'Is That Really What You're Saying To Veterans With Cancer?': Mark Takano Slams Doug Collins' Answers

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During Thursday’s House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing, Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) slammed Veterans’ Affairs Secretary Doug Collins answers to questions about his actions at the VA.

Transcript

00:00Ranking Member Takano, I now recognize you for your opening statement.

00:04Well, thank you, Chairman Bost. Mr. Secretary, good afternoon. When I first heard of your

00:10nominations at this position, I recall saying to my staff, I think we'll be able to do some

00:16good work at VA with Doug Collins. I had optimism based on your time as a member of this chamber

00:22that you would have an appreciation for our duty to perform oversight. When a new secretary

00:30has confirmed, every member of this committee, Republican or Democrat, wants to see them

00:35succeed. And because veterans deserve leadership, not chaos. Well, I've had to say, this is why

00:43I'm incredibly, it's incredibly upsetting and frustrating to me that the questions my colleagues

00:49and I have about decisions you have made in your short tenure at VA remain unanswered.

00:56You came in with an opportunity to build trust across this institution and across the aisle.

01:02But instead, you've undermined it, not just with me, but with VA staff and with the veterans

01:07who rely on VA every day. I reviewed your Senate testimony and any reasonable viewer would have

01:16to conclude that you were evasive and not transparent with your answers. So I hope you will not do that

01:23with us today. And I would say to you, you have the power to change course. Veterans need answers,

01:30not excuses. We'll see today whether you're ready to lead or just continue to blame.

01:38This hearing is the first time we have met in person since you were sworn in.

01:42You haven't so much as called me since your confirmation 99 days ago. My experience with

01:49your predecessor was that he would proactively call both me and the chairman before major news

01:55broke about VA so that our first time finding out about it wasn't from reading the paper or

02:01seeing it on television. For instance, he would have called us before canceling a program as important

02:08as VASP, where the consequences for veterans are as dire as foreclosure on their own homes.

02:15This is the basic transparency that I expect from the secretary so that we can work together on

02:23the challenges facing VA. Now, VA is not perfect. It's never been perfect.

02:29I, we are not satisfied with the status quo at VA. And that is what brought all of us to work on this

02:38committee. But we are not just going to blindly support your changes at VA without you giving us

02:45all the facts or any semblance of a plan. You have not earned our trust, at least not yet.

02:52And that is what I will be listening for today, answers that contain facts and plans that are

03:01based on those facts. Last week before the Senate, you failed to answer questions asking for details

03:08about decisions you have made as secretary. Senator Hirono asked you the exact dollar amount that VA

03:16claims to have saved from firing staff. You rather flippantly threw out a culture war statement

03:22about DEI instead of answering her question. Senator Bozeman raised questions about VASP,

03:29and you gave a rather incomplete answer. Questions about how many clinical trials are on pause and how

03:38many veterans are affected by that pause on clinical trials were also unanswered. This morning in the

03:46MILCON VA appropriation subcommittee, you admitted that VA shifted over 300 million dollars to private

03:53for-profit community care without following the law. That money was meant to support care and capacity

04:03inside VA. Instead, it was siphoned away from veterans hospitals and clinics and handed off to the private

04:10sector. Now, the law is very clear. If VA needs more funding for community care, it must ask Congress. Not

04:20illegally, RAID funds meant for direct VA care. Both the chair, Chairman Carter, and ranking member

04:32Wasserman Schultz of the appropriations subcommittee agree. Agree with what I just said. And, you know,

04:39so does the chairman of the full committee. So, I chair a full appropriations committee. And I hope

04:46Chairman Bost joins me and joins the appropriation four corners in demanding accountability on this very

04:57point. Now, this morning before the MILCON VA appropriations subcommittee, you also gave very

05:02disturbing answers to questions about the effects of pauses on clinical trials. You said that having

05:09clinical trials paused is not affecting veterans' health care. That it's above and beyond health care.

