Latest news with #DepartmentofVeteransAffairs
The Hill
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Hill
Trump administration unveils more detailed proposal for steep 2026 spending cuts
The Trump administration on Friday unveiled more details of the president's vision for how to fund the government in fiscal year 2026, expanding on its request earlier this month for steep spending cuts. The lengthy budget appendix, which stretches to more than 1,200 pages, comes as Republicans in both chambers have pressed the administration for more information about the president's proposed funding cuts. President Trump is calling for more than $160 billion in cuts to nondefense discretionary spending — amounting to about 22 percent — while requesting a boost to defense dollars. While presidential budget requests aren't signed into law, they can serve as a blueprint for lawmakers as they begin crafting their funding legislation. House appropriators will take up the first set of funding bills next week, with subcommittees on military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, rural development, and the Department of Agriculture set to meet to consider the proposals on Thursday. The White House rolled out Trump's so-called skinny budget about a month ago. It ran 46 pages, and it's not unusual for presidents to first roll out shorter versions of their proposals before releasing more details. But GOP appropriators said they needed more information about the president's funding wishlist, and budget hawks grumbled at the time about key details missing. 'There needs to be a lot more programmatic detail to write these bills to,' Cole told The Hill ahead of the current congressional recess. 'Their skinny line budget is just that. It's not a full presidential budget.' 'We will just do a better job for them,' Cole said at the time, if appropriators have more guidance from the administration. The bills from the GOP-led House are expected to be more partisan in nature than in the Senate, where Democratic votes will be needed to get annual funding legislation across the floor. Democrats have already come out in strong opposition to the president's budget request. And there are serious trust issues in the party about eventual negotiations with Republicans on fiscal year 2026 funding as the administration has undertaken a sweeping operation to shrink the size of the government without buy-in from Congress. 'This is a draconian proposal to hurt working people and our economy, and it is dead on arrival in Congress as long as I have anything to say about it,' Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement Friday. 'This is not a complete budget,' Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, also said Friday. 'We are supposed to start putting together the funding bills for 2026 next week. If, as expected, House Republicans follow what President Trump has proposed so far, it is not a serious effort to deliver for the American people.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Veterans' protests planned for D-Day latest in nearly 250 years of fighting for their benefits
Veterans across the United States will gather on June 6, 2025, to protest the Trump administration's cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as the slashing of staff and programs throughout the government. Veteran-led protests will be held at the National Mall, 16 state capitol buildings and over 100 other venues across 43 states. Veterans are disproportionately affected by federal cuts, in part because they make up only 6.1% of the U.S. population but, because of 'veterans preference' in federal hiring, they compose 24% of the 3 million federal workers facing mass layoffs under the Trump administration. Veterans also depend on comprehensive, free, federally funded health care through VA clinics throughout the country. But that care is deteriorating due to cuts, rule changes and return-to-work policies that make it impossible for many VA workers to effectively provide care. Looming cuts to the VA may cause an irreversible blow if the VA stops providing comprehensive care to veterans and, instead, pushes veterans into seeing doctors in private practice. This is not the first time that veterans have engaged in mass mobilization. Veterans groups in the U.S. have successfully mobilized for centuries, crossing traditional political divisions such as race, class and gender. They are powerful messengers, and their actions in the past have helped secure back pay and pensions for veterans, a Social Security and welfare system for U.S. civilians, and foreign policy changes to end wars abroad. I'm a scholar of law, social movements and veterans benefits. Here's a brief history of veterans' campaigns that illustrates how veterans developed their political clout and effectively advocated to protect themselves, and many others, from harmful federal policies. Veterans were not always politically popular, nor were they treated well by the federal government. After the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, Gen. George Washington lobbied Congress to offer lifetime half-pay to officers who served until the end of the war. Given the federal government's financial precariousness at the end of the war, this effort failed. Veterans were unable to successfully mobilize to advocate for the pensions, given their small numbers and internal divisions between more privileged officers and less privileged