Correction: According to information from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as of Aug. 25, the Fredericksburg health care center has at least 420 employees, in line with its phased opening approach. A previous version of this article and headline included incorrect staffing numbers.
Local Democratic lawmakers say staffing at the new Veterans Affairs Fredericksburg Health Care Center remains low six months after a ribbon-cutting for the Spotsylvania County facility, a state of affairs they attributed to harsh White House rhetoric about federal workers.
President Donald Trump’s administration has made cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs and has also used language that was less than supportive, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, said in Fredericksburg on Tuesday afternoon.
“Who’s going to want to work in public service, if you constantly denigrate the workforce?” the Democrat and former Virginia governor asked. “That is an overarching comment, not just about veterans, but it’s terrible.”
Warner was joined by fellow Democrats Rep. Eugene Vindman and Del. Joshua Cole for a second roundtable discussion in the region in less than a week. This gathering, at the Hilton Garden Inn Fredericksburg, centered on veterans’ issues.
Vindman, whose 7th Congressional District includes the Fredericksburg area, said he spoke to U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Douglas Collins about the Spotsylvania medical center, and the secretary promised to have a more detailed discussion with the congressman.
“He has since reneged on that commitment,” said Vindman, “and we’ve sent several letters to ask about the facility, and we have still not secured any commitment to get the facility fully staffed for another two years. And that’s frankly outrageous.”
The current White House amounts to a “profoundly veteran unfriendly administration,” the lawmaker said. Warner also said that the lack of staffing in Spotsylvania is not due to the people who work at the VA.
“They want to get this staffed,” the senator said.
Steve Robertson, who was representing American Legion Post 320 in Spotsylvania, noted another problem.
He said Collins said the VA’s reduction in force wouldn’t affect anyone who was a health care provider. But when Robertson called the VA trying to get a COVID shot, he couldn’t get any help from the automated system.
“Now, that’s a technician that does the website, and that’s not providing health care, but it’s pretty critical if I need services,” he said, “and I get caught in this Catch-22 turning away, and I think that Congress and the administration have to do something really strange called ‘bipartisanship.’
“I know that word’s disappearing from our vocabulary, but trying to solve these problems together and not say, ‘Well, that’s your problem, not my problem.’ It’s all of our problem.”
Other speakers at the event said that it seems like undocumented immigrants can get easier health care than veterans and that specific care for women is harder to come by now because it can be considered gender-specific.
Warner told the assembled group that one thing that could be done for veterans would be to create a better program that helps military members transition to civilian life. After the meeting, he expounded on the concept in an interview with the Free Press.
“There is a transition-assistance program,” he said. “But has anybody taken a fresh look at it?”
The senator said he also wants to make sure the government is communicating effectively with younger veterans, who may be tech-savvy, while officials are still using paper forms.
“So this is something I’ve got to do a little more investigation on,” he said.
On another military topic, having National Guard troops in cities for law enforcement, Warner said there is a better way to operate.
For example, he said, the House of Representatives cut a billion dollars from the Washington, D.C., city budget, which the Senate, at Trump’s request, replaced.
“Remember, these were not federal taxes,” Warner said. “These were taxes that the D.C. residents paid that should go to their community. Get that billion dollars back, and hire permanent law enforcement.”
