Mobile Courant

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville has voiced opposition to the efforts to reverse the Trump administration's measures aimed at increasing efficiency within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Addressing the issue in Washington, he criticized the current administration's expansion of the VA staff and its impact on efficiency.

Senator Tuberville highlighted the significant staff increase under President Biden, stating, "Under President Biden, the VA increased its staff 80,000 people. You’d think that this would mean that we would increase the efficiency of our VA [by] 80,000 percent. Unfortunately, that’s not the case."

He argued that the growth in employee numbers has not yielded expected improvements, as wait times and backlogs have risen. Tuberville supports decreasing the number of VA employees as a means to reallocate resources towards veteran healthcare, maintaining that critical roles like doctors and claims processors should remain prioritized. He stated, "By reducing the number of employees, these savings can be redirected to actually providing veteran healthcare and benefits, while still protecting VA’s mission of critical jobs."

Tuberville pointed to long-standing issues within the VA, pointing out that since 2015, the department has been on the government accountability watchlist. He remarked, "Let’s stand up for our veterans...It’s not by having more people, it’s by having better people."

According to the senator, recent legislative moves would impede former President Trump's mandate to improve the VA's services. Tuberville concluded, "The American people have spoken and the days of business as usual are over. The VA is going to get better."

Senator Tuberville, representing Alabama, is a member of several Senate committees, including the Senate Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs Committees.