NEW: Baldwin Releases Report on How Trump Cuts Are Hurting Veterans and Caregivers

4 out of 5 veterans are worried about cuts impacting care
WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) released anew reporton how President Donald Trump’s reckless cuts to staff and services are hurting our veterans.
“When Americans serve and sacrifice for our freedom, it’s our duty to have their back when these brave men and women return home,”said Senator Baldwin.“As we spend this weekend remembering those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for us and honoring the families of the fallen, we also recommit ourselves to taking care of those in uniform, those who returned home, and the loved ones of our troops. I will work with anyone to do right by our veterans and survivors but this Administration is failing to keep their end of that sacred promise.”
President Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE are enacting deep cuts across the federal government that continue to cost veterans their jobs and jeopardize essential care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that veterans and their caregivers rely on every day. VA Secretary Doug Collins announced they plan to cut83,000 jobs, slashing the essential workforce by over 17 percent at the federal agency. These cuts come on top of staffing shortages at the VA, including having66,000 vacanciesacross the health system, and further outlined in a2024 reportthat found that 137 of 139 VA health centers nationwide report a severe staffing shortage in at least one area, particularly nursing and psychology.
NPRfound that 11,273 VA employees nationwide have applied for deferred resignation, which the Trump administration is offering as part of its DOGE initiative to cut the VA's workforce. The top positions across all networks that are requesting deferred resignation are nurses (about 1,300), medical support assistants (about 800), and social workers (about 300). In arecent pollby Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, more than 4 out of 5 veterans said they are concerned that recent federal cuts could impact veteran benefits and health care.
Veterans are also being hit hard by cuts across the federal agencies, where they make up30 percentof the nearly 2.3 million civilian federal workforce. DOGE’s stated goal to eliminate 75 percent of the federal workforce could mean that up to500,000 veteranscould lose their jobs.
Read thefull report.
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