that they need. And more importantly, that they're getting the care when they need it, where they need it and how they need it."
The VA serves only half of U.S. veterans. While Whaley said Collins is trying to reach the other 50% through TV and podcast appearances, he encouraged more transparency about the VA's services to reach the other half of veterans who still need care.
"One hundred days into the second Trump administration, and VA is no longer content with poor results. Under President Trump's leadership, we have already stripped away many of the costly distractions that were coming between VA beneficiaries and the benefits they have earned. And we're looking to make even more historic reforms to better serve our veterans," Collins said.
Trump and Collins have faced controversy in the media and among Democrats for cutting VA jobs and for their efforts to overhaul the department. Whaley, whose organization conducts veteran polling, said more than half of veterans are worried about VA cuts.
"When all you hear is about the cuts versus what the philosophy is behind why you're making those changes in an organization, there's going to be fear. Change is hard. It's important that the VA stays as transparent as possible and reports on what is being done and what improvements are being made," Whaley said.
However, Whatley, a veteran himself, said all veterans want to see an improved VA.
"They want to see services improve, they want to see wait times reduced. As time goes on and Veterans Affairs communicate more and more with veterans, they will know a little bit about what's going on, and they'll be a little less anxious about it. I think it's all about making sure that veterans are getting the news, making sure they understand why they're making these cuts."
Whaley encouraged Collins and the VA to include more veterans in the conversations surrounding the VA's reform by listening to families and caregivers to learn how to best invest in veteran care.
"Veteran affairs are very important to recruitment issues, and that, of course, affects national security. So they're not all separate, it all wraps together. When a veteran gets out of the service after a few years of serving their country, we have to make sure that the transition to the civilian world and finding a job and plugging into the community goes smoothly, because if we don't, then we have an issue," Whaley said.
According to the 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, more than 17 veterans committed suicide per day in 2021.
"We need to get the number of suicides as close to zero as possible. That's the number one priority," Whaley said, adding that community care is also a top priority, so veterans don't have to drive long distances and wait a long time to get the services they need.
"We need to make sure that the Department of Defense and the VA are working together when veterans are transitioning out of the military to make sure they're plugged into the VA and that the transition goes well. Because the fact of the matter is, the majority of suicides among veterans are from veterans that have recently transitioned to the civilian world."
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