Overview
- At a Jan. 28 Senate hearing, Secretary Doug Collins outlined a plan to consolidate Veterans Integrated Service Networks from 18 to 5 to streamline policy and funding decisions, prompting warnings about centralizing control.
- VA officials said staffing caps were developed with each medical center director and stressed there are no planned layoffs, with funded but vacant billets targeted for removal.
- Leaders said personnel grew about 14% since the 2022 PACT Act while workload rose roughly 6%, a gap they called unsustainable, as lawmakers from both parties urged flexibility to avoid limiting front-line care.
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal demanded a full accounting of how an extra $6 billion for care funded deferred resignations and retirements, citing more than 40,000 departures since last January; Collins denied staff were pushed out and agreed to provide detailed numbers.
- VA announced a record $5 billion investment in health infrastructure, including facility upgrades and electronic health record modernization, as Democrats criticized Collins’ comments about the fatal shooting of VA nurse Alex Pretti and employees held a vigil outside headquarters.