How does the Department of Veterans Affairs plan on taking care of veterans while its budget gets slashed and firing thousands of its staff? VA Secretary Doug Collins said despite that, "veterans benefits aren’t getting cut" and "in fact, we are actually giving and improving services will happen."
Disabled American Veterans (DAV) says the VA has not shown how they'll manage that.
Against the backdrop of these budget cuts and workforce reductions, the Eye on Veterans podcast spoke with DAV Communications Chief and U.S. Air Force veteran Dan Clare.
After a recent meeting with Sec. Collins, who recently spoke at DAV’s Mid-Winter Conference, Clare shared how he claimed his No. 1 priority was taking care of our vets, but did not offer any details about how exactly he’s going to do it.
Clare explains that massive cuts to VA staff seem ill-advised considering over 800,000 new veterans have recently registered for VA care and over one million claims have been filed since the PACT Act became law three years ago.
We also dove into the benefit claims process, and how DAV is there to help all veterans get their applications processed and ensure they stand a chance at getting approved. Clare also discussed alternative health care treatment options DAV members want to see in the future.
Although DAV members hope the new administration will deliver results, they have yet to hear anything from the VA about when they will deliver promising new treatments.
If you’re a vet who has been affected by federal layoffs or canceled contracts, contact DAV so they can share your opinions here.
DAV has support for all veterans submitting VA benefit claims.
Find the help you need to navigate your benefits process here.
More about Disabled American Veterans and their mission statement:
We are dedicated to a single purpose: empowering veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. We accomplish this by ensuring that veterans and their families can access the full range of benefits available to them; fighting for the interests of America’s injured heroes on Capitol Hill; and educating the public about the great sacrifices and needs of veterans transitioning back to civilian life.
This mission is carried forward by:
- Providing free, professional assistance to veterans and their families in obtaining benefits and services earned through military service and provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other agencies of government.
- Providing outreach concerning its program services to the American people generally, and to disabled veterans and their families specifically.
- Representing the interests of disabled veterans, their families, their widowed spouses and their orphans before Congress, the White House and the Judicial Branch, as well as state and local government.
- Extending DAV’s mission of hope into the communities where these veterans and their families live through a network of state-level Departments and local Chapters.
- Providing a structure through which disabled veterans can express their compassion for their fellow veterans through a variety of volunteer programs.