The Department of Veterans Affairs VA has temporarily halted its plan to terminate hundreds of contracts after significant pressure from lawmakers, including Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Richard Blumenthal D-Conn..
This reversal comes a day after VA Secretary Doug Collins had publicly announced the cancellation of up to 875 contracts in a video shared on social media.
Blumenthal, who has criticized the Trump administration’s broader efforts to cut costs across the federal government, particularly through the Department of Government Efficiency DOGE, expressed concern over the potential loss of contracts that he believes provide critical services to veterans, such as disability compensation processing, cancer care, medical services, and VA home loan program modernization.
He warned that these cuts could hinder oversight operations and the identification of waste, fraud, and abuse.
Collins had argued that the canceled contracts would save the VA $2 billion, which could be redirected toward veterans’ health care and benefits.
However, the VA clarified that no final decisions had been made, and ongoing reviews would be conducted to assess which contracts to cancel, ensuring that no services to veterans would be impacted.
In addition to the contract cancellations, the VA has already implemented two rounds of firings, reducing its workforce by 2,400 employees.
These changes have drawn criticism from veterans’ groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars VFW, which highlighted the negative impact of losing experienced staff, many of whom are veterans themselves, with specialized knowledge and security clearances.
The VA’s pause underscores the complexities of balancing cost-saving measures with maintaining quality services for veterans, with lawmakers and veterans’ organizations continuing to scrutinize the department’s approach.