Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) on Monday defended the budgets and workforce cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs, as he said he “can’t guarantee” veterans’ benefits and care would be immune from cuts.
In an interview with CNN’s Brianna Keilar, Murphy said the cuts are essential to reining in government spending and restructuring to ensure the agencies work efficiently for the American people.
“No, I can’t guarantee anything,” Murphy said when asked if he could guarantee that veterans’ benefits and care would not be affected by the cuts.
“But the whole purpose, again, of restructuring is to make sure that that agency is efficient,” he added.
Murphy, who sits on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said the issue affects his district acutely.
“Look, I care for our veterans. One out of 10 constituents of mine are veterans. It’s a real issue in eastern North Carolina,” he said. “But the real issue is also when somebody can’t get benefits and they’ve put off their doctor’s appointments for eight or 10 months when they can’t get care. That is where an agency has failed.”
“We’re trying to get an agency that actually works for the people that it’s supposed to be taken care of,” he added.
Murphy said he’s been hearing from voters who are unhappy with the cuts but stressed that some pain is inevitable in the restructuring process.
“Sure, sure. I mean, we’re hearing voters,” he said when asked what he’s hearing from constituents. “A lot are calling our offices, of course. They’re calling all Republican offices, voicing concerns.”
He added: “Is there going to be short-term pain? Is there going to be some issues? Absolutely, and this is what happens with restructuring. But we have to get government back to doing what it’s supposed to be doing, and that’s working for the people.”
The interview comes as the VA has been subject to waves of workforce cuts that saw 1,400 employees axes last Monday after 1,000 workers were cut earlier in February.
VA Secretary Doug Collins also announced the cancellation of up to 875 contracts last Tuesday, but the department paused that effort the following day amid outrage from Democratic lawmakers and veterans’ groups.
Collins defended the workforce cuts last week, saying the recent wave would save the VA more than $83 million per year — to be redirected back toward health care, benefits and services for veterans.
“These and other recent personnel decisions are extraordinarily difficult, but VA is focused on allocating its resources to help as many Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors as possible,” Collins said in a statement last week. “These moves will not hurt VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries. In fact, Veterans are going to notice a change for the better.”
