Doug Collins is now in charge of veterans’ healthcare after winning strong support in the Senate. The vote wasn’t even close – 77 senators said yes, while 23 said no. What makes this special is that both Republicans and Democrats backed him, which doesn’t happen often these days.
Collins knows what veterans need. He served as a Navy chaplain and worked in the Air Force Reserve. Now he’s taking over an organization that helps veterans get medical care at more than 1,300 facilities. But the job won’t be easy.
He promised to fix problems like long wait times at VA hospitals and make sure veterans can see doctors quickly.
Some changes are already underway at the VA. About 60 employees who work on diversity, equity and inclusion activities were put on paid leave. The VA also stopped hiring for more than a quarter of positions, including support and administrative healthcare roles, though 300,000 healthcare positions are exempt from this freeze. This has worried some people in Congress.
Senator Richard Blumenthal supported Collins but sent him a worried letter right after the vote. “Over the past two weeks, we have seen an unprecedented number of dangerous and unlawful actions from the White House that will decrease access to care for veterans,” he wrote. He wants Collins to reverse the hiring freeze and make sure the VA has enough funding.
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Collins will be in charge of a massive healthcare system – 400,000 workers and 1,380 medical facilities across the country. He says veterans should have choices about their care. They can use VA facilities or sometimes visit local doctors through the community care program established by the 2018 MISSION Act.
One big debate is about reproductive healthcare services. The VA expanded access to abortion services in certain cases under the Biden administration, and some senators wanted to know if Collins would change these rules. He said he would review if the current policy complies with a 1992 law about VA healthcare services.
Mike Bost, who leads the House Committee on veterans’ issues, thinks Collins is the right person for the job. “We must restore accountability for bad VA employees, streamline the delivery of benefits, and make certain that the intent of the VA community care program is understood,” he said.
The Disabled American Veterans organization expressed pleasure over Collins’ confirmation and hopes for sensible reforms.Collins knows he’s facing big challenges. The VA needs more money to help veterans exposed to toxins like Agent Orange. He promised Congress he wouldn’t try to save money by cutting veterans’ benefits, stating “I’m gonna take care of the veterans. That means that we’re not gonna balance budgets on the back of veterans benefits.”
