America’s veterans face a mounting crisis in the very system meant to serve them, as a series of recent decisions and troubling trends come to light. From Florida’s Tampa Bay to the halls of Congress, concerns are boiling over about the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) shrinking workforce, the erosion of worker protections, and the declining quality of care—especially in mental health—for those who have served.
On August 8, 2025, U.S. Representative Kathy Castor (FL-14) sent a sharply worded letter to VA Secretary Douglas A. Collins, criticizing the department’s August 6 decision to terminate collective bargaining agreements for most VA bargaining-unit employees. Castor’s letter, made public by her office, highlights the impact this decision will have on nearly 80% of the VA’s workforce, including those in mission-critical roles. She warned, “We owe a debt to America’s veterans and their families. We must fund the VA, protect veterans’ health care, support our VA workforce and ensure that veterans and their families get the benefits they deserve.”
Florida is home to the nation’s second-largest veteran population, and the Tampa Bay region is a focal point. Hillsborough County alone boasts roughly 125,000 veterans enrolled at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital—the highest number in the state. Castor’s alarm is rooted in data from the VA’s July 2025 Workforce Dashboard, which reported net losses exceeding 8,700 veteran-facing employees across the VA for the fiscal year. These aren’t just numbers; they represent real people and essential positions: over 2,129 registered nurses, 1,283 medical support assistants, 751 physicians, and 1,294 veteran claim examiners have left the agency under Secretary Collins’ leadership.
“It is clear that your actions as Secretary are negatively impacting the VA workforce,” Castor wrote to Collins. “VA is attritting employees that are critical to VA’s ability to meet its mission to serve veterans at an alarming rate. Your recent decision to terminate collective bargaining agreements for the vast majority of VA workers will most certainly lead to more employees choosing to leave the Department and fewer prospective workers choosing VA as an employer.”
The fallout is already being felt locally. Between January 1 and August 8, 2025, 41 employees left the Tampa and St. Petersburg VA Healthcare System. Castor requested detailed data on all employee departures and on veteran appointment cancellations or rescheduling due to staffing shortages at Tampa and Bay Pines VA Healthcare Systems since January 1, 2025. She’s demanding answers by August 15, hoping to stem what she describes as a “betrayal” of the patriotic Tampa Bay community.
The workforce crisis isn’t contained to Florida. According to ProPublica, a new analysis of hiring at VA hospitals since President Donald Trump returned to office paints a bleak national picture. Between January and March 2025, nearly 40% of doctors offered jobs at VA hospitals declined—an astonishing 400% increase from the previous year under President Biden. Every month since January has seen a net decline in doctors employed by the VA, and between January and June, twice as many nurses left the VA system as were hired. The agency, under Secretary Collins, is on pace to cut 30,000 jobs by the end of the 2025 fiscal year.
These workforce reductions are happening alongside a wave of anti-union actions. Secretary Collins’ announcement of terminating collective bargaining agreements for more than 350,000 unionized employees was met with fierce criticism. Democrats on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee said, “While Secretary Collins tries to spin this horrific VA decision to terminate union contracts for most bargaining-unit VA employees, we see it for what it is—a politically motivated attack on VA employees’ rights, power, and autonomy.” Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley called the action “shameful,” and Illinois Rep. Delia Ramirez said it “puts veterans’ care at risk and was unacceptable.”
The impact on patient care is already visible. ProPublica notes that wait times for primary and specialty care, outpatient surgery, and appointments have increased. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, didn’t mince words: “This announcement makes clear VA is bleeding employees across the board at an unsustainable rate because of the toxic work environment created by this Administration and DOGE’s slash and trash policies.”
The challenges don’t end with staffing. Seven years ago, Congress passed the VA MISSION Act, aiming to guarantee veterans high-quality healthcare, whether from the VA or through the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP), which allows veterans to see private providers. The law’s focus on quality was clear—“quality” appears 50 times in the legislation. But a stark gap remains between the training and standards of VA and community providers. A RAND Corporation study found, “a psychotherapist selected from the community is unlikely to have the skills necessary to deliver high-quality mental health care to service members or veterans.”
VA providers must complete comprehensive training and conduct regular screenings for suicide, PTSD, substance use, and depression. Private VCCP providers, however, are only required to complete an opioid safety module; the remaining seven essential trainings are merely recommended. The result? Between 2021 and 2023, veterans were referred to 22,725 private mental health providers through VCCP, but only about 380—just 2%—completed any VA training modules. More than 8,000 veterans flagged as active suicide risks were referred to providers lacking documented suicide prevention training. It’s a staggering oversight, especially as Congress pushes to expand community-based care.
Recent legislative moves threaten to widen the gap. In July 2025, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs advanced the Veterans’ ACCESS Act, allowing veterans to access community mental health care without pre-authorization or referral. The No Wrong Door for Veterans Act and the HOPE for Heroes Act, both recently advanced in Congress, would further increase referrals to non-VA mental health providers—again, with no training mandates. Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) introduced a bill requiring community mental health providers to meet the same training standards as VA clinicians, but it was voted down by Committee Republicans. Meanwhile, the VA announced that veterans are now allowed 52 weeks of mental health services in the VCCP before needing VA reauthorization.
While the intention behind these legislative changes is to increase veterans’ access to care, critics argue that without rigorous training standards, these reforms could backfire. The VA’s own priorities have shifted toward “network adequacy”—having enough providers—rather than ensuring those providers are properly trained. As the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Inspector General have both pointed out, a glut of untrained providers is no substitute for a smaller, well-prepared workforce.
The stakes are high. As Castor wrote, “Veterans’ access to their earned care and benefits will be affected.” With the VA workforce shrinking, union protections eroding, and the quality of outside care under scrutiny, the nation’s promise to its veterans hangs in the balance. Lawmakers, veterans, and advocates across the political spectrum are demanding urgent action to restore trust and ensure that those who served receive the care and respect they deserve.