January 21, 2025

Duckworth Presses Veterans Affairs Secretary Nominee Doug Collins to Oppose Dangerous Efforts That Would Privatize the VA and Harm Veterans

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC) who still receives her own health care services through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)—pressed Doug Collins, President Trump’s nominee to be VA Secretary, to oppose any effort to privatize VA health care at his confirmation hearing, which would place many Veterans at risk of receiving less effective and less cost-efficient care. In her remarks, Duckworth underscored that VA health care professionals are better positioned to provide the best care possible for our Veterans due to specialized training that informs providers with a unique understanding of Veterans’ experiences and comprehensive medical needs—something that is not replicated in the civilian health care system. Video of Duckworth’s remarks and questions can be found on the Senator’s YouTube.

“After bravely serving our country in uniform, our Veterans deserve nothing less than the high-quality care and benefits from the VA that they’ve earned through their service—and that includes the IVF services they need to start or grow their families,” said Senator Duckworth. “I made it clear to Mr. Collins that I would oppose any effort to privatize our VA, which would be absolutely devastating for our Veterans and make it harder for them to access better, more comprehensive care that is informed by their military service. If Collins is confirmed, I hope that he makes a conscious effort to include Veterans with different backgrounds and life experiences as he builds his VA leadership team so we can ensure no Veteran is left behind.”

During his first term in office, President Trump and his Administration made numerous misguided decisions that made life harder for our Veterans. The VA under Trump racked up a massive payments backlog due to bureaucratic failures within the department that resulted in as many as 82,000 student Veterans not being paid the benefits they were owed under the “Forever GI Bill,” in some cases rendering Veterans homeless. In 2020, Trump’s VA Secretary mishandled a female Veteran’s report of sexual assault at a VA medical center and the Trump-led U.S. Postal Service instituted harmful operational changes that impeded the timely delivery of mail—which significantly delayed the delivery of Veterans’ prescription medications. Additionally, Project 2025’s roadmap for the second Trump term includes radical Veterans policy plans that the Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute said would “decimate Veterans’ health care and benefits,” such as privatizing core VA services and making it much more difficult for Veterans to get a disability rating, which they rely on to receive compensation for their service-related disabilities.

Throughout her tenure in Congress, Duckworth has been a fierce supporter of and an effective legislator for our Veterans. Some of the legislation she has pushed for to help deliver for our Veterans include: 

  • The Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, historic legislation that she helped pass was signed into law in 2022 to overhaul the VA’s processes for toxic-exposed Veterans to include presumptions for several illnesses associated with burn pits and Agent Orange exposures and is helping deliver long-overdue VA healthcare and benefits across all generations of Veterans.
  • Duckworth’s bipartisan Protecting Moms Who Served Act, which was signed into law in 2021, is helping address the maternal mortality crisis among women Veterans by helping improve care at VA facilities and shed light on the scope of this crisis, particularly among women of color.
  • Duckworth’s bipartisan Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act, which became law in 2019, is helping Veteran entrepreneurs start and grow small businesses by allowing Veteran small business owners to acquire equipment and personal property that the federal government no longer has a use for at little to no cost.
  • The Veterans Expedited TSA Screening (VETS) Safe Travel Act, bipartisan legislation she co-led alongside Todd Young (R-IN), Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), was signed into law last year to provide Veterans with service-connected disabilities with expedited screening under the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) PreCheck program.
  • Duckworth’s Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act was signed into law last year as part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which codifies the “Boots to Business” program through 2028—providing our troops, Veterans and military spouses transitioning from military service to civilian life with entrepreneurship education and training.
  • The Veteran Service Organization (VSO) Equal Tax Treatment (VETT) Act, which Duckworth co-led alongside U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D., (R-LA), was signed into law last year to help reform our tax code so that it promotes, rather than discourages, charitable contributions to Veteran Service Organizations.
  • Duckworth has also led the charge in pushing for her Right to IVF Act, comprehensive legislation that would establish a nationwide right to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) while expanding IVF coverage for Veterans. Despite publicly claiming to support IVF throughout the year last year, Republicans ultimately blocked Duckworth’s Right to IVF Act twice.
  • Duckworth has also been a leader in protecting and supporting immigrant Veterans and servicemembers who have proven they are willing to make tremendous sacrifices to defend our nation.
  • Duckworth has also pushed for a package of bills—the Veterans Visa and Protection Act, HOPE Act and I-VETS Act—that would prohibit the deportation of immigrant Veterans who are not violent offenders, provide these Veterans with a pathway to citizenship through their military service and help ensure those who have been deported already can access the VA health care services they are entitled to.

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