Latest news with #PactAct
Boston Globe
7 days ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
Every VA medical center has severe staffing shortages, audit finds
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas A. Collins has argued the department, the second largest in government, is bloated and inefficient and needs further staffing cuts. He initially pushed to slash the workforce by 15 percent, though he later backtracked on those plans. At the same time, he has acknowledged the department needs more medical staff members and blamed a nationwide shortage of health care workers. Advertisement 'We are the same as every other health care system,' Collins said in a May hearing for the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. 'We are struggling to recruit doctors, nurses, and others just as anybody else.' In response to the report, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz said the findings aren't a reliable indicator of staffing shortages because the 'report simply lists occupations facilities feel are difficult for which to recruit and retain, so the results are completely subjective, not standardized and unreliable.' Advertisement Kasperowicz said the department-wide vacancy rates for doctors and nurses are 14 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Reacting to the report, Democrats warned the staffing situation probably was worse than the inspector general found. 'This report confirms what we've warned for months - this Administration is driving dedicated VA employees to the private sector at untenable rates,' Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said in a statement. 'Staffing shortages at the Department are getting significantly worse, including critical veterans' health care positions and essential jobs that keep VA facilities running.' Representative Mark Takano of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, said in a statement that the report 'confirms our fears' and criticized Collins. 'Instead of making VA an employer of choice, Secretary Collins continues to vilify the VA workforce and strip them of their rights,' Takano said in the statement, referring to the news last week that VA is no longer recognizing most workers' collective bargaining rights. 'Now, VA is facing critical staffing shortages across the country, leading to decreased access and choice for veterans. Veterans deserve and have earned better.' The department, which had about 467,000 employees as of June, is in charge of providing health care to more than 9 million veterans through its medical centers and 1,193 outpatient clinics. In recent years, VA's budget and workforce have grown significantly - in part to accommodate the Pact Act, which was enacted in 2022 and caused disability claims and enrollment in the health care system to surge. Advertisement The increase in new patients has further strained the existing staff. Another inspector general report from earlier this year found one Virginia facility's primary care staff described 'burnout and fatigue' due to the workload last year. Department leaders announced plans in March to slash the department's workforce by up to 83,000 workers, leading to tanking morale within the workforce and backlash from veterans' groups and lawmakers. Critics of the cuts said it would be impossible to slash that many employees without straining medical services. The department reversed its plans for mass firings in July, announcing instead that it would reduce staffing by nearly 30,000 employees by the end of this fiscal year through retirements, attrition, and deferred resignations. Collins has repeatedly assured lawmakers and VA employees that he will not cull the department's medical staff. Mission-critical positions were exempt from voluntary buyouts, the department said. But Veterans Affairs was not immune to staffing reductions earlier this year by the cost-cutting US DOGE Service: The department lost more than 1,600 probationary workers, including Veterans Crisis Line operators who were later brought back. The inspector general's office has been surveying staffing in the department for over a decade, and it has repeatedly concluded that medical centers are understaffed in key medical jobs. For instance, last year the watchdog said that 86 percent of campuses reported severe shortages of medical officers, which includes primary care doctors, psychiatrists, and other positions, and 82 percent reported severe shortages of nurses. Shortages are self-reported by local VA health care systems across the country and can be caused by several factors. The report doesn't specify how many of these jobs are open for hiring or the degree to which staffing cuts or influxes of patients contribute to reported shortages. Advertisement This year's report showed a slight improvement in some categories. For instance, while jobs in psychology remained the most frequently reported clinical severe staffing shortage at VA medical center campuses, six fewer facilities reported such shortages. Custodial workers, which campuses most frequently reported that they were lacking last year, were no longer the nonclinical job with the biggest scarcity, replaced by police officers.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Appeals Court Wary of Supreme Court Reversal on Case Calling for Housing LA Homeless Veterans
