U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins toured the Battle Creek VA Medical Center Monday, alongside U.S. Republican Representatives Bill Huizenga and Tom Barrett.
There, Collins thanked six VA employees for their work, congratulating them on their dedication and performance.
But Collins also confirmed that he’s looking to cut around 15% of VA employees, over 70,000 people.
He said he has sympathy for those who may lose their jobs, but added that cuts are necessary.
“We got about 30% across government who are veterans. And you know, I've been on the side of losing my job and there's no greater disappointment that I have than moving and having letting anybody go for that matter, whether they're a veteran or not," Collins said.
“They still have their benefits. They still have their health care. And we've got to have a system, though, that understands that the VA, frankly, and especially us, is not an employment agency. We're a service organization and we got to make sure we're doing the service that we're called to do.”
Collins said the cuts were meant to address concerns of waste, fraud and abuse within the Department, and that no VA services would be affected by planned cuts.
“No disability benefits are being cut and no benefits of anything are being cut, and no healthcare budgets are being cut. Those are things that we do inherently.”
Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program.
