Richard Blumenthal Issues Clear Warning About Possible Trump Admin. Cuts To Veterans' Benefits And Programs

Forbes Breaking News

In Senate floor remarks on Tuesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) warned of possible cuts to veterans' benefits and programs.

Transcript

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.

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