Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., left, chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, shakes hands with Al Lipphardt, the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ national commander, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Veterans service organizations castigated the administration of President Donald Trump for sweeping cuts of federal jobs that are hitting veterans who represent nearly one-third of the civilian government workforce and receive their medical care at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Trump administration’s moves to freeze aid to nonprofits, ax hundreds of VA contracts with community nonprofits and fire thousands of federal workers jeopardize services to some of the most vulnerable veteran populations, including paralyzed veterans and homeless veterans, advocates said Tuesday at a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees.
“These actions have complicated the hard work of ending veteran homelessness,” said Kathryn Monet, chief executive officer at the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. Monet referred to the spending reductions and mass firings ordered by the Trump administration and carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency, formed by Trump adviser Elon Musk. More firings are expected in the coming weeks.
Tuesday’s three-hour hearing was supposed to focus on the legislative priorities of about a half-dozen veterans service organizations. But one by one, advocates raised concerns about the mass firings at the VA, along with cuts to community funds and contracts that nonprofits rely on to assist veterans.
“The VA’s specialty care system for paralyzed veterans needs to be preserved for their complex needs,” said Robert Thomas, president of Paralyzed Veterans of America. “There are concerns the system is being slowly starved of infrastructure, staff and services, when thousands of veterans rely on it.”
He said paralyzed veterans and their loved ones are signing a petition urging the Trump administration not to dismantle the VA-based services for spinal cord injuries and disorders. He said the level of medical expertise on catastrophic war injuries and treatment are not available anywhere else.
Several leaders from the Veterans of Foreign Wars — the nation’s largest veterans service organization — urged lawmakers to ensure the VA has the staff and resources for veterans to receive timely care, benefits and disability compensation that they qualified for through their military service.
Al Lipphardt, the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ national commander, holds up an armed services enlistment contract on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, during a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees in Washington. Lipphardt said veterans care is in the contract and must be honored. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
“Everyone who served honorably met [their] end of this agreement. We demand our leaders do the same and ensure VA has the staff and resources so veterans can receive their full earned benefits. This is not an ask. Honor the contract with our veterans,” said Al Lipphardt, the VFW’s national commander. “There is nothing more sacred than taking care of those who served this nation, and this has got to be fixed. We have 1.4 million members, but we represent 18 million veterans. They all need to be treated with respect.”
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a Marine Corps veteran, said he is hearing from veterans fired from their federal jobs. He said they are feeling a sense of betrayal.
“These are guys who went into federal service after military duty because they wanted a mission-oriented job and to continue to give back to their country,” Gallego said. “They’re scared. They feel disrespected by the fact they’re being treated this way.”
He said there are better, more effective ways a federal workforce reduction could be handled, instead of arbitrary layoffs of thousands of workers.
Gallego, along with other lawmakers and veterans service groups, said they were dismayed by the attitude of Musk, who waved a chainsaw in the air at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, when he discussed the mass workforce reduction.
Gallego said neither Musk nor the young staffers hired to execute the layoffs have military experience.
VFW leaders said they are focusing on helping more than 6,000 veterans who lost their federal employment find new jobs and not fall into homelessness.
“You are going to hear more from us and see us a lot more,” Lipphardt told lawmakers.
Patrick Murray, acting executive director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, testifies Tuesday, March 4, 2025, during a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
“We want to make sure the firings are stopped,” said Patrick Murray, acting executive director at the VFW in Washington, D.C. “While each person was deemed not essential, their jobs were still important. We want to make sure our veterans are gainfully employed, and the high performers are not fired indiscriminately.”
Monet also urged lawmakers to fully fund programs that aim to help the unemployed veterans regain jobs and keep their homes.
She also said the grant pause of federal aid to nonprofits at the end of January caused a chilling effect on community organizations serving veterans outside the VA.
“It gave the impression the federal government was willing to arbitrarily allow nonprofit organizations to foot the bill for services they had legal agreements to be reimbursed for,” Monet said.
The Office of Management and Budget halted the freeze directed by the Trump administration, but contracts are under review. Some nonprofits said their funds have not returned and their agreements are on hold pending the outcome.
Lawmakers also shared stories from constituents who are veterans.
Rep. Kelly Morrison, D-Minn., said her office is learning about veterans, some of them disabled, terminated from jobs at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.
“The Minneapolis VA already is dealing with staff shortages,” said Morrison, a physician. “The last thing they need to do is to terminate people without cause, through no fault of their own.”
Rep. Kelly Morrison, D-Minn., speaks on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, during a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committee in Washington. The hearing centered on testimony from veterans service organizations. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
Each staff member at a clinic or hospital has a role that is important to patients, she said.
“If no one is there to answer the phone when someone calls, that is a denial of benefits,” said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine.
He said seven workers were recently fired from Togus VA Medical Center in his state as part of the federal workforce reduction. Five were veterans.
“That’s a hell of way to treat someone who put their life on the line for this country,” King said.
