Hundreds of veterans and their supporters gathered outside the John J. Cochran Veterans Hospital on Friday to protest the Trump administration’s planned cuts to veterans services.
The demonstrators carried signs calling on the administration to protect veterans. They criticized Elon Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency is pushing to eliminate positions throughout the federal government.
Department of Veterans Affairs officials announced plans to cut about 80,000 positions across the country throughout the year.
“They're laying off veterans who work at the VAs and things like that, and that's uncalled for, by people who didn't even serve,” Air Force veteran Steve Zeiger said.
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said in a video earlier this month that the cuts would amount to a 15% decrease in workers. Collins said the cuts would be achieved without making a dent in health care or benefits to veterans. But many veterans said those cuts will still cause significant pain.
“They're cutting personnel that are not necessarily medical, but how are you going to support the medical staff?” asked veteran Denise Spear. “How are you going to support the veterans and the patients if you don't have the staff to support the providers that are providing the care?”
The cuts are the latest blow to VA services as the department faces staffing shortages and threats to reduce entitlements including food stamps and Medicaid.
“As a veteran who's disabled, I rely on the VA for my medical care,” Air Force veteran Carrie Frail said. “I've already had a couple of providers get fired… so it’s already affecting my care.”
“The VA is not just passing out money like it’s free tickets to Hollywood or Disney World,” Navy veteran Jessica Motzinger said. “If they're receiving care, they have been vetted by numerous levels of bureaucracy, doctors and everything else. They deserve it.”
VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz said in a statement that VA health care has been on the Government Accountability Office’s high-risk list since 2015. “It is still on the list to this day. In other words, VA has had serious problems for at least 10 years running. That’s why our efforts to reform the department are so important,” he said.
He added that the cuts are necessary to overhaul the department, citing an increase in the department’s budget, employees, wait times and backlogs during the Biden administration. Last year, the VA announced an 11% decrease in average wait times for new patients seeking VA primary care and a 7% decrease in average mental health wait times in April compared to that same period in 2023.
The VA laid off about 2,400 probationary employees over the past several weeks. Kasperowicz described the layoffs as “non-mission-critical positions, such as publicists, interior designers, and diversity, equity and inclusion officers.”
“That’s one-half of 1 percent of VA’s workforce. So the notion that these layoffs are causing issues across the department is false,” Kasperowicz said.
“Maybe this will change something, maybe not,” Army veteran Donnell Jones said. “But we've got to keep fighting because if you don't fight now, you're going to be fighting later.”
This story has been updated to include a statement from Veterans Affairs press secretary Pete Kasperowicz.
Send questions and comments about this story to feedback@stlpublicradio.org.
Support Local Journalism
St. Louis Public Radio is a non-profit, member-supported, public media organization. Help ensure this news service remains strong and accessible to all with your contribution today.
