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Kennedy Demanded Answers on Behalf of Veterans in Western New York

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing, Congressman Tim Kennedy (NY-26) raised urgent concerns about the Trump administration’s workforce reductions at the Department of Veterans Affairs and demanded accountability on behalf of Western New York’s veterans and the VA workforce. 

(Congressman Kennedy’s remarks here.)

Kennedy condemned the Department of Veterans Affairs’ plan to eliminate nearly 30,000 positions by the end of the fiscal year. Citing previously leaked plans to cut over 80,000 VA employees, Kennedy highlighted that even this scaled-back reduction in force plan represents the largest staff cut in the VA’s history.

“VA has already shed 17,000 employees, so this would mean an additional 12,000 employees would have to be let go,” Kennedy stated. “These reductions will affect critical frontline staff, including healthcare workers and benefits personnel.”

Drawing from his experience as a healthcare practitioner, Kennedy warned of the real world consequences of these cuts, stating, “As an occupational therapist, I’ve seen firsthand on the ground what happens when healthcare facilities are short-staffed,” adding, “when that happens in our VA, it’s our veterans that are paying the price.”

Pushing back against Republican claims that VA staffing reductions will not affect “mission-essential” positions, Congressman Kennedy asserted that “these cuts are impacting veteran care and veterans should not have to wait longer, or see fewer specialists, or receive delayed benefits. As members of this committee, we have a sacred responsibility to uphold this nation’s promise to our veterans. These cuts are not only shortsighted, they are un-American.”

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