VA cuts are keeping veterans waiting for treatment they were guaranteed
On March 5, 2025, Samantha Crowder sat at her small bedroom office, scowling at a leaked memo from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The memo outlined an unbelievable plan: the VA was firing around 80,000 employees as part of a project with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The aim, the memo stated, was to “cut waste” and “streamline bureaucracy”.
For veterans like Samantha, who depend on the VA for medical care, these cuts are not just numbers on a sheet of paper. They translate to real delays, real pain, and delayed access to life-changing treatments guaranteed by the PACT Act.
What is the PACT Act?
The PACT Act, signed into law in 2022, enhanced health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, Agent Orange, and other poisons. The bill was praised as one of the largest veteran health care boosts in American history.
It had promised to offer screenings, treatments, and greater access to benefits to millions of veterans. To many, it was a long-overdue acknowledgement of the illnesses they acquired after serving their country.
Samantha is a disabled veteran who has been approved for therapy under the PACT Act to address her breathing issues and chronic pain. Now, because of the budget reductions in staffing, her therapy sessions were put on hold indefinitely.
Veterans experience long waits
Samantha is not isolated. Across the nation, veterans are griping about waiting months for appointments, delayed therapy sessions, and the inability to contact VA offices.
Before the cuts, the VA was already crippled by backlogs. With tens of thousands fewer employees now, the problem has increased. For rural veterans, where VA centres are few and far between, the wait can be catastrophic.
“I think they promised us something and pulled the rug out from under us,” said Samantha. “We served our nation, but when it is time for them to serve us, all of a sudden there is no money, no people, and no sense of urgency.”
Why the cuts happened
The VA similarly partnered with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to reduce costs. DOGE was created for the purpose of restructuring federal agencies but is being criticised as a way of being used to significantly cut personnel without regard to the effect.
The memo that was leaked emphasised efficiency, but veterans’ leaders argue that efficiency should never come before medical care. Fewer people mean fewer doctors, fewer nurses, and fewer bureaucrats to make decisions and book treatments.
“The VA wasn’t perfect previously,” said John Martinez, a veterans’ rights activist. “But these reductions are making a formerly broken system explode. Veterans are paying the price with their well-being.”
The human cost
The wait for treatment is a struggle Samantha faces every day. She can only walk short distances before she needs to catch her breath. Her constant pain keeps her tossing at night. The treatment she was promised with the PACT Act could cure her symptoms, but with too few staff members, she waits.
“I don’t require another speech from Washington. I require treatment,” she said. “Each day I wait, my condition deteriorates.”
Other veterans are facing the same. Some must drive hundreds of miles to reach a facility where there are open appointments. Others gripe that their weeks-long wait to reach VA hotlines leaves them unattended.
Calls for change
Veterans groups are calling on Congress to act. They believe the VA needs more money and staff, not fewer, especially with the growing number of veterans eligible for care under the PACT Act.
Lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum have been worrying about it. Some promised to investigate whether the cuts are undermining the VA’s ability to carry out its mission.
“The VA is there to treat those who served,” a frustrated senator groused. “We can’t let efficiency take precedence over duty.”
What’s next?
The VA has said it will continue to prioritise care, even with fewer employees. But veterans aren’t so sure. With nearly 80,000 fewer staff members, delays are inevitable.
Experts warn that unless something is done, the waiting list of veterans waiting to be treated will reach an all-time high by the end of 2025. That leaves even more veterans like Samantha in limbo, wondering if and when they will receive the treatment they so desperately require.
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Final thoughts
The PACT Act was to be a promise kept — a promise that those veterans who had been exposed to toxic substances would finally get the treatment they’ve earned. Instead, frontline staff cuts at the VA have turned that promise into another delay, another excuse, and another broken system.
For disabled veterans like Samantha, the outrage is palpable: “We gave everything for this country. All we’re asking for is the care we were promised. Why is that so hard?”
