Veterans
When trust breaks down at the VA, veterans pay the price
COMMENTARY | A VA employee writes about staffing cuts, labor changes and their impact on morale and care.
AFGE demands resignations of Noem, Miller following member’s slaying
The nation’s largest federal employee union said key leaders involved in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and dissent “defamed” VA nurse Alex Pretti by erroneously describing him as a “domestic terrorist.”
'The violent death of one of our own': VA employees ask for more from their agency after nurse is fatally shot
Workers look to leadership for support, though so far it has pointed the finger at its political opponents after federal officers shot and killed a VA employee.
Man fatally shot by Border Patrol agents was a federal employee at VA
The intensive care unit nurse was 37. His death could have widespread implications for federal operations.
VA has shed 40,000 employees, Democratic report finds, with drastic impacts on veterans
The department saw staffing losses of 30,000, which includes thousands of front-line health care staff.
Lawmakers question VA health record’s costs and batched deployments
The agency is looking to deploy its new Oracle Health EHR near simultaneously at four Michigan medical facilities in April 2026.
Lawmaker looks to shake up VA’s software management
Legislation from Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., prioritizes waste reduction when it comes to the roughly $1 billion that VA spends annually on software assets.
Lawmakers signal support for using AI to prevent veteran suicides in FY26 VA funding bill reports
“There is a significant need to improve early suicide indicators and detection using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies that improve operational efficiency and effectiveness throughout veteran service delivery,” according to a House Appropriations panel report.
Lawsuit offers new details of VA’s anti-union EO implementation
According to a legal challenge from AFGE’s National Veterans Affairs Council, VA Secretary Doug Collins failed to implement President Trump's executive orders aimed at ousting unions from most federal agencies when he issued exemptions to a handful of unions that had not challenged the administration in court.
Shutdown is ‘holding my veterans hostage,’ VA chief says
Some critical services are paused and many employees are not getting paid, Doug Collins says, though he will not guarantee their back pay.
Inside Mission Daybreak: VA’s effort to support innovative suicide prevention
VA’s director of data and analytics innovation said the program “is looking for what is the right solution for the ways that we want to optimize care, and sometimes that's technology, and sometimes it isn't.”
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Plan to expand PACT Act eligibility for 9/11 Pentagon personnel introduced
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., wants to provide Defense Department personnel present at the Pentagon following the 9/11 attacks access to benefits provided by the landmark veteran health care bill.
AI-based suicide prevention efforts at VA always have human involvement, official says
“We do not currently have any plans that I'm aware of to use AI as a treatment device instead of providers,” Evan Carey, acting director of VA’s National Artificial Intelligence Institute, told lawmakers.
Unions urge VA to restore bargaining ahead of deadline
President Trump’s order extending a ban on collective bargaining to additional agencies opened the door for more labor groups to continue representing employees at the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments.
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VA to set caps on its workforce, eliminate positions and tighten controls on hiring
The Veterans Affairs Department secretary is creating a new "baseline" that cannot easily be exceeded, according to internal memo.
VA's suicide prevention lead departs government
Dr. Matthew Miller, the executive director for VA Suicide Prevention, has overseen efforts to explore the use of innovative solutions during his tenure.
Ex-Veterans Affairs acquisition leader broke several ethics rules at 2023 conference, watchdog finds
Investigators reported that Judith Dawson generally ignored or dismissed ethics concerns raised by an employee.
New law aims to avoid repeat of recent scandals at Veterans Affairs
VA in 2024 paid millions in critical skill bonuses to senior executives and received nearly $3 billion in supplemental funding to address a budget shortfall that ultimately didn’t materialize.
Veterans Affairs reduces claims backlog at record rate
The Veterans Affairs Department processed more disability compensation and pension claims in fiscal 2025 than any other previous year.
VA terminates most of its union contracts, appearing to disregard OPM guidance
The move runs against the Trump administration’s claims to federal jurists that agencies would wait until the conclusion of litigation challenging the president’s executive order seeking to outlaw collective bargaining at most federal agencies on national security grounds.