soldiers. During the Civil War, Congress passed numerous laws designed to support veterans. The 1862 pension law allocated payouts in proportion to a soldier's permanent bodily injury or disability caused by their service. The benefits were generous in comparison with prior allocations, and more veterans began applying for them. Yet, by 1875 only 6.5% of veterans had signed up for pensions. Veterans began to organize to increase awareness about these benefits and to lobby for more. The Grand Army of the Republic became a leading veterans organization that demanded better pension and disability benefits. At the end of the 1800s, earning veterans' votes became a priority for aspiring politicians. The Grand Army of the Republic directly lobbied Congress to pass bills expanding veterans pensions, one of which Democratic President Grover Cleveland vetoed in 1887. The organization then successfully mobilized its members to vote against Cleveland in the 1888 election, securing victory for presidential candidate William Henry Harrison and for Republicans in both houses of Congress. This secured the 1890 Arrears Act, which expanded veterans' pensions and disability payments. By the turn of the 19th century, over 40% of federal expenditures went to veterans. As more veterans returned in 1898 from fighting in the Spanish-American War, and with a huge influx of veterans 20 years later from World War I, veterans mobilized to streamline and expand pension and disability benefits. In the 1920s, the two most prominent veterans organizations, the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, or VFW, formed a national legislative committee dedicated to lobbying for improved benefits. Each group boasted thousands of members whom they could call on to 'barrage'– a veterans term – congressmen with letters. By 1929, even as the federal budget ballooned, veterans benefits still represented 20% of the total federal budget. The 1924 'Bonus Act,' which Congress passed after overruling Calvin Coolidge's presidential veto, offered WWI veterans a deferred 'bonus' payment available in 1945. But veterans suffered immensely in the Great Depression, along with the rest of the country. Veterans tried a new campaign tactic in 1932, creating the 'Bonus Expeditionary Forces,' or 'Bonus Army,' march on Washington, D.C., to demand their promised pay be delivered sooner. Over the course of three months, from May through July 1932, 40,000 veterans set up encampments throughout the city. During their stay, they crowded congressional galleries and plazas during debates on the bill. When President Herbert Hoover called on the military to disband the encampments, he set himself up for electoral defeat later that year. It took another four years for Congress to pass a law offering an immediate payout, but the veterans got their bonuses in 1936, not 1945. Building from public support bolstered by the Bonus Army march, veterans fought publicly to protect their benefits in the Great Depression. In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sought to cut veterans' benefits to help finance other relief programs during the Depression, but veterans successfully lobbied Congress to rescind the cuts. A 1933 VFW encampment in Milwaukee attracted 10,000 veterans who openly decried Roosevelt's economic policies. The event featured left-wing Louisiana populist Sen. Huey P. Long and former Marine turned anti-Wall Street populist Smedley Butler. The U.S. entered World War II in December 1941. To avoid another spectacle, FDR began developing a compensation program for World War II veterans even before the war's end. During debates about these expenditures, veterans activism helped ensure the generous educational, housing and vocational benefits from the so-called GI Bill developed by FDR, and the soldier vote helped secure FDR's fourth-term election in 1944. Scholars credit the GI Bill with creating a booming U.S. economy from the 1950s through the 1970s and creating the contemporary middle class, an economic and social group now shrinking and under threat. After World War II, veterans' mobilization expanded from a focus on benefits to foreign policy. Most famously, after its founding in 1967, Vietnam Veterans Against the War engaged in street theater and gathered testimonies about U.S. military abuses to condemn the U.S. government for violence against the Vietnamese. Vietnam Veterans Against the War helped organized a four-day protest in 1971 in Washington, D.C., including camping on the National Mall. The organization continued to mobilize in more traditional ways, drafting congressional legislation for benefits and promoting investment in psychological support for Vietnam veterans. Veterans have continued to protest wars, particularly the Iraq War, engaging in street protests and also through mainstream politics such as elections and television advertising. Given their experiences, veterans today know what they are standing up for on June 6: their own freedom and prosperity, as well as the country's and the world's. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Jamie Rowen, UMass Amherst Read more: 5 reasons veterans are especially hard-hit by federal cuts Peace advocates have long been found among veterans who fought in America's wars Military veterans are disproportionately affected by suicide, but targeted prevention can help reverse the tide Jamie Rowen receives funding from National Science Foundation.
