The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is set to cut more than 80,000 positions within the agency that service many veterans in healthcare and various services.
Christopher Syrek, the chief of staff at the VA, announced that the objective is to revert to the staffing levels of 2019, which were below 400,000.
The cut comes in the aftermath of the expansion of the VA during the Biden administration, alongside the need to better service veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances during their service, as outlined in the 2022 PACT Act.
The memo instructs senior staff members to prepare for the agency’s August reorganization and resizing.
According to White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, the president’s goal is to challenge the VA bureaucracy and inefficiencies that have obstructed veterans from obtaining timely and quality care.
According to the VA, the agency received its highest level of service with 9 million enrollees, and fulfilling 127.5 million health care appointments.