In Senate floor remarks on Tuesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) warned of possible cuts to veterans' benefits and programs.
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00:00The Senator from Connecticut. My thanks to Senator Thune for yielding and to you for
00:08presiding over the balance of the day.
00:12I am here with sadness,
00:15not for the first time and tragically not for the last, I fear, because I
00:24am here to speak to the
00:28decimation and destruction of veterans' services, ongoing in real time,
00:34right before our eyes, affecting real people in their
00:39daily lives.
00:41And it is a tragedy and a travesty because the people affected are our nation's heroes,
00:48whom we all say we respect, but in practice right now,
00:52Elon Musk and Donald Trump have launched an assault
00:59to
01:01degrade and denigrate.
01:06Donald Trump has called veterans suckers.
01:09Elon Musk shows the same kind of disrespect in the
01:15cuts in
01:19hiring, freezes,
01:22and
01:23reductions in
01:25amounts of research, a
01:29panoply, a tsunami of
01:31cuts in both resources and
01:36workers that are essential to the VA's
01:40functions in providing health care, as well as
01:45PAC Act
01:46benefits that veterans have earned. They deserve them without delay. And
01:53this assault on
01:56veterans is unprecedented in our nation's history. We had a hearing this morning in the VA committee on
02:05various pieces of legislation, some of them probably
02:08positive in the effects that they may have if we pass them. I have co-sponsored some of them and will support others.
02:18But their meaning and effect
02:22will be
02:25absolutely eviscerated if
02:28these cuts, including $80,000, 80,000 workers,
02:33in addition to the 2,400 already fired, are, in fact, discharged in the future. The plan
02:42that the Secretary of the VA has stated, it's his word, plan,
02:48is to fire
02:5080,000 workers. It's his goal. He said it
02:55in an interview, and
02:57I ask that that interview be made a part of the record.
03:04Without objection. Thank you.
03:08But we did learn in this legislative hearing that, in fact, there is no plan.
03:16The 80,000 worker target for firing
03:21is in the absence of any plan.
03:24It's the target. It's the goal. It's the intention.
03:31Fire now, plan later.
03:34No plan, no metrics, no methodology,
03:38no strategy
03:41for right-sizing the VA. Now, we know that
03:45a right-sized VA needs
03:48every one of those 2,400 workers who have been discharged now.
03:53It needs every one of the 80,000
03:57that are targeted
04:00in the next few months to be fired.
04:03And we learned this morning
04:06that there are
04:08in the next few months to be fired.
04:11And we learned this morning
04:14that there are, in fact, open positions,
04:1736,000 of them,
04:20including more than 3,000 positions for doctors,
04:25thousands others for nurses,
04:28thousands for the custodians
04:31who maintain the VA health care properties.
04:35We're talking about real people
04:39who will be fired,
04:42who are on the job doing essential work right now,
04:45and we are talking about
04:48discharging people
04:51when there are open positions,
04:54a need for more doctors, nurses, and others.
04:58How's that going to work for recruiting?
05:01Not so well when
05:03the VA is firing
05:06exactly the people whose positions
05:09it is trying to fill.
05:12That is absolutely a disgrace,
05:16and it will be seen as a disgrace
05:19by anybody wanting to serve
05:22in the VA.
05:25We also learned
05:28today that
05:30the VA is focusing on
05:33legislative measures that will make it easier
05:37to fire people,
05:40that will more readily enable it
05:43to discharge people without
05:46stating a reason,
05:49without a performance-related
05:52reason for firing them.
05:55So we are seeing the biggest attack
05:57and assault on veterans' access to care
06:00and benefits at least in a generation,
06:03maybe in our history,
06:06and Trump and Musk have already fired
06:09more veterans than any administration
06:12before now.
06:15But the numbers fail to adequately tell this story
06:18because it's a story of
06:21heartbreaking loss as a result of
06:24heartless decisions,
06:27loss of healthcare on a timely
06:30basis,
06:33loss of benefits,
06:36fear from people who have earned the right
06:39to security when it comes to healthcare
06:42or the PAC Act.
