{"id":31657,"date":"2025-04-16T17:24:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T17:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/04\/16\/house-vets-chairman-backs-va-staffing-cuts-but-promises-oversight\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:21:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:21:11","slug":"house-vets-chairman-backs-va-staffing-cuts-but-promises-oversight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2025\/04\/16\/house-vets-chairman-backs-va-staffing-cuts-but-promises-oversight\/","title":{"rendered":"House vets chairman backs VA staffing cuts but promises oversight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Chairman Mike Bost <\/a>doesn\u2019t know what the full impact of cutting tens of thousands of federal workers from Veterans Affairs payrolls will be, but he is confident it won\u2019t cripple the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe amount of people who have been let go so far is minimal,\u201d the Republican congressman from Illinois said during a recent sit-down with Military Times. \u201cI trust [VA Secretary Doug Collins<\/a>] when he has said that no one is going to lose their benefits. We\u2019re going to provide good, quality care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is we\u2019re realigning VA so that can be done correctly, it can be done efficiently and in the best way for the veteran.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veterans Affairs leaders have announced plans to trim up to 80,000 staffers <\/a>from the department\u2019s workforce as part of broader efforts by President Donald Trump\u2019s administration to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As department officials spar with congressional Democrats<\/a> over the looming staff reductions, Bost\u2019s role as chairman of the House\u2019s primary veterans policy committee sits squarely in the middle of the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has accused his Democratic colleagues of \u201cfear tactics\u201d for their insistence that cuts of that scope will take away veterans\u2019 benefits and services. But he has also promised close scrutiny of plans from Collins and VA leaders to ensure that those predictions don\u2019t come true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI trust Secretary Collins, but that doesn\u2019t stop me from being the chairman that has oversight over this issue,\u201d Bost said. \u201cWe will continue to do that. I have made the commitment to veterans around this nation that the services that they receive are still going to be quality services, hopefully better services, and hopefully done more efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRemember this: veterans are not just veterans, they\u2019re also taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t