THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE ARTICLE BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: The VA in Danville has had employee layoffs due to federal government cuts.
DANVILLE — An exact number hasn’t been given, but the Veterans Affairs Illiana Health Care System in Danville has lost employees with the federal government cuts.
A statement from the VA, “VA Illiana Health Care System has dismissed a small number of probationary staff this month. This decision will have no negative effect on veteran health care, benefits or other services and will allow VA to focus more effectively on its core mission of serving veterans, families, caregivers and survivors. We cannot discuss specific personnel matters due to privacy concerns.”
According to a U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs news release this week, the department announced the dismissal of more than 1,400 employees in non-mission critical positions at locations across the country.
In the meantime, VA continues to hire for more than 300,000 mission-critical positions that are exempt from the federal hiring freeze.
VA positions considered mission critical include Veterans Crisis Line responders, among other roles. VA positions considered non-mission critical include DEI-related positions, among other roles.
Those dismissed this week are bargaining-unit probationary employees who have served less than a year in a competitive service appointment or who have served less than two years in an excepted service appointment, according to the release.
“The personnel moves will save the department more than $83 million per year, and VA will redirect all of those resources back toward health care, benefits and services for VA beneficiaries,” the release continued.
There are currently nearly 40,000 probationary employees across the department, the vast majority of whom were exempt from the personnel actions because they serve in mission-critical positions – primarily those supporting benefits and services for VA beneficiaries. VA employees who elected to participate in the Office of Personnel Management’s deferred resignation program also are exempt from this week’s personnel actions.
As an additional safeguard to ensure VA benefits and services are not impacted, the first Senior Executive Service (SES) or SES-equivalent leader in a dismissed employee’s chain of command can request that the employee be exempted from removal.
This week’s actions follow other dismissals VA announced Feb. 13 and are part of a government-wide President Donald Trump Administration effort to make agencies more efficient, effective and responsive to the American people. To that end, VA is refocusing on its core mission: providing the best possible care and benefits to veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors, according to VA.
“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,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins. “These moves will not hurt VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries. In fact, veterans are going to notice a change for the better. In the coming weeks and months, VA will be announcing plans to put these resources to work helping the department fulfill its core mission: providing the best possible care and benefits to veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors.”
The Veterans Health Administration is the largest integrated health care system in the U.S., providing care to more than 9.1 million VA health care program enrolled veterans at 1,380 health care facilities, including 170 VA Medical Centers and 1,193 outpatient clinics/sites of care.
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