Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins urged veterans to give the VA a second chance as he hopes to bring the organization back on track after years of decline and neglect, he said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Collins sat down with the DCNF to discuss the VA’s progress since he assumed office in February, detailing his plans to reform and better the largest federal workforce in the entire Washington bureaucracy. Collins is working to improve the department’s mixed reputation with veterans, who have long raised issue with lackluster care, denied or delayed claims and bloated bureaucracy.

“I understand completely,” Collins told the DCNF. “But I’ll also say this is a benefit you’ve earned. Why would you leave it on the table? And if you’ve had a bad experience, come across again, let us know what your problems are.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Trump VA Takes Machete To Huge Disability Claim Backlog That Piled Up Under Biden)

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The VA has long struggled with cumbersome paperwork, as it currently takes an average of 114 days to process a claim, according to the VA website. The DCNF previously spoke with veterans who had suffered through the VA’s system, with some waiting as long as two decades to get their benefits after filing.

“A lot of our problem is we’re too paperwork-heavy on the initial end which tends to get people wary of the system,” Collins told the DCNF. “So they think it’s harder than it really is. And I think that complicates this as we go through. So I’m just looking at it from a total perspective, say, how can we make it easier for somebody to file for a claim, go through the process and not think they have to either call an attorney or call somebody else?”

The breadth of paperwork necessary to file a claim often leads veterans to turn to legal services to process their claims. However, scammers often target the claims system in order to defraud veterans seeking a less laborious process to get their claims approved.

In 2024, military retirees and veterans lost $419 million to fraud across all instances, according to the latest Federal Trade Commission statistics. Collins said that while tackling fraud can be difficult, protecting veterans from malicious actors is a top priority at the VA.

“That’s a problem that we’re trying to address within the system itself, to make sure that those are for valid folks who have valid needs that they are able to have that. I don’t want to take a choice away from a veteran. But I also don’t want them also thinking they have to do some things that some may say, ‘well, if you don’t go with us, you’re not gonna get all the claim. You know, you’re not gonna get all the benefits you need.’ And unfortunately has been sort of across [Veteran Service Organizations] and everything else is like, you know, there’s a game going on in many ways, and it’s not a game for our veterans. They deserve what they get, and they deserve what they have earned.”

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Mental health care at the VA is a particularly important aspect of the department’s function, as veterans suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and commit suicide at significantly higher rates than the general population.

In 2024, the VA Office of the Inspector General found that psychology was among the most frequently reported areas where staff shortages occurred in VA hospitals across the nation. While Collins acknowledged that shortages in psychological staffing are an issue across the health system, he remained emphatic in addressing the issue for veterans and said he would try to provide more incentives for psychological staffing.

“I’m talking to Congress about this and saying, is there some ways, especially for some of our specialties, that if we need those specialists, can we bring them in through retention bonuses, whatever it may be … I welcome the highlight. It just tells us that we need to do better for our veterans,” Collins told the DCNF.

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During President Donald Trump’s first term, the president signed the Community Cares program under the VA MISSION Act, which allows veterans to get specific care from non-VA providers if the department approves the request. Often, veterans will use the provision to go to private practices to get faster, higher-quality care.

Collins has been a champion of Community Cares, saying in his confirmation hearing that the MISSION Act was one of the most important pieces of legislation he will be proactive in enforcing during his tenure.

Under former President Joe Biden, the VA’s backlog grew to around 378,000 as it prioritized a political agenda, including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. However, backlogs have begun to clear under Collins, with unresolved claims dropping by 25% while also hitting the highest daily and monthly processing rates in the history of the agency.

However, some veterans are still skeptical over the VA given its long history of shortchanging its patients. However, Collins said that he aims to mend that relationship and be more open with veterans

“If they’ve had a bad experience, you know, look, I’m sorry that happened,” Collins told the DCNF “I can’t apologize for somebody I didn’t know, but I will say this. Come back and try again and let us know how we’re doing and how we can make it better.”

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