Local Veteran says Trump’s Cuts to the VA Are Disrespectful to Servicemen and Women

Terry Olson is angry that  G.O.P. budget cuts are harming the ability of the Department of Veterans Affairs [VA] to care for veterans.  Terry is a decorated Army veteran; he signed up in 1974, after graduating from Winona State, and served for three years. He has hearing damage resulting from his service and has to report to the VA hospital on a regular basis, so he sees firsthand the damage that indiscriminate staffing cuts are doing to veteran care.

 “During his first term, President Trump left the budget alone,” says Terry.  “This time around he’s made significant workforce reductions at the Department of Veterans Affairs [VA],” says Terry, with potential cuts of over 80,000 jobs. This represents an estimated 17% reduction in staffing.

“They claim it is not going to be medical professionals,” Terry says, “That still means they are cutting support staff.  When I go to the VA hospital to check in with the audiologist, there is only one person at the desk.  It’s not like there are dozens of office workers sitting around.”  In fact, Terry says, often the VA has had to rely on volunteers to help keep up their level of service. 

“If they are cutting staff, they are making the doctors do more of the work.  If the medical professionals perceive that the grunt work is laid on them, taking away time to actually serve patients, it is going to be harder to attract people to the VA,” Terry worries. 

Another problem, he says, is that when layoffs happen, “The last person hired is the first to go.  You might think we are losing younger people, which would be bad enough, but more likely we are losing veterans who, after retiring from the military, are starting their second career as DOD employees because they still want to serve. “ Veterans get preference on civil service exams because of their knowledge and experience working for government agencies and their familiarity with the issues veterans face.  Terry comments, “A large percentage of the layoffs is from this population—people that have served the country and are nowhere near retirement age, but now they are turned out.  It is a total disrespect for their past service.”

The Trump administration is also causing a  crisis in veteran’s mental health care.  “A few years back,” says Terry, “The VA recognized that its facilities were inadequate to provide one-on-one mental health care for veterans—mainly because of the need for privacy in those conversations.  They came up with the idea that caregivers could work remote—the technology existed for vets to call and be connected to caregivers.  The first Trump administration left that alone, but now all of a sudden he makes the call to have everyone back in the office.  Well, there is no room for caregivers to have private offices.  It has effectively compromised the ability of caregivers to talk confidentially with vets in crisis.  That is a major, major concern for me; it’s a major downgrade in veteran care.  The lack of adequate space is terrible and is probably going to cause fewer vets to reach out.  Meanwhile Trump claims he is ‘only getting rid of excess people—people sitting around doing nothing.’”

Terry talks to a lot of vets, and he says some of those who voted for Trump are starting to realize what is going on.  “They don’t care much about generals being fired, but they depend on the VA for their welfare,” Terry says.  “Ask any medical professional.  If the infrastructure is being compromised, it is going to affect doctors’ ability to serve their patients.”

It frustrates Terry that his Congressman, Brad Finstad, is towing the party line.  “Finstad wants veterans to vote for him, but he doesn’t give them anything in return.  People who are veterans or who have loved ones who are vets should call him up and tell him that those who served their country deserve better.”

Terry Olson in April of 1977, the day he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal