During a House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing last week, Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) questioned VA Secretary Doug Collins about President Trump's choice to appoint Cheryl Mason to serve as Inspector General.
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00:00Dr. Dexer. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Secretary Collins, thank you for joining us, and thank you for your
00:06endurance. Like many physicians, I was trained in VA facilities and probably cared for veterans at
00:13the Denver VA for seven years. As a critical care physician for nearly 20 years, I have cared for
00:19far too many families grappling with post-suicide attempt repercussions. They're looking for answers,
00:26support, and hope. So I know you know and you've expressed your support for our veterans in dealing
00:32with the fact that they're amongst the most vulnerable people in our communities. Risk for
00:37suicide is very high amongst our veteran population, and it sounds from your multiple comments today that
00:44this is a top priority for you, and you've stated that multiple times. I just want to verify that
00:50we are in that together. We're definitely in that together, and thank you for your word there. One
00:54of the things, if I could just interject here, most people don't realize it's not just 75%, it's closer
00:57to 80 or 90% on some baby docs who all come through the VA. What I would love to have, and have your
01:03help and the other doctors help, how can we keep them? Some of that is actually, by the way, if you
01:08want a bill recommendation that you might want to carry, let's raise the caps. Get my caps raised so I
01:14can actually hire doctors at a rate that is better than what we got right now. Love to work with you
01:19on that. Former Inspector General Michael Missal was dedicated in his work to end veteran suicide as
01:25well, and under his leadership, the Inspector General's office issued, and I just brought a
01:29few, report after report after report, laying out steps to better protect veterans who are at risk
01:36for suicide. So if we're committed to expanding with every effort, every dollar to prevent veteran
01:42suicide, you'd think our administration would have wanted to keep him around. So instead, he was
01:49fired by President Trump along with at least 16 other inspectors general against across the federal
01:54government just days after his taking office. Secretary Collins, why did President Trump fire
02:01Inspector General Missal? I have no idea, you'd have to ask him. Okay. And since Missal's firing, we've been without a
02:08permanent inspector general to hold your department accountable. It's, as you know from oversight,
02:13it's a, it's an important role. And you, Secretary of Collins, have taken actions that have inadvertently
02:20put veterans at risk with the firing of 24 direct support line veteran crisis line support staff. I know
02:28it wasn't the direct answers of the calls. I know you've rehired those VA workers, but can you tell me,
02:35did you approve those initial firings? The probationary firings were approved to my
02:40office. I mean, that's what we went forward is following the directions that we were given.
02:43Okay. And so, and also, and also, frankly, the way it also, the trigger mechanisms for those
02:48that needed to be exempted, actually the, the crisis line showed that they actually worked because once
02:52notified and that that got caught up, it was actually put back in place. Yeah, no, and their hiring back
02:57is important, clearly. But I think that true to what Congresswoman Morrison was talking to, there's a,
03:05lack of trust right now in the VA and a fear that many of us are hearing about. So nearly four months
03:12now after that firing, the president has now nominated a replacement, Cheryl Mason. And Secretary
03:19Collins, Ms. Mason is a current political appointee at the VA who reports directly to you. Is that correct?
03:24Yes. Okay. And what concerns me, Mr. Secretary, is that we have reason to believe that Ms.
03:30Mason helped transition President Trump into office and has played a role in cutting VA's workforce,
03:37blocking staff from contacting agency attorneys. And as my colleague Ms. Brownlee pointed out earlier,
03:43is suggesting or forcing that VA staff sign on to non-disclosure agreements. When considering her
03:49track record, it is clear that there is a conflict of interest here. She has been part of executing the
03:55Trump agenda and now theoretically will hold that same administration accountable in an oversight role.
04:01Secretary Collins, veterans and their families deserve leaders who put them first, especially
04:07when stakes of life and death are at play. Do you agree that we must have someone who can be seen as
04:13impartial and without conflict in this role of inspector general? I think the president has nominated
04:18someone who will actually do that, who has actually worked through two administrations. She actually
04:22worked under the Biden administration in the VA. She's worked inside the system for many, many years.
04:26If you look at her total work experience and how she goes about it, I think she'd be a great candidate
04:31for that. Without question. She is a good candidate. I think the concern for me is her role with the
04:37administration and also as a political appointee, serving the people that she actually is going to be
04:42appointed to oversee. Regardless of whether or not she can do that without partisanship or favor,
04:49the potential conflicts exist or at least people, the premise or the suggestion of conflict exists.
04:56So for the record, our shared commitment to advancing an inspector general who can fulfill their
05:02statutory obligation to be independent and objective in executing their duties is something that we share.
05:07Is that true? Yes, and I believe the president's choice and Ms. Mason will fulfill that.
05:12Okay, great. I also appreciate that members of this committee know from direct outreach,
05:21including what we just heard again from Dr. Morrison, that VA employees have concerns about the culture
05:26of the VA and have shared that there is a fear of retaliation for people who speak out. Members of this
05:32community committee have also experienced a lack of responsiveness when asking to visit a local VA,
05:38which is really quite unprecedented. Mr. Secretary, how are you going to rebuild trust in the VA for
05:45the employees as well as the veterans that you serve? Continuing, Congresswoman, exactly what I'm
05:50trying to do right now. As I look, I have freely come up and talked about issues that are hard and also
05:56say just judge what is actually happening and not what is being talked about. This has been the issue that
06:01I've had to deal with from the day one that I got in was actually dealing with many times not accurate information.
06:08Now, we can disagree about how some of this is to go about and there may be some things that we could, you know,
06:13do differently, but also having to deal with just the blatant, you know, disregard for, you know,
06:19reporter and other, you know, backlog actually hurts the problem. So for me,
06:24it's just having to go forward and tell the truth as I have it, as we're actually working it,
06:27and work to just rebuild that visit by visit by visit that I go to. And what is interesting though,
06:32and I was not joking with Dr. Morrison as well, is in Minneapolis and in other places as well,
06:38once I'm there and able to talk to our hospital staff, talk to our senior leadership and see them,
06:43they're actually understanding what my heart is. And I just got to do this one at a time and with
06:47every member here. I appreciate that. I certainly appreciate that showing up is what builds trust and
06:52clearly you are doing that in good honor and spirit. So I appreciate that. We will be watching.
06:59We certainly are looking for our veterans to be served to the best of our ability as a nation.
07:05I hear your commitment. And we look forward to further conversations. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.