06:45Over the weekend, there was an article in the New York Times
06:48that described some of this real impact
06:51going on right now.
06:54A VA clinical trial for treating
06:57patients put on hold.
07:00A VA supply technician, whose role was described
07:03as critical, fired.
07:06A Vet Center office manager fired,
07:09leaving therapists, who should be
07:12treating patients,
07:15using their precious time sitting at the front
07:18desk to check in
07:21the patients.
07:24Talk about waste.
07:27Heartless, heartbreaking
07:30firings
07:32and deprivation of care.
07:35We're seeing waste of talents
07:38and time that
07:41cry out for action.
07:44And in fact, we are hearing that cry
07:47from thousands
07:50of constituents
07:53of my colleagues from all around the country.
07:55This chart
08:01shows
08:04where we have received complaints
08:07and stories from people.
08:10Some of their words are here.
08:13Please do not let this administration
08:16take all of this away
08:19from not only me, but thousands of other
08:22veterans in my similar situation.
08:25As a spouse of a hundred percent
08:28permanent and disabled veteran with two young
08:31kids, I'm scared to fight back
08:34and have them target me to eliminate my job
08:37entirely, so I just have to take it
08:40to protect my family's only income.
08:43The VA provides
08:46the veteran community with excellent health care
08:49in my area, and anything done to devalue that
08:52care or its facilities would be
08:55detrimental to the community.
08:58The blue represents the states
09:01that we've heard from.
09:04Almost every state in the country.
09:07Some with
09:10many different complaints, but all of them
09:13expressing fear, apprehension,
09:16and anger at what they see
09:19is the looming additional cuts in care
09:22coming to their communities.
09:25This administration, very simply,
09:28is failing to put veterans first.
09:31Let me tell you about
09:34a veteran who knows that it's failing
09:37to put him first, a veteran on the
09:40West Coast who shared his story,
09:43quote, I lost a part of my foot
09:46serving this country, and now people
09:49with zero military experience are
09:52gutting the benefits veterans have earned,
09:55and he continued, quote,
09:58if it were not for the VA, I would
10:01not have been able to be in a position I am now.
10:04I own a home, and I am able to manage my
10:07anxiety with therapy and medication.
10:10He was homeless in 2012.
10:13He would go to the library every day to search for work.
10:16He was not receiving any VA benefits.
10:19He didn't know he was eligible.
10:22Once he knew about it, and he signed up,
10:25and disability benefits began,
10:28he was, quote,
10:31propelled into success, end quote.
10:34He was able to rent an apartment,
10:37purchase a car, get a job, all thanks
10:40to the VA. In quotes,
10:43all thanks to the VA.
10:46And his final comment was,
10:49please do not let this administration
10:52take all of that away from me,
10:55my similar situation. He knows
10:58this administration is not putting veterans
11:01first.
11:04What I was hoping to hear in today's hearing
11:07was a call to action.
11:10Well,
11:13we didn't hear a call to action. In fact,
11:16we didn't even hear from the Secretary of the VA,
11:19who has dodged
11:22our questions, refused to answer them,
11:25who has failed to be
11:28transparent
11:31with our committee and with members of
11:34the Congress. I was hoping
11:37that he would be there, or at least
11:40that he would be invited to a date certain.
11:43But
11:46none of it happened.
11:49Instead, the agenda included legislation
11:52that attempts to make it even easier
11:55for VA employees.
11:58It ignores what's happening on the ground,
12:01ignoring the illegal mass termination
12:04of those 2,400 VA employees,
12:07with tens of thousands of firings
12:10now in the works.
12:13That's no way to put veterans first.
12:16It is illegal.
12:19It is unlawful. It is reckless.
12:22And it is morally repugnant.
12:25It involves breaking promises.
12:28A great nation keeps its promises,
12:31as we promised to veterans,
12:34that we would provide for their health care,
12:37that we would give them the benefits of the PAC Act,
12:40that we would care for them after they were exposed
12:43to toxic chemicals, that we would give them
12:46skill training,
12:49job assistance.
