Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
WATCH: 'If you hurt a veteran ... you will not work for the VA,' Collins says
Posted
May 15, 2025
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May 15, 2025
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2:17Now PlayingRep. Scott Franklin, R-Fla., asked Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins on Thursday whether he would commit to supporting whistleblowers and people who report sexual harassment.
Franklin said in the last Congress, he saw cases where alleged perpetrators would retire or transfer before an investigation could happen.
“In many cases, these people would leave the VA only to go to another government job in another agency,” Franklin said.
“Can you give us a commitment that when people do come forward and they're courageous enough that we're going to root out the evildoers and get rid of them?”
Collins responded that that’s one of his “primary concerns.”
“If you hurt a veteran and you're working for the VA, you will not work for the VA. That is my commitment,” he said.
Collins appeared before the House Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies subcommittee to testify on his department’s 2026 budget request, which includes a 4 percent increase for VA programs, some of which would be directed toward overhauling the agency’s electronic health record system.
The VA, which is the largest employer of federal workers, has also been a target for significant staffing cuts. On Saturday, a California judge temporarily halted the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal workforce.
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