WASHINGTON — Georgia U.S Sen. Jon Ossoff pressed U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins on staffing levels at the Atlanta VA Medical Center in an Appropriations Committee meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.
“We’d like to work toward a deadline. So, can you give me a date by which you’d like to ensure that the Atlanta VA is fully staffed?” Ossoff asked Collins.
“Well, Senator, I think you know that that’s not something I can give you,” Collins responded.
It’s a problem Channel 2 Action News Investigates has been flagging for years.
Earlier this month, Channel 2 Action News Investigates showed you how an Inspector General audit found that Atlanta VA leadership says it takes 300 days to hire employees.
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Ossoff also pressed Collins about $17 billion in proposed cuts in the 2026 Trump budget to VA medical services. That is a section of the budget that includes health care employees like doctors and nurses.
“My question is, just how many doctors you intend to employ?” Ossoff asked.
“We’re not cutting positions,” Collins responded.
But he could not provide specific numbers.
“At this point in time, I’ll take that and get it back to you,” he continued.
Collins said VA would be shifting funding and resources to community care.
“Today is the budget hearing where you justify the budget request. So how do you justify this cut to medical services? And who are you going to fire in order to pay for it?” Ossoff asked.
“I’ll go back to the same answer I gave you just a few minutes ago. In this process, we’ll have more information on that part of it as we go forward,” Collins answered.
When it comes to hiring for vacant positions in Atlanta, Collins said that remains a priority.
“I would like to have them filled by the end of the fiscal year. That’d be great. But can I tell you now, will it be filled? I’m not going to say they’ll be filled because there’s a lot of other factors in there that I can’t control,” Collins said.
“Any claim that the VA budget request for FY 2026 cuts VA medical services is incorrect. funding for VA medical services (mandatory and discretionary) would increase by $11.5 billion under the Trump Administration’s FY2026 budget request – a 14.2% increase,” said VA Press Secretary Pete Kasperowicz.
Kasperowicz says while the Trump budget proposes $12 billion in cuts to “discretionary” medical services, it increases “mandatory” medical services by $23 billion.
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