12:52All of it now
12:55officially ended,
12:58at least for a lot of those veterans.
13:01Because
13:04it's a funny thing about service.
13:07Difficult to provide service in an empty office
13:10with an empty chair behind an empty desk.
13:13Service really does consist of
13:16people helping each other.
13:19Veterans know it better than anyone,
13:22because peer-to-peer veteran programs
13:25it's important
13:28that 30% of the Veterans Administration workforce
13:31are themselves veterans.
13:34They help each other.
13:37And it's no accident that many of those
13:40provisional
13:43employees who were fired,
13:46they're the ones who were fired first,
13:49are veterans as well,
13:52because they're coming out of the service.
13:55And they're finding ways to help
13:58other veterans.
14:01I am
14:04introducing
14:07this week a measure called
14:10Putting Veterans First Act.
14:13And essentially
14:16it's a comprehensive effort
14:19to stop the bleeding.
14:22I'm quoting the Commander-in-Chief
14:25of the United Nations of Foreign Wars.
14:28Stop the bleeding.
14:31Put pressure on and stop the bleeding
14:34is what he told us in one of our hearings.
14:37And the best way to stop
14:40this administration from actively robbing
14:43and rolling back our recent bipartisan
14:46accomplishments, canceling contracts
14:49critical to the implementation of the
14:52Dole Act or the Debra Simpson Act,
14:55the basic
14:58functioning of the PAC Act
15:01from the schedulers who connect veterans
15:04to care or the claim
15:07staff who process those PAC Act claims,
15:10the best way to stop the bleeding
15:13is to put veterans first.
15:16Number one, hire back
15:19all of the veterans who have been fired.
15:22No matter what the agency,
15:25hire back those veterans along
15:28with all of the military spouses,
15:31the veteran caregivers,
15:34survivors, members of the Guard and Reserve.
15:37They too serve.
15:40And hire back
15:43all the VA employees who have been fired,
15:46whether or not they're veterans
15:49or military spouses or veteran caregivers,
15:52survivors, members of the Guard and Reserve,
15:55and then if the administration
15:58wants to eliminate waste and fraud,
16:01let's have some standards,
16:04performance-based standards, not just
16:07you're fired because we don't need you,
16:10when in fact they're needed.
16:13But more to the point,
16:16any sort of firing ought to be based
16:19on individual performance.
16:22Nobody's arguing here that there's
16:25no waste in other agencies of the
16:28federal government, any more than we would argue
16:31there's no waste in any American corporation.
16:34Everybody knows that there is waste.
16:37The trick is to eliminate the waste
16:40without throwing the baby out with the bathwater
16:43or to use a much more direct analogy
16:46that came from Al Lippert,
16:49the commander-in-chief of the VFW.
16:52When he was wounded in Vietnam,
16:55the surgeon
16:58took shrapnel out of his arm
17:01with a scalpel.
17:04He didn't amputate the arm.
17:07Exactly the same choice
17:10faces us here.
17:13Performance-based criteria and standards
17:16and a means of appeal for those employees
17:19who may be terminated,
17:22a means of readily bringing their claim
17:25to some kind of appeal
17:28that is based on performance
17:31and merit.
17:34It ought to be a matter of merit,
17:37not just money,
17:40not just slashing and trashing.
17:43Merit.
17:46And then hiring to replace that person
17:49if that person has no merit,
17:52fill the position so the job can be done
17:55in a way that is fair
17:58to the workforce,
18:01to labor partners,
18:04and impacted employees
18:07before instituting any changes
18:10to telework or remote work policies,
18:13allowing time for employees
18:16to submit reasonable accommodation requests
18:19and work to their supervisors,
18:22which would help a veteran spouse
18:25or a veteran with two kids.
18:28Quote, I've worked for the feds for 20 years.
18:31My spouse was active duty.
18:34I'm also ADA disabled myself.
18:37Performed full-time telework for five years successfully,
18:40including pre-COVID with reasonable accommodation.
