Lawmakers press VA secretary over probationary firings, crisis-line staffing and return-to-office
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Summary
Members of the House Appropriations panel pressed Secretary Collins on recent personnel actions at the VA — including firings of probationary employees and alleged terminations at the veterans crisis line — and on the department's return-to-office policies and claims about collective-bargaining changes.
House appropriators and lawmakers questioned Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Collins over staffing changes, probationary firings and the impact of personnel decisions on veterans services.
Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz said the first weeks of the new administration included a round of firings that “indiscriminately targeted probationary employees” and cited a letter in which she said the secretary admitted firing 24 employees at the veterans crisis line. "There were several days when calls were not answered because there simply wasn't anyone to do it," she said.
Secretary Collins disputed the claim that crisis-line employees who answered phones were fired. "There was no one who was answering the phone that was fired," he said, adding that employees who were laid off were probationary or behind-the-scenes supervisors and that the department reinstated staff and addressed any problems.
Members pressed Collins on how the VA will prevent similar disruptions to life‑saving services in the future. Collins said the department reviewed staffing decisions, reinstated some positions where appropriate and promised improved safeguards and oversight. He also described a review of department structure and workforce allocations aimed at reducing duplicative administrative roles while protecting "essential jobs like doctors and nurses and claims processors."
Lawmakers also raised the VA's decision to require a rapid return-to-office for many employees and to designate some staff as in national security roles. The ranking member and others said those moves, coupled with firings and contract cancellations, had created confusion and service disruptions.
The committee asked for follow-up information on reinstatements and staffing of the veterans crisis line, and said it will continue oversight to ensure critical lines and life‑saving services remain staffed and fully operational.