A California appeals court judge expressed concern Tuesday that a ruling ordering the Department of Veterans Affairs to build housing for homeless veterans on the grounds of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center would be reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, during oral arguments, Judge Consuelo Callahan, the presiding judge on a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, said "it's hard to say the VA has done a good job" of meeting the needs of the estimated 3,000 homeless veterans in Los Angeles. The appeals hearing was the latest in a legal battle between veterans and the VA on whether the campus in LA will be cleared of tenants and used to build housing for the homeless. The VA is appealing a judge's ruling last year that it must construct 1,800 units of permanent housing for disabled and homeless veterans on the 388-acre grounds. Read Next: Toxic Exposure at Domestic Military Bases Is Next Step After Pact Act, Democratic Lawmakers Say Callahan noted that the 1888 deed for the West LA VAMC land called for its use to be solely for the "benefit of veterans and their families," and added that "I struggle with how some of the things that the VA did benefited veterans at all." Justice Department lawyer Daniel Winik, representing the VA, argued that the department had a "master plan" for aiding homeless veterans, but Callahan said, "I'm not really persuaded by your argument." However, Callahan also said that District Judge David O. Carter may have exceeded his authority in issuing an injunction voiding leases on the West LA VAMC land for the UCLA baseball team and several other tenants and directing the VA to build 1,800 units of new housing. Callahan, a Republican appointed by former President George W. Bush, noted that the Trump administration was pressing to limit the authority of district judges to issue injunctions on a range of cases involving birthright citizenship and diversity programs. She said that she had to take into account "what the Supreme Court would say" about a ruling by the Ninth Circuit. Callahan added that she was reluctant "to be reversed by the Supreme Court." The case, Powers v. McDonough, was brought by homeless and disabled veterans represented by the nonprofit law firm Public Counsel with the main intent of forcing the VA to build and service housing for veterans on the West LA VAMC grounds. After a 16-day bench trial, then-80-year-old Carter, a Marine veteran of Vietnam who was severely wounded in the battle of Khe Sanh, ruled that the VA must honor its obligations under the original 1888 deed to provide housing and health care to disabled homeless veterans on the campus. To that end, he ordered the VA to build 1,800 permanent housing units for disabled veterans on the West LA campus within six years, along with 750 temporary supportive housing units to be completed within 12 to 18 months. In February, retired Adm. William McRaven, a former Navy SEAL, and two other retired four-star officers joined the lawsuit against the VA by filing a brief arguing that the failure of the VA to address the housing needs of veterans posed "a direct threat to national security." McRaven, who as head of Joint Special Operations Command oversaw the 2011 raid by SEAL Team 6 that killed Osama Bin Laden, and the others said in the brief that the "adverse health effects of military service have intensified in recent years" and eventually will effect recruitment and retention unless the VA moved to address the needs. Related: Retired 4-Star Officers Join Suit to House Homeless Veterans at California VA Medical Center
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Layoffs discussed at Salem VA's quarterly meeting
SALEM, Va. (WFXR) – The Salem Veteran's Affairs (VA) Department held its quarterly town hall meeting Wednesday afternoon, and after what was scheduled on the agenda, things took a turn once the meeting shifted to open discussion. With more employees laid off across the VA nationwide, officials took questions from people in attendance at their facility. Executive Director of healthcare Rebecca Stackhouse confirmed employees had been laid off in Salem, but did not hint to how many. She also said the decision to cut employees was out of their control, and the people who lost their jobs were probationary workers and did not provide direct care to patients. It was something nobody at the VA wanted to happen. 'You never want to lose employees, and you never want to have staff turnover that is not up to the employee, who is not making that choice,' Stackhouse said. 'It was challenging for us to navigate.' Volvo confirms 250+ layoffs coming to New River Valley truck assembly plant Even though people there complimented the Salem VA for its work, some were still not happy with what officials had to say. 'It's not a good business plan to cut your employees when you've increased the number of vets that are coming in, and that need these special programs under the Pact Act,' Bridget Kelley, a protestor in support of veterans, said. 'I think that's bad business.' Stackhouse said it's unclear how many more employees at Salem could be affected, but wanted to reassure the people there that they are committed to giving veterans the best healthcare they can. 'We have the best staff,' Stackhouse said. 'We have the most dedicated, mission-focused staff that I've had the pleasure of being able to work with.' Stackhouse also said some of the employees have picked up additional work amid the layoffs to make sure service remains uninterrupted. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
06-03-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Trump administration plans 15 percent cut to VA workforce
