Most veterans and their family members are concerned about proposed cuts at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, according to new polling.
Mission Roll Call, a nonprofit group, surveyed about 2,000 veterans and family members after VA Secretary Doug Collins announced a proposal to reshape the agency. An internal memo showed the VA plans to return to 2019 workforce levels, which would result in the department cutting about 83,000 positions. Collins on Tuesday said the goal is to cut the VA’s workforce by about 15%, but noted that the final figure could be higher or lower than that.
The Mission Roll Call poll found 44% of veterans were “very concerned” about the cuts and 20% were “concerned.” Another 19% said they weren’t concerned at all.
The polling also showed that most veterans don’t support VA cuts. It found 37% don’t support VA cuts while another 37% support the cuts as long as the savings is redirected toward improving agency services. Another 18% said they support cutting federal spending, but not at the VA. Nine percent said they support the cuts.
About 40% of veterans said the VA workforce reductions caused stress or medical concerns that affected their well being. Another 52% said the cuts had not caused stress or medical concerns.
“Some are concerned that the cuts will affect service, but the majority of veterans say the cuts haven’t affected their service,” Mission Roll Call CEO Jim Whaley told The Center Square.
Whaley, a 20-year Army veteran, also noted that the VA’s most recent budget request seeks a funding increase. VA is requesting a total of $369.3 billion in fiscal year 2025, a 9.8% increase above fiscal year 2024 estimated levels.
“I think that shows that there’s an appetite to make sure that the VA is providing the very best health care that they can,” Whaley said.
The poll also found that most veterans support community care in some form. Some 51% said the VA should focus on its core care strengths and outsource the rest to community care, essentially private providers. Another 15% said the VA should reduce direct care and provide more services through community care. And 34% said the VA should be the sole care provider for veterans.
“Community Care is a lightning rod issue in Washington, falling along partisan lines. On the one hand, many veterans struggle to access VA care for various reasons, from lack of a specialist in their local area, to excessive travel times, to lengthy wait times,” Mission Roll Call noted. “On the other hand, a formidable group of lawmakers and some [veteran service organizations] are concerned that community care is akin to privatizing the VA, and risks removing the VA’s oversight role in delivering the best care possible for veterans.”
The poll also showed veterans want VA to offer services such as obesity treatment (67%), medical marijuana (57%), abortion (50%), hyperbaric oxygen therapy (49%), psychedelics such as MDMA and psilocybin, ketamine (27%) and esketamine (12%).
The federal government, which runs the VA, has listed marijuana as a schedule I drug, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no medical use. Other schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD and MDMA.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was previously only used to treat decompression sickness, burn victims and carbon monoxide poisoning.
However, it has been used off-label to treat everything from ADHD, autism and traumatic brain injury to post-traumatic stress disorder. The U.S. Government Accountability Office found limited benefits in a 2015 review of studies on such treatments. MDMA and psilocybin have shown promise in treating PTSD and other mental health issues, but have yet to gain mainstream support. Ketamine also has shown promise, especially with treatment-resistant depression
