El Paso County veterans & non-profit react to reports of 70,000 V.A employees facing layoffs

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - Veterans in El Paso County demonstrated outside a local VA clinic Wednesday over news that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is preparing for large-scale layoffs in the name of efficiency. Meanwhile, local non-profits are preparing to assist as needed for Southern Coloradans who may be impacted.

The news of the layoffs comes after an internal RIF (Reduction in Force) memo, which was obtained by KRDO13, was sent out to leaders within the VA by the Chief of Staff on March 4th.

The memo states in part that the VA's "initial objective is to return to our 2019-end strength numbers of 399,957 employees", saying that it's following the lead of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that has been ordering layoffs across many federal agencies since President Donald Trump took office in January.

A 2023 year-end report from Colorado's Aurora-based VA network, with 12 satellite clinics spread throughout the state, says that they have 3,712 full-time employees along with a few hundred more working in medical roles. It's currently unclear how many of those employees could be impacted by the proposed cuts, if at all.

KRDO13 reached out to the central Veteran's Affairs office in Washington D.C. for a statement about the memo. Instead, a spokesperson pointed to a 4-minute video posted by the Secretary of Veteran's Affairs, Doug Collins, on his X page, which addressed the VA's situation and what their plan would entail moving forward.

In the video, Collins explains that the VA will be "conducting a department-wide review of its organization, operations and structure." Adding they will be looking to eliminate "waste and bureaucracy", which would, in turn, increase the department's efficiency and also improve health care benefits and services for veterans.

"The days of kicking the can down the road and measuring the VA's progress by how much money it spends and how many people it employs, rather than how many veterans it helps, are over," Collins stated in the video.

The Secretary goes on to say that the VA will also be conducting a thorough review of the department's 90,000 contracts, which are worth more than $67 billion. He explains that having looked through only 2% of those contracts, they canceled about 600 non-critical and/or duplicate contracts, which will allegedly save the department upwards of $900 million.

"The federal government does not exist to employ people, it exists to serve people. At the VA, we are focused on serving veterans better than ever before and doing so requires changing and improving the organization." Collins states towards the end of the video.

Outside of the VA, the El Paso County Division of Veteran Services also serves tens of thousands of veterans in the area. They have previously organized clinics for the 2022 PACT Act, which opened up a host of new benefits and opportunities to submit claims over ailments from burn pits and Agent Orange in various overseas conflicts.

A spokesperson issued this statement to KRDO13 on Wednesday in regards to the proposed cuts:

"El Paso County supports President Trump's executive orders. We remain committed to providing comprehensive VA benefit support to Veterans who honorably served in the US Armed Forces, their spouses, and family members."

-Vernon Stewart, El Paso County Division of Veterans Services Interim Director.
 

El Paso County veterans could be seen on the sidewalk outside the PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom VA clinic off of Centennial Boulevard in Colorado Springs, holding signs in protest to the cuts to the department they so dearly rely on.

One veteran, Stewart Mills, called the cuts "unjustified", and worried about the impacts it would have to services for people like him.

"I'm kind of afraid that the staffing is going to decrease to a point where I'm not able to get my benefits, that I'm entitled to," explained Mills.

He added that a member of the family, who is also a veteran, is facing fear over federal layoffs himself.

"The OEM [Office of Personnel Management] essentially came from Elon Musk and my cousin in particular, he's a disabled veteran, he has to go to work with his service dog, and like I said, he got his letter and he's afraid that he's going to be fired pretty soon," explained Mills.

In the meantime, Mt. Carmel Veteran's Services, which is based in Colorado Springs along with another office in Pueblo, has been helping veterans and their families for a decade.

The Executive Director, Bob McLaughlin, says the cuts come after years of the VA expanding employment to accommodate the PACT Act and the increase in claims that were expected from it.

He says, as a very active partner with VA, there will be a lot to consider after the cuts, should they become a reality.

"So for me, it's, you know, watching the efficiency. Are our claim times going to stay the same? Will they be fast, or will they be slower? You know, [its] yet to be determined. But we'll have to watch how that pans out. said McLaughlin.

Most importantly, he says his organization will be committed to helping those in need if they are to fall victim to the department's downsizing.

"If in this region we see an influx of veterans looking for employment, we will gather together and do everything we can as a support community to find employment for them," he added.

You can visit Mt. Carmel's website to learn more here, or call their Colorado Springs location at (719) 309-4714, or the Pueblo location at (719) 542-5952.