- United States
- Fla.
- Letter
The Trump administration's plan to cut 83,000 jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a staggering 17% reduction in its workforce, is deeply concerning and threatens to undermine critical services for our nation's veterans. These proposed cuts pose severe risks, including longer wait times for health care, inadequate staffing for the Veterans Crisis Line hotline addressing veteran suicides, and the potential gutting of groundbreaking medical research initiatives. The VA's workforce is the backbone ensuring accessible, quality care and resources for the 9 million veterans it serves. Slashing employment on this scale would erode the government's ability to fulfill its obligation to those who served. Furthermore, nearly one-third of federal employees are veterans themselves, making them disproportionately impacted by these workforce reductions compared to the general population. Federal law grants hiring preferences to veterans to compensate for economic losses from military service. Cutting thousands of veteran jobs within the federal government, including at the VA tasked with their care, is an egregious betrayal of that commitment. We must strongly oppose these draconian cuts that undermine the well-being of our veteran community. Maintaining a robust, non-partisan VA workforce is crucial to providing the high-quality, timely health services, disability benefits, housing assistance and other vital programs that veterans deserve. Protecting and bolstering VA staff and funding levels is an ethical imperative to honor the nation's sacred duty to our former service members.