The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is losing funding and personnel due to recommendations made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Elon Musk led DOGE is not an official government department, but instead an advisory body.
The VA is part of the executive branch of government responsible for the Veterans Affairs Health Administration, the National Cemetery Administration, and the Veterans Benefits of Affairs. These administrations are used to support those who served in the various branches of the military and their families. The purpose of the VA is to supply veterans with disability, financial, educational, health benefits, or funeral services
The Veterans Affairs Department’s chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, wrote an internal memo regarding the over 70,000 staff cuts. This memo dated March 4 addressed various positions within the department.
The memo announced that the VA would comply with the “aggressive” reorganization, and return personnel numbers to pre-COVID numbers.As of October 2024 there were 470,000 personnel employed within the VA department.
LPC student and U.S. Army Veteran Salvador Seigel worked for the Veterans Benefits of Affairs when the department went through a mass hiring process prior to 2019.
“I realized that a lot of people shouldn’t have gotten hired because we were very, very overstaffed. We didn’t have enough places for people to sit or to work,” Seigel said. “We also had a lot of positions that were being made for no reason whatsoever. It had no effect on production or anything to help the veterans.”
Seigel mentioned that not all VA employees wouldn’t simply be laid off. Instead, those with tenure, or 18 or more months of employment, will be accommodated and moved into positions in other departments. Personnel who don’t have tenure can be let go more easily. Employees who could be laid off would include contractors who work for the VA but not the United States government.
“The current administration is thinning out what never should have been created in the first place. Competent people should have been put in positions to make the VA operate properly. From what I can tell they are cleaning up waste,” Josh Laine, Marine Corps veteran and LPC student said.
Funds from laid off employee’s paychecks could be reallocated within the health, benefits, and cemetery branches of the VA. Benefits of this potential plan would include disability compensation, pension, life insurance, and more. The VA has a network of medical centers and clinics to provide surgery, primary care, specialized care and mental health services for veterans. The cemetery administration covers burial services for veterans.
“I’m worried mostly that wait times would get a lot longer for treatment. The only concern that immediately comes to mind is the accessibility of healthcare for veterans if that gets worse,” Gene Fahey, Marine Corps veteran and LPC student said.
“I don’t think they should have hired more people. I think what they should do is hold people accountable that are already working and make them do their jobs,” Seigel said.
Seigel noted that when he worked at the VA, many of his coworkers wouldn’t meet their quotas in production and quality, while others worked above their requirements daily.
“There’s a lot of government waste, a lot of government fraud, and this has nothing to do with DOGE. DOGE is exposing a lot of money being spent all over the world, which is taxpayers’ money,” Seigel said.
The downsizing seems to have become a political issue rather than focusing on the aid the VA provides to veterans. Although many veterans have a positive view on the downsizing in the VA, there are overall concerns about the productivity and effectiveness of the department with less personnel.
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TOP PHOTO: Multiple vets at Las Positas said they stand by the mass layoffs enacted by the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Photo courtesy of Envato Elements).
Maximilien Kiyoi is a staff writer of The Express. Follow them on X, formally Twitter, @Max445193989306.
