For decades, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been criticized by veterans, Congress, and the media. It’s time for change.
America’s veterans, along with thousands of hardworking VA employees, deserve better solutions.
For years, veterans have been asking for a VA that is more efficient, accountable, and transparent. Now, this administration is ready to give veterans exactly what they’ve been asking for.
President Trump has made it clear that his goal is to bring lasting change to Washington. We are committed to doing the same at the VA. Our focus is to make the department work better for veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors. Here’s how we plan to do that:
Overhaul of VA Operations
In response to President Trump’s initiative on Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization, the VA is undergoing a comprehensive review of its structure and operations. This review will focus on eliminating waste and reducing bureaucracy, all while improving healthcare, benefits, and services for veterans.
This effort will involve feedback from VA employees, senior executives, and department leaders. Our goal is to cut VA’s workforce down to 2019 levels, reducing the number of employees by 15 percent. This reduction, however, will not affect veterans’ health care or benefits.
The VA will continue to meet its responsibility to provide the health care and benefits that veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors have earned.
Focusing on Quality over Quantity
While the department is conducting its review, it will continue to hire for over 300,000 critical positions. This ensures that veterans’ health care and benefits will not be impacted during the transition.
Many people have voiced opposition to the changes we’re making at VA. However, what they are really asking for is for things to stay the same. That’s not an option anymore. The era of simply spending more money and hiring more people without improving services is over.
Take, for example, our review of VA’s contracts. The VA has about 90,000 contracts worth more than $67 billion. After reviewing just 2 percent of these contracts, we identified nearly 600 non-essential or duplicate agreements that we are cancelling. This action alone will save the department nearly $900 million. And, as we continue reviewing the rest of these contracts, we expect to save even more.
These savings will be redirected towards improving health care, benefits, and services for veterans. This is the ultimate goal: making services more accessible, convenient, and effective for veterans.
The Purpose of VA: Serving Veterans
The VA exists to serve veterans, not to employ people for the sake of employment. While it’s always hard when anyone loses their job, the federal government’s primary purpose is not employment—it’s service. At the VA, we are making these changes because we believe it is crucial to serve veterans better than ever before.
Yes, the VA has flaws—it was never perfect. But we are committed to making improvements. When problems are found, we will address them and keep the public informed about our progress. We’re determined to bring about major changes, and we expect everyone involved—whether in Congress, the media, or within the VA—to focus on improving services to veterans.
A New Era of VA Service
Currently, the biggest obstacle facing the VA is its bureaucracy and inefficiencies. These issues get in the way of delivering timely services and ensuring that veterans receive the care and attention they deserve.
As I’ve said before, we owe it to America’s veterans and to the thousands of dedicated VA employees to find real solutions. And that is exactly what we intend to do.
Doug Collins is the 12th Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. If you are a veteran who needs assistance from the VA, please call 1-800-MyVA411 (1-800-698-2411).
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