by Charlotte Hazard
The new facilities have been set up in states including Texas, Virginia, New York and Montana, and another is soon opening in New Hampshire. The VA's backlog of cases is reportedly down 25% from when Trump took office.
Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, highlighted for Memorial Day what he called progress that the Trump administration was making at the agency, including the opening of 10 new medical facilities. Collins made the announcement on social media earlier this month.
"We're continuing the work that has been done over the last few years," Collins said on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. "Some of this even goes back to the first Trump administration--making sure these facilities are getting open, [including] newer facilities.
The new facilities have been set up in states including Texas, Virginia, New York and Montana, and Collins hopes to soon open a new medical facility for veterans in New Hampshire, saying they have already started the process following an executive order from the president.
Collins is a former GOP representative from Georgia. He served from 2013 to 2021, and after President Donald Trump's 2024 reelection, was selected to run the Department of Veterans Affairs. During Collins' confirmation hearing in January, Collins made headlines for saying he would defend a program that would allow veterans to seek medical care outside the VA.
VA's backlog down 25% since January
Collins said part of the problem with how the VA has been run in the past is that people weren't allowed to do the jobs they were hired to do. "I got great folks who are freed up to do their job," he said. "I think that's the biggest issue. It has become a priority for us, and I appreciate especially the benefits folks doing this."
Collins said he got a lot of flack from the media for ending the COVID-19 restrictions and bringing people back into the office to work in person.
"We just got word of this, just in the last few days, in spite of all that you heard from the mainstream media and some members of Congress about, 'You're bringing people back to work. You're ending the COVID work restrictions. That's going to cause chaos and stuff.' Actually, what it's done is put our folks back in a community of effort to actually get stuff done."
Collins said that since employees came back to the office on May 5, a record number of cases have been processed.
"Our backlog since January 20 has come down 25 percent," he said. "It was at 260,000 it's now under 200,000. And so, these are the kind of things that you know. Look, I've always believed this: the American worker is absolutely the best worker in the world. When you free them up, take their hands and let them say, do your job-that's what you get."
Charlotte Hazard
Source: https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/va-secretary-doug-collins-discusses-progress-agency-10-new-medical
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