Las Vegas, Nev. – Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) followed up on their February letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins, demanding he provide answers about the mass terminations of personnel across the VA, specifically those in Nevada.
“We are writing to follow up on our earlier correspondence regarding employee terminations at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities across Nevada,” the senators began. “The concerns we raised about the impact of these workforce reductions, particularly on veteran-facing roles, remain unresolved, and recent developments have only heightened the urgency for answers.”
“The most recent VA Workforce Dashboard reveals a significant decline in critical personnel, including nurses, physicians, medical support assistants, and claims examiners,” they continued. “These losses represent the growing burden placed on remaining staff and the increasing difficulty veterans face in accessing timely care, navigating the benefits system, and receiving support.”
“Adding to these concerns is the VA’s recent decision to end collective bargaining agreements that have long helped define workplace protections for most of its employees,” they concluded. “[…] Eliminating these contracts may lead to even more staff departures and make it increasingly difficult to attract and retain qualified professionals, which poses a direct threat to the quality of care and benefits veterans depend on.”
Specifically, the senators requested the following information:
- The number and titles of employees who have both been fired from the VA and voluntarily left;
- Whether those former employees were veterans, and if those veterans had disabilities related to their service;
- The length of service at the VA of the employees prior to their departure;
- The reasons for their departures from the VA;
- The impacts these departures have had on veterans’ access to appointments; and
- Any efforts the VA is making to limit disruptions to care and benefits and to retain experienced staff, especially veterans.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen are consistent champions for Nevada’s service members and veterans. They have worked to support veterans exposed to toxins while in service, including at the Nevada Test and Training Range. Cortez Masto successfully pushed the Biden administration to approve a new veterans cemetery in Elko, Nevada, and has been continually pushing the VA for transparency in the timeline of its construction. She has pushed back against the Navy Federal Credit Union for its disparate lending practices and for overcharging service members and their families.
###