By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration is planning for big cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The goal is a return to 2019 staffing levels. But some are concerned about what the layoffs and other changes could mean for veterans’ access to mental health care.
“Everday, 19 veterans are taking their own lives, so the programs are absolutely critical,” said Thomas LaGrave, a licensed clinical social worker and former Navy Seal.
LaGrave says he and other veterans have not felt any impacts of federal downsizing firsthand, yet, but concerns are growing.
“We’re hearing the downsizing and that creates anxiety with I, and the rest of the veterans that I’ve been speaking with, because we don’t know what that means as to whose job is at stake, because all of them are wraparound to serve us, because we served our country,” said LaGrave. “We’re all anxiously awaiting to see what the end product looks like.”
By the end of the year, the Trump administration could lay off as many as 80,000 VA employees.
“The past few months, thousands of VA employees have been fired and many more are on the chopping block. Suicide and crisis hotline staff have been scrambling to answer calls amid a hiring freeze as staff who work on veteran homelessness have faced layoffs,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D- NY). “Many of the VA workers fired are veterans themselves, and Congress estimates that up to 50,000 veterans could lose their jobs in the next six months.”
During a virtual press conference Thursday, Gillibrand warned that the impacts could be catastrophic on veteran care.
“By gutting the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Trump administration is leaving these brave heroes in the dust,” said Gillibrand. “We simply can’t allow the Trump administration to put their lives in jeopardy.”
Mental health professionals who reach patients remotely are being called to return to the office. Some worry the change will compromise patients’ privacy and quality of care.
“Sensitive telehealth appointments from crowded offices, compromising patient privacy and potentially violating professional mental health care standards,” said Gillibrand. “Without the ability to keep their sessions confidential, some clinicians are worried they could lose their medical licenses for providing care under these conditions.”
Gillibrand is sending a letter to the VA demanding answers and highlighting impacts the return to office mandate and cuts could have.
“I’m calling on President Trump to reevaluate the return to office policies and to reverse the impacts of his administration’s cut on the nation’s veterans,” said Gillibrand.
“Veterans are now at the center of everything VA does. This is a change from the Biden Administration, which too often put lavish employee benefits like nearly unlimited telework ahead of Veterans’ needs,” said VA Spokesperson, Pete Kasperowicz. “Under President Trump, VA is no longer a place where the status quo for employees is to simply phone it in from home. We’re bringing thousands of employees back to the office so we can work together as a team to deliver Veterans the best care and services possible.”
“We want to work directly with our veterans, providing the best care we can provide for them because they’ve earned it,” said Congressman Mike Kelly (R- PA), adding that supporting veterans is a bipartisan issue. “We need to be there for them all the time because they were there for us.”
Kelly says he’s heard concerns from constituents about staffing cuts and downsizing efforts, but he’s unaware of any tangible, harmful impacts on veteran care or benefits as a result of downsizing efforts.
“We’re in the talking stages, nothing’s really happened, but it keeps getting churned up. And I don’t think it’s fair because it just puts people- they’re too much on edge now,” said Kelly.
Kelly encourages anyone with a problem, like cuts to VA benefits, to call him.
“Anybody that’s listening to this- if you have a problem, if you’ve had some benefit that’s been cut, pick up the phone and give us a call,” said Kelly. “I want to talk to somebody if they’ve lost something, I want to know about it, because to my knowledge, that has not happened.”
The VA’s objective is to cut enough employees to return to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000, which means cutting tens of thousands of employees who were added when the VA expanded during the Biden administration.
Kasperowicz says the VA will run through a deliberative process and find ways to improve care and benefits for veterans without cutting care and benefits for veterans.
“We’re not talking about reducing medical staff or claims processors, we’re talking about reducing bureaucracy and inefficiencies that are getting in the way of customer convenience and service to veterans,” said Kasperowicz. “Meanwhile, all VA mission-critical positions are exempt from cuts, and hiring continues for more than 300,000 essential positions.”
Resources for veterans, like Veteran Service Officers (VSO) are available free of charge. VSOs can help with writing and submitting claims and accessing other VA resources.
“They will be there for you, and you are their priority. If you aren’t sure, you don’t know, you don’t want to be asking, reach out to a VSO and let them do the talking for you,” said LaGrave.
More information on finding a VSO is available here.
If you or a veteran you know is struggling with mental health, the Veterans Crisis Hotline is 988.
The Veterans Crisis Line connects veterans and service members in crisis and their families and friends with qualified, caring VA responders through a confidential toll-free hotline, online chat, or text.
