John Plahovinsak
On March 31, 2025, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins traveled to Howell, Michigan, to discuss intended cuts to the VA. He visited the American Legion Post 141 with Congressman Tom Barrett, who represents the Congressional District.
On March 4, 2025, Representative Barrett contacted VA Secretary Collins concerning the potential firing of 83,000 VA employees by August of 2025.
“We must collectively recognize that any veteran who hangs up their boots and continues to serve their country at the VA is cut from a different cloth,” Barrett stated. “It is incumbent upon us to treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve, even if separation is warranted.”
The Congressman wanted the VA Secretary and the VA to “review and reconsider their workforce reduction process to ensure only those who have truly underperformed are relieved of duty.”
“We got a lot of change coming up, and I’m being forthright and honest with you about that, but at the end of the day,” VA Secretary Collins stated, “ it’s putting the veteran first and making sure you get the care that you’ve earned and the care and the benefits that you have.”
“As they always say, motion causes friction. There’s going to be a lot of friction,” Collins continued. “There’s a lot of invested parties in keeping the VA, just like it is, the only investment I have is in you to make it better.”
The VA had hired over 80,000 new employees since fiscal year 2019 to address 2022 PACT Act claims, which expanded benefits to veterans exposed to burn pits and Agent Orange. One (1) million new veterans were now enrolled in the VA healthcare system.
“We were hiring interior designers. We’re hiring laborers. We were hiring publicists,” Collins declared. “We have a lot of employees in the VA that are not seeing patients. They’re not doing disability claims. They’re not doing that. They’re moving paperwork.”
“And so we’re gonna see if someone would like to be reintroduced to a clinic and actually help patients on their daily basis,” Collins promised.
As it looks to reduce its workforce, the VA Secretary said they were looking at areas that did not deal directly with veterans’ benefits or healthcare.
The VA Department is currently assessing its agencies to determine whether its agents are performing well, where they need help and what they do not need, Collins commented.
According to the VA Secretary, the VA “is not an employment agency,” but instead is about providing services. The VA is looking more at “job function” than “individual performance.”
In February of 2025, the VA announced the dismissal of more than 2,400 VA employees in probationary or non-mission positions, which included Michigan veterans. Overall, 24,000 probationary employees in eighteen (18) federal agencies were fired.
This is the reason that Congressman Barrett requested clarification from VA Secretary Collins on three (3) issues. First, he wanted the Secretary to review the VA’s process to guarantee that only those who have not met the expectations of their jobs are fired.
Second, Barrett wanted the VA to reinstate employees who were initially dismissed who met all performance-related expectations. Third, for the VA to find ways to support those dismissed employees and make their transition to new employment as smooth as possible.
Secretary Collins defended the proposed additional 80,000 VA employees being eliminated by stating that the VA is at high risk of fraud, waste, and abuse, impacting patient quality and patient care.
The cuts, he said, will make the VA more efficient and disability claims will be handled faster because electronic health records will finally be available and the system will be better for those who serve.
“For anybody saying we’re worried about this, all I’ll say is this, don’t scare my veterans and don’t scare my VA employees, we’re working on a methodical pattern to make their life better – that may mean with less employees, but we’re going to make the employees that we have, put them back in roles that help our veterans,” Collins concluded.
Congressman Barrett was asked if his concerns in his March 4, 2025, letter were addressed. He stated, “ I think you heard from his remarks today the commitment that he has, and I’m excited to be working with him in that effort to make sure that we continue.”
“The purpose of this is to deliver the benefits that our veterans have earned, and to do that respectfully,” Barrett concluded. “And that’s the mission that I’m committed to as well. And look forward to working with him in that effort.”
My Opinion: I would like to commend Congressman Barrett for serving in the U.S. Army for 22 years and his thoughtful two (2) page letter to the VA Secretary. I also applaud him for getting the VA Secretary to attend the meeting in Howell, Michigan.
Although I did not personally attend the VA Secretary’s presentation, I have researched five (5) sources that did participate at the briefing. The consensus was that the VA Secretary did not address the three (3) concerns raised by Congressman Barrett in his letter.
Specifically, there was no mention of the VA Secretary indicating that he would guarantee a review of the 1,000 probationary employees that were fired to determine if their performance justified them being fired. These VA employees were terminated even before the VA Secretary was confirmed.
Second, the VA Secretary did not promise to reinstate employees that were initially dismissed that met all performance-related expectations. And finally, the VA Secretary did not address having the VA find ways to support those fired employees and assist their transition to new jobs.
Any questions on those three (3) concerns were “deflected” by the VA Secretary.
When the Representative was asked if the VA Secretary had given him satisfactory responses to his concerns, Barrett responded that he and the VA Secretary “share a mission of delivering benefits to veterans in the most efficient way possible.”
John Plahovinsak is a retired 32-year Army veteran, who served from 1967 to 1999. He is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio’s Hospital Chairman and Adjutant of DAV Chapter #63 (Clermont County). He can be reached at: plahovinsak@msn.com.
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