Richard Blumenthal

01/24/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/24/2025 17:34

Blumenthal Statement on VA Hiring Freeze Exemptions

Published: 01.24.2025

Blumenthal Statement on VA Hiring Freeze Exemptions

Blumenthal: Only a clear, unequivocal statement to exempt all VA employees from the hiring freeze will reassure me and veterans

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today released a statement on the announcement that certain Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees would be exempt from the federal hiring freeze issued by President Trump on Monday. These exemptions follow sustained efforts from Blumenthal this week urging the Administration to address the VA hiring freeze at a Committee hearing on Tuesday, at VA Secretary nominee Doug Collins' nomination markup, and in a letter sent to President Trump yesterday.

"The latest Administration hiring freeze announcement still falls short. While I'm encouraged the President responded to our concerns by exempting certain VA personnel, only a clear, unequivocal statement to exempt all VA employees from the hiring freeze will reassure me-and veterans-they will receive the care and benefits they need and deserve. The exemptions listed yesterday provide more questions than answers and fail to include key personnel, including Veterans Benefits Administration employees. The Trump Administration is going to try to confuse the issue with a lot of vague assurances. We need a clear commitment every VA employee is exempt-effective immediately. Moreover, the Trump Administration must address the offers it has already rescinded that are now exempt."

As Ranking Member, Blumenthal has led the charge to raise alarms about the Trump Administration's hiring freeze and its impact on VA and veterans. On Tuesday, Blumenthal pressed Doug Collins to push back against a hiring freeze at VA, if confirmed. At Collins' nomination markup, Blumenthal once again stressed his concerns about a hiring freeze at VA and committed to working with Collins to address this issue.

Yesterday, Blumenthal also led a group of 24 Democratic Senators calling on President Trump to immediately exempt all VA employees from the hiring freeze. In the letter to Trump, Blumenthal and the Senators stressed concerns about the negative impact the hiring freeze will have on the delivery of veterans' health care and benefits nationwide - if not quickly reversed.

A link to the Trump Administration's full list of exempt VA employees can be found HERE. These new exemptions are all specific to a subset of positions in the Veterans Health Administration, and are made up primarily of direct care workers, including nurses, physician assistants, psychologists, occupational therapists, and pharmacists. It is still not a full exemption and excludes a number of critical positions at VA - including all positions at the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and National Cemetery Administration (NCA). As a result, Blumenthal is continuing his push for all VA employees to be designated as exempt immediately.

Yesterday's announcement from VA does not provide exemptions for:

  • ANY positions at the VBA or the NCA, which provide veterans' claims processing, survivor benefits, GI Bill education benefits, burial scheduling and operations, and more;
  • Many non-clinical positions critical to VA hospital functioning, including patient advocates, food service workers and chaplains;
  • Nearly all positions who ensure a safe environment of care at VA facilities such as fire protection, housekeeping, plumbing, boiler plant operation, and laundry services;
  • HUD-VASH caseworkers, who help veterans attain access to permanent housing and the support necessary to maintain this housing over time. This position is especially important in reaching homeless veterans during winter months, as well as veterans displaced by the Los Angeles fires;
  • Positions relating to construction project management for new hospitals and clinics, new nursing homes, new cemetery construction, leases, and managing repairs to existing VA facilities;
  • Positions in VA's Office of Information and Technology that perform cyber security, support the IT needs of VA's more than 400,000-person workforce, conduct health data protection, make websites accessible to people with disabilities, and more;
  • Positions for internal audit teams that track waste, fraud, and abuse throughout VA; and
  • The VA Office of Inspector General to hire auditors, investigators, inspectors, and data analysts, who work to catch waste, fraud, and abuse inside and outside of VA - including fraud committed against veterans.

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