Kearny Mesa VA Clinic, San Diego CA. Image: S and S Imaging/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffA reduction in force memo from the VA has outlined plans to return that workforce to its 2019 force level of around 400,000 employees, representing a total cut of around 80,000 workers.
“VA, in partnership with our DOGE leads, will move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach to identify and eliminate waste, reduce management and bureaucracy, reduce footprint, and increase workforce efficiency,” said the internal memo dated March 4, adding that some of the savings would be reinvested.
The memo gave a timeline culminating in a department-wide RIF prior to the end of the fiscal year:
– Internal reviews dues April 10, followed by responses to OMB and OPM by April 14
– Department-wide review will be completed by May 9
– VA reorganization plan to be published in June, followed by RIFs this summer
The American Federation of Government Employees, which counts VA personnel among its members, decried the potential impact on administering benefits through the PACT Act, signed August 2022, and expanding benefits to veterans exposed to toxic burn pits and other environmental hazards. That added 23 new presumptive conditions including cancers and respiratory condition and simplified the process for applying for benefits.
“Firing more than 80,000 workers, a third of whom are veteran themselves, will destroy the VA’s ability fulfill the PACT Act’s promises to veterans who either died or became ill as a result of exposure to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances,” said AFGE president Everett Kelley. She claimed most of the employees being targeted in the RIF “were hired explicitly to provide the benefits provided for in the PACT Act.”
The VA also recently announced plans to cull 585 “non-mission-critical or duplicative contracts,” out of some 90,000 and amounting to around $1.8 billion – something the department said would enable it to redirect $900 million back toward health care, benefits and services.
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