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Thousands of Veterans to March on DC Over Benefits Cuts-'Will Not Stand By'
Thousands of veterans are expected to march on Washington, D.C., to protest expected cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA is the second-largest U.S. government department, employing around 470,000 people. There are some 6.2 million veterans in the United States who receive disability benefits from the VA. In its budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, the Trump administration called for a 4 percent discretionary spending increase at the VA, largely targeting improvements to medical care and records technology. However, that number is expected to decrease after VA Secretary Doug Collins recently informed Congress that, to offset costs, 15 percent of the VA workforce will be reduced in the coming years. The Trump administration is arguing that technology advances will help the agency function despite staffing cuts. The cuts come amid a broader effort to reduce costs and streamline government services. Earlier this month, Federal News Network reported that over 14,000 VA employees in health care positions applied to leave their jobs through separation incentives offered by the federal government. However, veterans have expressed concerns that job cuts will compromise their ability to access benefits due to the reduced staffing levels. The rally will take place at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on June 6 at 2 p.m. ET. It coincides with the 81st anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces launched the invasion of Normandy, France, during World War II. The campaign website said it expected "thousands of veterans, military families, and their allies" to attend the march. Rally leaders described themselves as the "Bonus Army of 2025," referencing the 1932 protest in which World War I veterans and their supporters marched on Washington to demand payment of their promised bonuses amid the Great Depression. The Unite For Veterans website said: "America made a promise to its veterans. It's a promise we intend to keep." It added: "We are coming together to defend the benefits, jobs, and dignity that every generation of veterans has earned through sacrifice." Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, at a Senate hearing in early May: "We have been emphatic that we will not be cutting benefits and health care, only improving them." Margaret Cooney, senior campaign manager at the nonpartisan Center for American Progress, wrote on May 23: "Overall, these cuts to staffing and funding will damage public health and safety; harm economic interests and programs, such as like the VA's Armed to Farm program that support veterans' transition into faming; and leave U.S. veterans without the support they were promised for serving their country." The cuts are expected to take place in August, according to a memo from the VA chief of staff, seen by The Wall Street Journal. Whether the administration reacts to the backlash remains to be seen. Related Articles Veteran's Daughter Living in US 48 years Locked Up by ICEVA Disability Benefits: Payment Worth up to $4,544 Due This WeekVeteran Spent 40 Years Looking for Friend He Served With-Then Gets SurpriseVeterans Group Attacks Trump Cuts in Memorial Day Message 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
a day ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Thousands of Veterans to March on DC Over Benefits Cuts—'Will Not Stand By'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Thousands of veterans are expected to march on Washington, D.C., to protest expected cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Why It Matters The VA is the second-largest U.S. government department, employing around 470,000 people. There are some 6.2 million veterans in the United States who receive disability benefits from the VA. In its budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, the Trump administration called for a 4 percent discretionary spending increase at the VA, largely targeting improvements to medical care and records technology. However, that number is expected to decrease after VA Secretary Doug Collins recently informed Congress that, to offset costs, 15 percent of the VA workforce will be reduced in the coming years. The Trump administration is arguing that technology advances will help the agency function despite staffing cuts. The cuts come amid a broader effort to reduce costs and streamline government services. Earlier this month, Federal News Network reported that over 14,000 VA employees in health care positions applied to leave their jobs through separation incentives offered by the federal government. However, veterans have expressed concerns that job cuts will compromise their ability to access benefits due to the reduced staffing levels. VA Secretary Doug Collins testifies during a Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs on May 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. VA Secretary Doug Collins testifies during a Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs