Debbie Wasserman Schultz Decries ‘Chaos’ Of Hiring Freeze And Mass Layoffs Affecting Service Members

Forbes Breaking News

During a House Appropriations Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) spoke about the need to prioritize military quality of life.

Transcript

00:00I now yield to Ms. Wasserman-Schulz for opening remarks.

00:05Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:06And what I can say is that if you look, gentlemen,

00:11up in the dictionary, your photo is representative

00:15of all the meaning of that word.

00:20And my alma mater and our fans have a reputation,

00:26rightfully so, for being extremely devoted and enthusiastic

00:31about our school and our school's success.

00:36I am a very proud Gator, three generations,

00:39seven immediate family members that are Florida Gators.

00:44And before I begin my opening remarks,

00:47I will just tout that we are now the only Division I

00:50school that has three football national championships,

00:55men's football national championships,

00:57and three men's basketball national championships.

01:00The only one.

01:01Quite proud.

01:02Go Gators.

01:04And there are lots of SEC schools represented here

01:07on this subcommittee.

01:08So most of us root for an SEC school

01:11when our own teams are not in it.

01:13And it was fun one-sidedly sparring with you.

01:18And thank you for yielding, Judge Carter.

01:21Thank you once again for holding this essential hearing.

01:23And thank you for the years of cooperation and mutual respect

01:29in which we engage.

01:30And I know that that will continue going forward.

01:35We all know the importance of the quality of life,

01:37recruitment, and retention to the military services

01:40that are this committee's responsibility.

01:44Our committee on a bipartisan basis has always advocated for

01:47and defended our service members' quality of life

01:49during their active duty.

01:50And I trust that that will continue.

01:53But this administration's continued callous disregard

01:55for service members, veterans, and their families threatens

01:59to overturn any progress that the services have made

02:01in their efforts.

02:03The administration has fired at least 6,000 veterans

02:05across the government, including at the VA,

02:07which provides essential promise benefits to our veterans.

02:11They are also targeting deep cuts to programs

02:13across the federal government that veterans

02:15and service members rely upon, including SNAP, WIC,

02:18and financial aid, while deploying an economic strategy

02:21that has started a trade war and sent global stocks tumbling.

02:24At the Department of Defense, the plan to fire 5,400

02:27probationary employees and the civilian hiring freeze

02:30has sent the agency into chaos,

02:32while unfairly making the lives of our service members

02:35more difficult.

02:36The chaotic rollout of this hiring freeze

02:38has also left current civilian employees in limbo

02:41and essential jobs unfulfilled, often falling

02:43to our service members to take on double duty.

02:46We have heard reports that barracks managers

02:48and sexual assault prevention teams

02:50are among those included in this freeze,

02:52which will directly harm quality of life

02:54and increase the workload of active duty service members.

02:57Unfortunately, a similar pattern of a chaotic rollout

03:00of DOD's remote and telework policy

03:03has hampered opportunities for military spouses to telework.

03:06This telework made it easier for service members

03:08and their families to adjust to frequent moves.

03:11This chaos does not make it easier for people

03:14to serve their country, and we certainly

03:15should not be actively denigrating those

03:17who do choose to serve, such as is the case

03:19with Secretary Hegseth's ban on transgender individuals

03:22openly serving in the military.

03:24This order is not only cruel and pointless,

03:26it is counterproductive to the DOD's own goals

03:29of increasing recruitment and retention

03:31by needlessly reducing the recruiting pool

03:34for reasons which have nothing to do

03:36with an individual's qualifications

03:38or whether their skills are needed by the services.

03:41Another example of this administration's misplaced

03:43priorities is its push to erase history

03:45when DOD should focus its energy on real issues

03:48like holding privatized housing companies accountable

03:51for lead paint in family housing

03:53or addressing the deficit of housing

03:54for unaccompanied service members,

03:56not on purging websites honoring the Air Force's

03:58first female fighter pilot, who was a constituent, by the way,

04:02or World War II Women's Air Force service pilots.

04:06The administration's history purge also apparently extends

04:08to the Tuskegee Airmen as the Air Force removed training videos,

04:11including them, until public outcry forced the department

04:14to reverse course.

04:16How do these actions show service members

04:18that we value their service and the sacrifices

04:20their families make?

04:21What effect do you think these actions will have

04:23on the efforts of military recruiters across the nation?

04:26We should honor the service of those in uniform

04:28and fight for the quality of life of all of our service members.

04:31To truly improve the quality of life of those service members,

04:34we must address the continued deficiencies in barracks

04:36and privatized family housing,

04:38we must address sexual assaults in the military,

04:40we must address shortages in childcare,

04:43and we must invest in the mental health of our troops.

04:45These actions are essential so that service members

04:48can focus on their important jobs

04:50instead of worrying about who will watch their children,

04:52whether they will get sick from the mold in their homes,

04:54or whether they are safe in their workplace.

04:57This subcommittee has recognized the value

04:59of these investments on a bipartisan basis,

05:01and I look forward to working together with my colleagues again

05:04for fiscal year 2026 to address these issues.

05:07I was incredibly disappointed

05:08by the way the fiscal year 2025 process ended

05:11and the missed opportunity for this committee

05:13to make the necessary investments

05:14to build on our progress in recent years

05:17addressing quality of life projects.

05:19Nevertheless, we will be closely monitoring

05:21the spend plans DOD submits

05:23for the full year continuing resolution funding,

05:25and I want to make it clear to everyone here today,

05:27my expectation is that the services prioritize those funds

05:31in a way that delivers on the promises made

05:32in the FY25 budget requests,

05:35and in consideration of the bipartisan advocacy

05:37from members of the subcommittee

05:39to invest in quality of life.

05:41The spend plans must reflect the need for

05:43and importance of child development centers, barracks,

05:46schools, and other quality of life projects.

05:49The Army's FY25 budget request contained robust funding

05:52for barracks construction

05:53to tackle the service's housing deficiencies.

05:56The Marine Corps has a comprehensive plan

05:58called Barracks 2030 for barracks investments.

06:01We cannot backtrack and sideline these types of projects.

06:04Even great plans to improve quality of life will fail

06:07if they are not accompanied by appropriate funding.

06:10Moreover, I hope the FY26 budget request,

06:13when we get it, contains a robust request

06:16for quality of life projects.

06:18I hope to hear from all of our witnesses today

06:19on how you and your service have worked

06:21since the hearing last year

06:22to address the inadequacies and oversight

06:24of privatized military housing providers,

06:26improve the maintenance of unaccompanied housing,

06:29and address the root causes of sexual assault

06:30within the military.

06:32And I want to thank the five witnesses

06:33for being here today, for your service,

06:36and for your valuable testimony.

06:37Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.

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