Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) joined U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and 33 of their Senate colleagues to call on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins to immediately reinstate the more than 1,000 VA employees terminated earlier this month. The terminated employees provide critical services for veterans and their families nationwide.
The Trump Administration’s mass terminations of VA employees, which include veterans and military spouses, comes as the VA already faces critical staffing shortages and increased demand for its services, including urgently needed mental health care to reduce the veteran suicide rate. Many of these terminated employees had exemplary performance records and multiple years of experience in government service.
“Last week, we were outraged by the Administration’s abrupt and indiscriminate termination of tens of thousands of workers across almost every government agency, including more than 1,000 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees,” wrote Bennet, Blumenthal, Schumer, and the senators. “We were further disturbed by the manner in which you publicly celebrated this reprehensible announcement – a clear departure from the assurances provided throughout your confirmation process to never ‘balance budgets on the back of veterans’ benefits’ and to always ‘put the veteran first.’ Not only will this latest action put veterans’ care and benefits at risk, but it further confuses, demoralizes, and threatens a VA workforce we need to fulfill our nation’s sacred promise to our veterans and their families who have already sacrificed so much.”
In their letter, the senators detailed the ways the Trump Administration directives to reduce the VA workforce are already negatively impacting veterans, including reducing support for veteran crisis lines, suicide prevention training sessions, and transportation options for disabled veterans. The senators also underscore the taxpayer dollars that have already been spent recruiting, vetting, and training these recently terminated VA employees.
“With the best interests of veterans in mind, and to ensure VA is capable of carrying out its sacred obligation o[n] behalf of veterans, we urge you to immediately reinstate all of the employees dismissed in the latest indiscriminate terminations and commit to VA employees and veterans that no additional widespread terminations will occur without advanced notification to Congress, a detailed justification, coordination with service-level leadership, and an appropriate assessment of potential impacts on veterans’ health care and benefits. Congress remains ready to collaborate with you, if you are willing to come to the table and put the needs of our veterans above all else,” concluded the senators.
Bennet has consistently pushed to reinstate the federal employees terminated in accordance with President Trump’s directives. Earlier this month he called on U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to reinstate 3,400 United States Forest Service employees after the agency enacted mass layoffs and joined Senate colleagues to urge the Trump Administration to exempt seasonal firefighters from the federal hiring freeze. Last week, Bennet pushed the Office of Personnel Management to address concerns about the Trump Administration’s blanket resignation offers to federal employees. He also introduced an amendment to the Senate Fiscal Year 2025 budget resolution to reinstate 5,500 recently terminated federal public lands staff.
In addition to Bennet, Blumenthal, and Schumer, U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacklyn Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also signed the letter.
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Secretary Collins:
Last week, we were outraged by the Administration’s abrupt and indiscriminate termination of tens of thousands of workers across almost every government agency, including more than 1,000 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees. We were further disturbed by the manner in which you publicly celebrated this reprehensible announcement – a clear departure from the assurances provided throughout your confirmation process to never “balance budgets on the back of veterans’ benefits” and to always “put the veteran first.” Not only will this latest action put veterans’ care and benefits at risk, but it further confuses, demoralizes, and threatens a VA workforce we need to fulfill our nation’s sacred promise to our veterans and their families who have already sacrificed so much.
The more than 1,000 VA employees whose lives and careers you have upended included a substantial number of veterans and military spouses. Many had exemplary performance records. Because probationary employees tend to be younger, many of them represented the next generation of VA employees – talented men and women who chose a long-term career path of serving veterans. VA already invested in recruiting and training these individuals because veterans deserve the very best staff possible. And they all deserved better than to be casually discarded by an Administration that places a greater priority on political loyalty than fitness to serve.
You have repeatedly claimed these massive, arbitrary staff terminations – done without advance consultation with service-level leadership or advisement from experienced senior leaders trained to manage VA’s health care, benefits, and memorial workforce –– “will not negatively impact VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries.” However, we have heard directly from VA employees and veterans across the country that this is absolutely not the case. In fact, we have been made aware of numerous detrimental developments as a direct result of the actions of this Administration. Openings for new clinics have been delayed because VA cannot hire the necessary staff to open their doors. Service lines at VA hospitals and clinics have been halted. Beds and operating rooms at VA facilities have been suspended. Support lines for caregivers have been reduced. Veterans Crisis Line employees have been fired, and suicide prevention training sessions have been postponed or canceled. And transportation options for disabled veterans, which help ensure veterans can attend regular health care appointments, have been cut back because volunteer drivers are now unable to get credentialed.
The list of real-life negative impacts of this Administration’s directives is expansive and growing every day. Rather than putting the interests of veterans first, you made your priorities abundantly clear in your statement applauding the mass firings: “At VA, we are focused on saving money.” It’s clear from the slashing of services and benefits this priority is coming directly at the expense of veterans.
With the best interests of veterans in mind, and to ensure VA is capable of carrying out its sacred obligation of behalf of veterans, we urge you to immediately reinstate all of the employees dismissed in the latest indiscriminate terminations and commit to VA employees and veterans that no additional widespread terminations will occur without advanced notification to Congress, a detailed justification, coordination with service-level leadership, and an appropriate assessment of potential impacts on veterans’ health care and benefits. Congress remains ready to collaborate with you, if you are willing to come to the table and put the needs of our veterans above all else.