1 week Ago
A new Veterans Affairs health clinic formally opens in Chesapeake on Thursday and already there are concerns that staffing will be inadequate to handle the needs of the large veteran population here in Hampton Roads. The clinic on Battlefield Road was expected to employ 500 people, but will launch with a staff of only 150. It’s impossible to separate that issue from the larger one of deep staffing cuts across the VA sought by the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency.
But what the White House apparently considers an extravagant expense to be slashed, providing health care for our warriors remains a pressing national priority that should not be compromised. For the men and women of the armed forces, the oath of service represents a commitment of the highest honor — a promise to protect and defend the Constitution and the people of our nation. Reciprocally, the United States makes a commitment to those who wear the uniform that it will train and equip them, treat them fairly, and care for them during their service and all the years after.
This was not always the case. There have been periods when the nation has fallen short of its promises. But it has generally tried to do well by those who serve this country, including through health care provided by the VA — a system that traces its roots to 1865 and the establishment of a facility to treat soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
In recent years, the VA has been plagued by problems, including lengthy waits for appointments that caused harm, and even death, to veterans across the country. The Hampton VA Medical Center once had the ignoble distinction of having the worst record for clients waiting for care. It has been a long road of improvement, and there is plenty yet to do for the VA to fulfill its mission.
The Trump administration, however, has no plan for reform or improvement. There is no strategy to fix the agency so it is more responsive to veterans’ needs or more capable of delivering services on time. Instead, there are only reckless and wanton cuts to services and mass firings without a single word as to how doing so will better serve our military retirees.
The White House plans to eliminate 83,000 jobs from the VA, bringing the department to 2019 staffing levels. Many of those employees slated for termination are themselves veterans; many already shoulder heavy workloads due to the VA not being adequately staffed now. That was expected when Congress passed the PACT Act in 2022, which dramatically expanded access to care for veterans suffering from conditions related to toxic exposure and other maladies.
Apparently President Donald Trump believes the quality of care for our veterans will be unchanged by short-staffing medical centers and clinics, such as those in Hampton Roads. Sign up for Viewpoints, an opinion newsletter The Virginia Department of Veterans Affairs reports that 1 in 12 residents is a veteran, approximately 714,000 in all. The percentage is higher in Hampton Roads, where 10% of the population served in the armed forces.
Just as the nation has an obligation to these men and women, so does our region, recognizing that our veteran population contributes greatly to our communities and our economy. That’s why Virginia’s congressional delegation pushes for more health care facilities, for improvements in services and for laws that make life easier for military retirees. Their determined efforts are matched by state and local officials working within their capacity to make the commonwealth a place where veterans know we have their backs.
Our commander-in-chief should do the same, but he’s instead determined to allow Elon Musk and his DOGE team to undermine the VA, fire thousands of people and break the nation’s promise to our veterans. While that’s unsurprising from someone who called our fallen service members “suckers and losers,” Trump’s actions are deeply shameful and veterans, including those in Hampton Roads, will suffer as a result..
