VA secretary emphasizes reforms, accountability for federal workforce

In his first public address to a veterans organization, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins vowed to improve the department’s benefits delivery and expand medical care while bringing reforms to the workforce to refocus its work on people, rather than bureaucracy.

“I want this to be heard clearly by every organization, but especially by those inside the VA walls and the VA workforce: We will not settle for anything less,” Collins told Disabled American Veterans members at their winter conference in Washington, D.C., on Sunday.

“It is not about the VA as an organization. It is about the veterans that we serve. If we are not serving the veteran, then the VA is not in the position it should be.”

The comments came just nine days after department leadership dismissed about 1,000 probationary workers — and amid fears that thousands more could be let go in coming months. President Donald Trump’s administration has made cutting back the number of federal workers a top priority, installing a hiring freeze across government agencies and culling numerous positions deemed irrelevant or non-critical.

Collins, who was sworn into the top VA post on Feb. 5, acknowledged the dismissals in his speech and conceded “yes, there may be others.” But he said the department has already seen significant savings from those moves and started to redirect that money back into veterans’ care programs.

He also pledged to make it easier for veterans to access medical appointments, either within VA or through private-sector clinics.

“The days of making choices limited for veterans on where they can get their care are over,” he said. “We are not going to stand in the way. We’re going to facilitate with proper oversight and the highest quality standards that you get your care as the law prescribes.”

Veterans groups — and Democratic critics — have expressed concerns about the extent of efforts to push medical appointments into the private sector. About 40% of veterans’ health care appointments now are conducted by physicians outside the VA system, and advocates have warned that shifting even more taxpayer dollars there could undermine the stability of VA hospitals.

Collins did not echo those concerns, although he did pledge a balance between the two options. He also promised a continued strong focus on preventing veterans homelessness and suicides, major priorities of the past few administrations that have had mixed success.

“We have spent billions of dollars and added countless programs to the homeless situation and to suicide prevention, and seen nothing,” he said. “I’m ready to see results. I’m ready to take whatever we have and say, ‘What can we do better?’”

The secretary is scheduled to speak with several veterans groups in coming days as they prepare for annual hearings to offer their 2025 legislative priorities to Congress. Collins, an Air Force Reserve chaplain, pledged to work closely with the groups on those issues in the months ahead.