Protest Erupts Over Proposed VA Budget Cuts in Ann Arbor
In Ann Arbor, a gathering of several hundred individuals took place outside a veterans hospital over the weekend. The focus of the protest was against the federal reductions targeting the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
President Donald Trump has put forward initiatives to reduce staffing levels, attempted to invalidate certain federal union agreements, and has advocated for telehealth personnel to return to offices that may lack the necessary space.
State Representative Joe Tate, a marine corps veteran from Detroit, expressed his concerns at Saturday’s protest, having been a beneficiary of the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System himself. Tate voiced his distress over dwindling resources, cautioning about the severe implications.
“You have these effects where you’re going to put people in the ground, veterans in the ground, if some of these veterans don’t get the services they need,” stated Tate.
A prominent issue raised during the protest was the potential threat to funding for the 2022 PACT Act, designed to assist veterans exposed to harmful chemicals, such as those from burn pits or Agent Orange.
Earlier this month, Trump approved a spending package that reduced financial allocations for the Act as part of a strategy to prevent a government shutdown, which some Senate Democrats also supported.
Army veteran Justin Coates, carrying an American flag and a megaphone, shared his experience of sleeping near a burn pit during his initial tour.
“We used to throw like lithium batteries into it and trash and human waste and stuff like that. I slept next to it night, and we used to joke about how we were all going to die of cancer in a few years. So, when the PACT Act was passed, that was great. We were all excited about that. I was able to get on the registry. I told all my friends about it, all the guys in my squad,” Coates recounted.
Coates remains concerned that the hardships endured by veterans may be neglected, noting that he has lost more friends to suicide than to combat.
“Hearing about the cuts to the veteran crisis line, hearing about veteran crisis-line operators having to operate from their cars or in open air cubicles or what have you, just seeing the absolute lack of care for veterans under the guise of increasing efficiency, it’s frankly insulting to everyone’s intelligence,” said Coates.
Meanwhile, VA leadership has strongly refuted claims that the modifications will result in diminished veteran services. VA Secretary Doug Collins, in a video response posted on February 13, dismissed stories of veterans’ benefits being slashed as media “hypotheticals.”
“Reality is, veterans benefits aren’t getting cut,” Collins declared. “In fact, we’re actually giving and improving services.”
Collins emphasized the department’s increased efficiency and expedited case resolutions.
Since the video, Collins has stood by proposed plans to release 80,000 VA employees as part of efforts involving billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Governmental Efficiency, or D.O.G.E.
A collection of union leaders and officials, such as Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and U.S. Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Debbie Dingell, voiced their disapproval of the Trump Administration’s actions during the rally.
Dingell expressed concern over veterans becoming collateral damage in broad departmental cuts, highlighting the ongoing struggle of both Democratic and Republican administrations to adequately support veterans.
“We have to honor our commitment and keep working to go forward. And when you see this many people understanding that we’ve got a moral responsibility (to those) who fought to keep us free, that’s what they’re out here for, fighting for those veterans,” Dingell stated.
Michigan is home to approximately 479,000 veterans, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
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