on May 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr. What To Know The rally will take place at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on June 6 at 2 p.m. ET. It coincides with the 81st anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces launched the invasion of Normandy, France, during World War II. The campaign website said it expected "thousands of veterans, military families, and their allies" to attend the march. Rally leaders described themselves as the "Bonus Army of 2025," referencing the 1932 protest in which World War I veterans and their supporters marched on Washington to demand payment of their promised bonuses amid the Great Depression. What People Are Saying The Unite For Veterans website said: "America made a promise to its veterans. It's a promise we intend to keep." It added: "We are coming together to defend the benefits, jobs, and dignity that every generation of veterans has earned through sacrifice." Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, at a Senate hearing in early May: "We have been emphatic that we will not be cutting benefits and health care, only improving them." Margaret Cooney, senior campaign manager at the nonpartisan Center for American Progress, wrote on May 23: "Overall, these cuts to staffing and funding will damage public health and safety; harm economic interests and programs, such as like the VA's Armed to Farm program that support veterans' transition into faming; and leave U.S. veterans without the support they were promised for serving their country." What Happens Next The cuts are expected to take place in August, according to a memo from the VA chief of staff, seen by The Wall Street Journal. Whether the administration reacts to the backlash remains to be seen.
Epoch Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Epoch Times
The VA Has the People—Now It Needs the Infrastructure
Commentary The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) stands alone in purpose and scale—tasked with caring for millions who've served. For all its significance, the VA is hobbled by a truth no one in Washington wants to say: it was built for the last century, not this one. The cracks are deeply human. A Marine needs to see a cardiologist. The nearest hospital has openings, but he's routed to a facility hours away. Across the country, a doctor has openings but no way to reach patients. In the private sector, gaps like these would raise alarms. At the VA, it's all too common. Committed professionals fill the ranks, but even the best can't outrun the system around them. The VA's regional structure is a patchwork of networks, each with its own priorities and patchy methods to move care where it's needed most. A VA schedulers navigate legacy platforms, often unable to see the full network of available providers. And clinicians, trained for everything from combat trauma to mental health, are caught in a system where access depends more on geography than on need. Washington's answer? Spend more or cut deeper. Related Stories 5/18/2025 5/16/2025 The latest budget sets a goal to reduce the VA workforce by The data's there. What's missing is the ability to read it, act on it, and move the supply of care dynamically. Today, some facilities are crowded, others underused, and too often, they're miles apart. The capacity exists yet goes untapped without the infrastructure to shift care across regions, professionals, or venues. Private health systems faced a similar reckoning. They now use data to anticipate patient demand and surface availability across markets. Scheduling a quick check-up is a tap away online. Kaiser Permanente built a national virtual care network, offering round-the-clock care by phone, video, or email —no in-person visit required. What's stopping the VA from creating a single virtual network where a doctor in Arizona can meet the needs of a veteran in Florida? For years, the solution to access gaps was to expand referrals outside the system. The MISSION Act opened more doors through Community Care. By 2022, But even with more options, delays persist. In 2023, veterans referred to outside providers waited, on average, The fix starts with strengthening the VA's digital foundation. Healthcare now generates nearly The same approach can restore the VA by reactivating capacity and rebuilding trust with veterans. But that demands more than austerity measures, as real innovation builds smarter and connects what's already there to create a network that's digital and borderless. The Dole Act—recently signed into law—gives the VA Secretary the runway to build a plan that books appointments during the first call, aims for same-day access, and puts veteran preferences at the center of every decision. The law gives the new administration a concrete target to move on and upgrade how veterans get care. VA Secretary Doug Collins . No more wasted capacity. No more isolated regions. No more digital vacuums swallowing up care. The VA has the scale and people. Now, it needs the infrastructure—and the will—to deliver. From Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