05:18Is that really what you are saying to veterans with cancer whose hopes are pinned on

05:23clinical trials that they can no longer access? All of the questions we are going to ask today are ones

05:30that you should have come prepared to answer. And I will be disappointed if you're not prepared.

05:37We have already asked many of them in letters. And many of them have already been asked in your

05:42previous appearances before the Senate and before the House Appropriations subcommittee. This is basic

05:49congressional oversight. The members and staff on both sides of this committee collectively have

05:55centuries of experience working on VA policy and serving our nation. We have written some of the

06:02most consequential pieces of veteran legislation in history, including the honoring our PACT Act.

06:08We can only carry out our oversight responsibility as mandated in the Constitution if you answer our

06:15questions fully and truthfully. We have serious concerns about your plans related to the VA workforce.

06:23And this hearing is an opportunity for you to put our minds at ease.

06:28VA is comprised of over 400,000 dedicated employees who show up every day motivated by the call to service

06:36to deliver the care and benefits veterans have earned. The majority of veterans are satisfied

06:42with their VA care. Let me say that again. The majority of veterans are satisfied with their VA care,

06:48yet many have expressed to me the weight of the chaos and turmoil they have witnessed during Trump's first

06:54100 days and are left wondering what will happen to the care they rely on and love. They are worried

07:01that their provider with whom they have spent years building rapport and trust could lose their job.

07:09Now, I have a poster behind me. We have heard from a veteran for whom this fear sadly became a reality.

07:19This veteran lost her whole health coach, who she described as, quote, the only person really

07:26making a difference in my life. We have heard countless stories of the trauma and harassment VA staff

07:33have endured at the hands of Trump's senior advisors and political appointees since day one of this

07:39administration. I want to hear directly from you today whether you agree with the director of OMB,

07:46Russell Vogt, that the trauma is the point. Does this administration want to traumatize public servants

07:54into submission or into quitting their jobs so the work can be farmed out to Trump's billionaire friends?

08:02Let me tell you one thing clearly. Mr. Secretary, VA is not for sale.

08:09I am truly worried about the combative tone you have taken in addressing VA staff. You have instilled a culture

08:16of fear by making them sign non-disclosure agreements and accusing them of rumors and innuendo.

08:24Frankly, it's insulting and demeaning that you continue to accuse VA staff and veterans of lying about their experiences,

08:30their concerns, their concerns, and the things they're seeing with their own eyes.

08:34How are the veterans supposed to be inspired, excuse me, how are employees of VA supposed to be

08:41inspired to fight for a better VA with you if you are constantly positioning yourself against them as if they are the enemy?

08:50I would say fear as a tactic for leadership is not effective.

08:57As one clinician put it, and behind me I have it up in the print, quote,

09:01I have felt harassed by and have diminished faith in the leadership of the VA secretary who continually

09:08throws VA employees under the bus and has shown no interest in learning about the concerns of his

09:14frontline staff. His line about VA now putting veterans first particularly irks me. In my 15 years

09:21of working at two different VA medical centers, I know we have always put veterans first, end quote.

09:27And that's from a VA psychiatrist. We need more answers about your plans for VA. These plans

09:34directly affect veterans staff and the economy in all our districts. You have set a goal to fire 83,000

09:43employees. It is a goal and it's been publicly stated. Leaving VA staff waking up every morning with the

09:49torture of not knowing if that day is their last one with a job. You took away veterans last lifeline

09:56to keep their homes when they face foreclosure, when you ended the VAS program. You are doing all

10:02these things during a time of financial turmoil for families in America while we deal with the impacts

10:08of Trump's chaotic tariffs and economic policies. We're all trying to make sense of it all so that we

10:14can better serve veterans. Mr. Secretary, I hope that this hearing today is an opportunity to build

10:19some trust and I want to have confidence in your leadership and as the leader of VA you owe it to

10:25VA staff and you owe it to veterans to be transparent and forthcoming and to take some accountability. You

10:32have the opportunity to answer our questions fully and truthfully and I hope that you will seize that

10:38opportunity and with that I yield back.

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