'Who's Getting Fired?': Jon Ossoff Grills VA Sec. Doug Collins Over VA Medical Services Budget Cuts

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During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing last month, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) sparred with Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins about budget cuts.

Transcript

00:00Senator Olson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you again, Mr. Secretary.

00:09So just to start with the basics here, Mr. Secretary, the total all-in request for FY26

00:14is $441.2 billion, correct? Yes.

00:19And how much of your medical services request is for personnel? And how many personnel

00:28through this medical services request do you intend to employ an FY26?

00:34At the current, and I also have, if you, I have my budget, Andrew, here as well,

00:38if there's the numbers that we need, if, Mr. Chairman, with yours, the issue that you brought

00:42up is right now there are currently 465,000 employees in VA as a whole. VHA has 409,000 of

00:54those. I'm so sorry, Mr. Chairman. The question is, how many staff do you intend to employ through

01:00the medical services budget in FY26? Do we have, Andrew?

01:06396,000.

01:07396,000.

01:09396,000.

01:10Yes.

01:10Okay. The FY25 request, and just to be clear, that's intended staffing of medical services

01:23in FY26? Save a number again.

01:26395?

01:28396,000.

01:30396,000. Okay. How many physicians do you intend to employ in FY26?

01:35Physicians.

01:35Oh, physicians. We employ a large number of physicians.

01:40I'm sorry, who are you?

01:42Andrew is our budget. Right now, we currently have 28,868 physicians.

01:46Yeah, so how many physicians do you intend to employ in FY26?

01:51We're not cutting physicians, so at this point in time under that budget, we're still looking

01:55to continue at 28,868 at minimum, because we're also having to add physicians which are

02:01not, which are exempt, so we're adding those as we can.

02:03Here's what we usually – this is, for example, the budget request from 25, and it specifies

02:11that for 25, we're requested 25,099 physicians. So we usually get this in advance of this hearing.

02:21So my question is just how many doctors you intend to employ.

02:23Yeah, and at this point in time, I'll take that and get it back to you. I don't – as

02:26I told you yesterday on the phone, there'll be some more information coming later this week.

02:30Okay. How about dentists?

02:31Yes. Same answer.

02:35Do you have the number for nurses?

02:38We currently employ 91,040. I'll have the –

02:41But my question is how many –

02:42And I understand, and the breakdown will be provided, as I said yesterday.

02:47Okay. Well, how have you calculated the money you need for personnel without having yet decided

02:53how many personnel to employ?

02:57In the breakdown of the budget, which right now is still going on, these are the numbers

03:01that we are using to go forward from last year's budget into this year's budget.

03:06And at this point, there is also a gap in how many we are currently hired and not hired.

03:12And so at this point, I'll have the numbers for you that we've not provided yet.

03:15We'll be providing those numbers.

03:16But you've proposed a –

03:18About $17 or $18 billion cut to the medical services account, correct?

03:27That is not – the president's budget makes adjustments to the funding that devote additional funding,

03:32appropriate funding to community care.

03:33This is not a cut to total V8 – to funding to VHA.

03:36In fact, the total medical care budget grew by 17% to 24B.

03:40Not medical care, medical services.

03:42So here's your –

03:43Okay.

03:44And just to be clear, I mean, the chairman mentioned this.

03:46We usually get –

03:47I understand completely.

03:49This specifies how many folks you intend to employ.

03:51We have a 26-page PowerPoint.

03:54But in that 26-page PowerPoint, here are specified about $17 billion in cuts to the medical services budget.

04:02So who – what are you cutting in medical services?

04:05Specifically, who are you cutting since that's exclusively personnel?

04:12Again, in this – and this is the issue that we have right now.

04:15And I'll just state this for either of us to go back in circles.

04:18You'll be getting – we'll be providing more of those numbers, as I said yesterday on our phone call this week.

04:23So at this point in time, the numbers that we're providing are the numbers that we have at this point.

04:28I'll be happy to talk to you further about those later.

04:30I'm just – I'm – and understand that.

04:33That's why we usually get these in advance of this hearing.

04:36I mean, I'm wondering if we need to reconvene having received the full budget request.

04:42Because the thing that is causing a lot of consternation is this proposed $17, $18 billion cut to medical services.

04:52I mean, that – and so today is the budget hearing where you justify the budget request.

04:59So how do you justify this cut to medical services and who are you going to fire in order to pay for it?

05:04And I'll go back to the same answer I gave you just a few minutes ago.

05:09I mean, in this process, we'll have more information on that part of it as we go forward.

05:13The basis of the budget was based on the – you know, our workforce as it existed and moving forward.

05:19And the numbers have not been cut to the medical –

05:22I'm sorry, yes, it has.

05:23Or the care budget.

05:24You have in your PowerPoint here $17, $18 billion in cuts to medical services.

05:29Again, this is the – this is a 26-page PowerPoint to justify the budget.

05:34So – and this is the budget hearing.

05:37So who is getting fired?

05:42I don't know, Mr. Chairman, if we need to reconvene after they send us the materials.

05:47But I think this is insufficient, clearly, and I'll follow up in my next round.

05:53Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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