Registered nurses rally at congressional district offices for fully staffed VA after OIG report finds staffing shortages at all 139 facilities

Nationwide rallies will target representatives and senators: "Do you stand with or against us in protecting the VA and our veterans?"

On Friday, Sept. 12, nurses across the country will rally at congressional district offices of U.S. senators and representatives to demand these members of Congress sign a pledge to support a fully staffed Veterans Health Administration (VA) and restore collective bargaining rights to VA nurses and other workers, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United. The rallies follow the release of this year's Office of Inspector General (OIG) report, which found severe staffing shortages at the VA had increased by 50 percent in the last year.

The nationwide actions will target U.S. representatives and senators, including: Rep. Scott Peters (CA-50), Sen. John Hickenlooper (Colo.), Rep. Rick Allen (GA-12), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Sen. Ted Budd (N.C.), and Rep. Mike Turner (OH-10).

"We are challenging our elected representatives to stand up to the Trump administration's efforts to privatize the VA," said Irma Westmoreland, RN at Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Ga. and the director of NNU's VA division. "We know the billionaires who run health care corporations are salivating at the opportunity to funnel taxpayer money away from the VA and into private sector care. But we know the VA provides world-class veteran-centric care that cannot be found in the private sector. Now is the time when our elected leaders must let us know: Do you stand with us as we fight for our veterans, or are you against us?"

What: Nurses rally for a fully staffed VA
When: Friday, Sept. 12
Where: See here for list of locations and local times

The OIG report also found 79 percent of VA facilities with "severe shortages" of nurses. However, there is no shortage of nurses in the United States. More than 1 million registered nurses with active licenses are not working as nurses.

The OIG report was released as VA Secretary Doug Collins intends to cut 30,000 staffers from the VA by the end of September. VA nurses held a congressional briefing on May 20 to discuss the negative impact of staffing cuts on veterans' health care.

Nurses are calling on members of Congress to sign a pledge to:

• Restore collective bargaining rights for VA nurses and federal employees to give workers the tools they need to protect patient care.
• Fight against a future reduction in force (RIF) or hiring freeze at the VA so that the VA can restore its facilities to safe staffing levels.
• End the cycle of funneling money from the VA and into the private sector in the next appropriations process.

Nurses are deeply concerned that the proposed FY 2026 VA Appropriations bill, H.R. 3944, takes $15.9 billion away from VA medical services while proposing an additional $14.5 billion to private-sector care. Nurses fear these funding changes will erode the VA's ability to provide high-quality care and lead to further privatization of veteran care.

As outlined in the VA's own "Red Team" Executive Roundtable analysis (March 2024), the funneling of money into private-sector care represents an existential threat to the VA. The report noted that VA spending on private-sector care rose to $30 billion in fiscal year 2023, noting that the cost of private-sector care "threaten[s] to materially erode the VA's direct-care system and create a potential unintended consequence of eliminating choice for the millions of Veterans who prefer to use the VHA direct care system for all or part of their medical care needs."

"Nurses are determined to use our voices to fight for our veterans and the VA," said Sharda Fornnarino, RN at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA in Aurora, Colo., and local director of NNOC/NNU. "But right now, we are feeling the brunt of this vindictive administration, which voided our collective bargaining contract in an effort to silence our advocacy. We know our voices are necessary at the bedside and in the halls of power. We demand the restoration of our union contract.

"Rest assured, we will not be silent," continued Fornnarino, RN. "We will not be intimidated. Our union is much more than a contract. Our union is us, the nurses standing shoulder to shoulder in solidarity as we demand full staffing for the VA so every veteran can get the outstanding care we are determined to provide them."

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.