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced plans Wednesday to cut roughly 80,000 jobs, more than 15 percent of its employees, the latest in President Donald Trump's effort to slash the federal workforce. According to a memo obtained by The Washington Post, the cuts are meant to reduce the department's workforce to just under 400,000 employees, its size in 2019. Christopher D. Syrek, VA's chief of staff who signed the memo, wrote that the department will work with the Elon Musk-led U.S. DOGE Service and 'move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach' to identifying inefficiencies. Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas A. Collins said in a video posted on social media that the cuts would not reduce health care or benefits for veterans and their beneficiaries. 'We'll be making major changes, so get used to it now,' he said. The sprawling department, which provides medical care for millions of veterans and their families, is the latest target in Trump's push for sweeping cuts across the federal workforce, which has about 2.3 million civilian employees. In February, VA announced layoffs affecting 2,400 workers and made plans to cut hundreds of government contracts, which it rolled back less than a day later. 'President Trump refuses to accept the VA bureaucracy and bloat that has hindered Veterans' ability to receive timely and quality care,' a White House spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, said in a statement. 'By making the VA workforce more efficient, President Trump and Secretary Collins will ensure greater efficiency and transparency for our nation's heroes while preserving the benefits they earned.' VA is among the largest employers of federal workers, with most employed operating its network of hospitals around the country, according to Pew Research Center. Groups representing veterans and federal employees quickly decried the planned cuts Wednesday, saying they will inhibit the department's services for veterans and their families. VA did not respond to a request for comment. 'The VA has been severely understaffed for many years, resulting in longer wait times for veterans in need,' Everett Kelley, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in a statement. 'The DOGE plunder of career VA employees, adding to the illegal mass firings of thousands of probationary employees, can only make matters worse.' Kelley, whose union is the country's largest for federal workers and represents many VA employees, also said the cuts would destroy the department's promise to expand health care for veterans exposed to toxic substances, an effort known as the Pact Act that was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. VoteVets, a liberal veterans' group, also warned that the cuts of nonessential workers could lead to longer wait times for medical appointments and slower processing and payouts of benefits, particularly disability compensation. 'Donald Trump is eliminating the very people who best understand the sacrifices and needs of those of us who have served our nation — their fellow veterans,' the group said in a statement. Syrek's memo indicated that VA will publish its reorganization plan this summer, with the cuts happening before Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. 'We regret anyone who loses their job,' Collins said. 'It's extraordinarily difficult for me, especially as a VA leader and your secretary, to make these types of decisions.' 'But the federal government doesn't exist to employ people,' he continued. 'It exists to serve people.'
The Guardian
05-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
White House plans to expand mass layoffs to IRS and Veterans Affairs
Mass layoffs are being planned for two more vital federal US government agencies as the IRS and Veteran Affairs have emerged as the latest targets of the Trump administration's unprecedented purge through billionaire Elon Musk's 'department of government efficiency' (Doge), new reports suggest. The IRS is drafting plans to slash its 90,000-strong workforce by up to half through a mix of layoffs, attrition and buyouts, according to the Associated Press. The federal tax collector has offices across the country, with women accounting for 65% of the workforce, while people of color represent 56%. A reduction in force of tens of thousands of employees would render the IRS 'dysfunctional', John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner, told the AP. About 7,000 probationary employees with 12 months or less of service were already laid off in February. In addition to the extraordinary planned cuts, the Trump administration reportedly intends to lend IRS workers to the Department of Homeland Security to assist with the crackdown on immigrants. Meanwhile, the Veterans Affairs (VA) department is planning lay off as many as 83,000 workers by the end of 2025, according to an internal memo obtained by the Government Executive, a news outlet covering the executive branch. The leaked memo sent to senior staff on Tuesday said the VA would work with Musk's Doge to slash its workforce to 2019 levels – which is before millions of veterans became newly eligible for care. The cuts will be sweeping and spare no part of the department, wrote the VA chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, in the memo. More than one in four VA employees are veterans. Staffing at the VA rose substantially under the Biden administration in response to the 2022 Pact Act, which expanded health care and benefits to millions of veterans exposed to toxins from burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances. The legislation was passed after years of campaigning by veterans and their families who struggled to receive care and support for injuries and illnesses linked to their military service. The planned cuts were an 'outright betrayal of veterans', Representative Mark Takano, the top Democrat on the House veterans affairs committee, told Government Executive. The latest layoffs are part of the Trump/Musk administration's plan to gut federal agencies that provide crucial, sometimes life-saving services to millions of people in the US and overseas. USAid has been largely shuttered, leaving staff and their families stranded across the world and millions of people without food, medicine and clean water. The mass firings and buyouts are unprecedented and legally dubious, and in some cases are being challenged in court. The federal workforce, excluding military personnel and postal workers, comprises about 2.4 million people, of whom only 20% are in Washington DC and the neighboring states of Maryland and Virginia.
