VA layoffs spark concern about veterans' care: 'Life or death'
The dismissals of more than 1,000 new employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs as part of the wave of federal government layoffs have led to serious concerns that it could hinder operations at medical facilities and impact benefits for former service members.
The VA exempted many of its frontline employees from a government hiring freeze and made many ineligible for the Department of Government Efficiency’s “deferred resignation offer” but veterans advocates and terminated VA personnel are warning the reduction in just two percent of the agency’s probationary workforce is expected to have ripple effects, especially at an agency already battling severe shortages.
The employees responsible for processing claims at the Veterans Benefits Administration have not been exempted from the hiring freeze or the reduction in force executive order, and are among the personnel cut.
“This could be life or death situation,” said Ben Jeffrey, a veteran advocate in Phoenix, a place he believes was “ground zero for the VA crisis” 10 years ago.