Johnny Miller of Atlanta said he sometimes visits doctors outside of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs because it is so difficult to get appointments with the federal agency.
That problem is partly why the Vietnam War veteran is alarmed by the Trump administration’s plans to slash the agency’s workforce by tens of thousands of people.
“If you cut that many folks, we are not going to get any service,” said Miller, who received two Purple Hearts for combat injuries he sustained in the war. “We put it on the line for our country.”
Miller added that many VA employees are fellow veterans. Eliminating their jobs, he said, would be “like stabbing them in the back.”
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
VA Secretary Doug Collins outlined the Trump administration’s plans on X, formerly called Twitter, on Wednesday, saying the cuts are aimed at improving the agency’s services. The goal, he said, is to shrink the VA’s workforce by 15%, which equals about 72,000 workers.
“For many years veterans have been asking for a more efficient, accountable and transparent VA,” said Collins, a former Republican congressman from Georgia. “This administration is finally going to give the veterans what they want.”
Collins emphasized the changes would be done without “making cuts to health care or benefits to veterans and VA beneficiaries.”
“There are many people complaining about the changes we’re making at the VA,” he added. “But what most of them are really saying is, ‘Let’s just keep doing the same thing that the VA has always done.’ No, not going to happen.”
Miller is among more than 600,000 military veterans who live in Georgia, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The state, meanwhile, is home to dozens of VA health care facilities, including medical centers in Decatur, Dublin and Augusta.
Like Miller, Jason Dozier is concerned about the Trump administration’s plans. Dozier served as a U.S. Army reconnaissance officer in Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming an Atlanta city councilman.
“I feel strongly that if we don’t get veterans services right, that has huge national defense implications,” said Dozier, a Bronze Star Medal recipient who previously served as director of program operations and evaluation for Hire Heroes USA, a nonprofit that helps veterans find jobs.
“Why would I volunteer for an entity, if I go on the other side of it and I am not going to have the support I need to be successful in the civilian world?”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
The VA is also responsible for helping carry out the PACT Act, a 2022 federal law that expands health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances. Veterans and surviving relatives in Georgia had filed the fourth-highest number of benefits claims under the law at 96,165, according to VA data through Nov. 12. Only California, Florida and Texas had higher totals.
“As veterans, we fulfill our oath to our nation,” said Le Roy Torres of Texas, a retired Army Reserve captain who advocates for fellow veterans who were exposed to burn pits. “When we see updates and news like this, it is just crushing to the veteran community.”
The Republican chairmen of the House and Senate veterans’ affairs committees weighed in this week.
“I have questions about the impact these reductions and discussions could have on the delivery of services, especially following the implementation of the PACT Act,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “And from my position as chairman, I will continue to ask questions and keep a close eye on how, or if, this plan evolves.”
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, who leads the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said the VA needs to be reformed but “current efforts to downsize the department and increase efficiency must be done in a more responsible manner.”
“I expect the VA to work with Congress to right-size the VA workforce,” he said Wednesday on X, “and allow us to legislate necessary changes.”
Staff writer Tia Mitchell contributed to this report.
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