18:43The agency is re-adjudicating my lifelong disabilities
18:46and telework accommodation,
18:49even though the prior one approved had no expiration date.
18:52You know, when Trump or Musk
18:55returns to office,
18:58I personally love being in the office.
19:01And as a former prosecutor,
19:04I think being in the office
19:07makes managing a workforce
19:10easier in some institutions,
19:13but not all and not for all employees
19:16and certainly not for the disabled veteran
19:19who wrote to me.
19:22And this employee has
19:25not changed, but her duties haven't changed.
19:28The only change here is
19:31the one prompted by President Trump's
19:34draconian work-to-office policy.
19:37The Putting Veterans First Act
19:40would take other common-sense
19:43veterans-first actions,
19:46such as prohibiting,
19:49and this one is really important,
19:52prohibiting unauthorized, unlawful access
19:55to unqualified,
19:58uninformed tech bros.
20:01Well, we know what's happening in the VA.
20:04Elon Musk's
20:07tech bro elves
20:10are muscling
20:13and plundering their way
20:16through the VA's database.
20:19Now, you may say,
20:22what's harmful about access to private,
20:25well, it's an invasion of privacy,
20:28but number two,
20:31also illegal,
20:34it is potentially a monetization
20:37of your information used for
20:40Elon Musk's
20:43corporations to make more money
20:46or to be shared with his fellow billionaires
20:49so they can make more money.
20:52And that invasion of privacy,
20:55and possibly weaponization
20:58of that information,
21:01would be prohibited by
21:04the Putting Veterans First Act.
21:07Putting Veterans First Act.
21:10It is comprehensive,
21:13it is specific,
21:16and it makes a priority
21:19of protecting veterans
21:22and putting them first.
21:25I don't want to
21:28exaggerate
21:31the chances of this measure passing
21:34in the next month.
21:37I'm very clear-eyed.
21:40I recognize that
21:43the administration will put a full-court
21:46press against us,
21:49that Elon Musk will perhaps denounce it.
21:52But I think we have on our side
21:55an indefatigable
21:58force, and that is veterans.
22:01Because I'm listening to the Veterans Service Organization
22:04who came before our committee on prior days
22:07and this morning, representatives from the American Legion.
22:11Mr. Coyle
22:14from the
22:17VFW.
22:20Mr. Murray.
22:22These are people
22:25from the Veterans Service Organization
22:28who have expressed their concerns
22:31about what's happening at the VA.
22:34And
22:37they can put a face and voice to this issue.
22:40Their support for
22:43putting veterans first
22:46can make an absolutely critical difference.
22:49And so
22:52I appreciate it.
22:55But there's no question, you deserve it.
22:58And the ones who need it
23:02really deserve it as well.
23:05They deserve to be put first.
23:08They deserve to
23:11have no fear or uncertainty or insecurity
23:14about whether
23:17they live in a state that
23:19will remain the kind of benefits and care
23:22under the PAC Act or their VA facility
23:25won't be renovated
23:28or their doctor
23:31will be gone or nurses will be missing.
23:34Their position is unfilled.
23:37They deserve to know
23:40with the kind of certainty they have earned.
23:43And we all talk about our veterans
23:46as heroes, which they are.
23:49But let's
23:52put our money where our mouth is.
23:55Let's be measured by
23:58what we do, not what we say.
24:01And I'm extending
24:04an arm and a hand to
24:07my colleagues across the aisle
24:10to join me in this
24:13comprehensive bill
24:16that guarantees veterans
24:19someone whom we didn't choose.
24:22Nobody did, except
24:25Donald Trump. Elon Musk is unelected,
24:28unappointed, unconfirmed
24:31and his dogeboys
24:34are depriving our veterans
24:37of what they have earned.
24:40We can't lose hope or energy.
24:43We can't abandon our veterans.
24:46We can't surrender
24:49our veterans have served
24:52and they can continue to serve by helping
24:55their brothers and sisters make sure
24:58that the Veterans Administration
25:01puts veterans first.
25:04Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.