Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins will testify before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 7.
Committee Chairman Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) made the announcement on Monday.
“Secretary Collins will testify before the committee to lay out the department’s plans for improving the VA over the next four years and providing quality and timely care and benefits to our nation’s heroes and their families,” Moran said in a statement. “This will be an opportunity for members of the committee to ask questions about recent and planned changes underway at VA and for our committee to receive an overview of the Secretary’s goals and priorities three months after his bipartisan confirmation. I look forward to his testimony on May 7.”
Collins’ anticipated appearance will be his first since being sworn in as VA secretary on Feb. 5. VA has terminated 1,400 probationary workers since January and implemented a hiring freeze on nonessential positions in response to orders from President Donald Trump to downsize the federal government. VA also plans to reduce its workforce by up to 83,000 personnel – returning it to its 2019 staffing level - by the summer.
During the hearing, lawmakers are expected to grill Collins on how the layoffs and staff reductions will impact the care and benefits veterans receive.
Collins has said the layoffs will make VA more efficient and veteran-centric. During the Disabled American Veterans Mid-Winter Conference in February, Collins stressed that there would be no impact on veterans' benefits or health care as a result of the layoffs: "Not compromised. Period," he said. DAV pushed for more transparency after he made the claim.
During an SVAC meeting on March 11, Moran told lawmakers about the invitation to Collins to appear before them and stressed that Congress must have a major oversight role in “strategically shaping VA workforce decisions to achieve the right outcomes for veterans and their families.”
VA serves roughly 9 million veterans and is the second-largest agency in the federal government, coming in after the Defense Department.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.