Sen. Hirono: “This shouldn’t be controversial—providing world class care for our veterans is something we should all be able to agree on.”
~ Video of Sen. Hirono’s remarks at the press conference is available here ~
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, joined Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), colleagues, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) labor unions, advocates, and veterans in holding a press conference about how the Trump Administration’s harmful policies have and continue to negatively impact VA employees and health care and benefits for veterans.
Trump and Elon Musk’s actions to attack VA’s workforce, include the “Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative,” which aims to reduce the workforce by 75 percent; a hiring freeze on employees critical to delivering health care and benefits to veterans; and Elon Musk’s “Fork in the Road” ‘buyout’ offer which forces VA employees to either keep their positions or give up their role for eight months of pay and benefits. This onslaught of attacks comes at a time when VA faces critical staffing shortages and increased demand for its services, including those that deliver veterans’ health care and benefits, food service, support for veterans experiencing homelessness or mental health crises, and VA cemetery services.
“Veterans are important members of our communities who deserve the utmost respect and have made the ultimate sacrifice to serve our country,” said Senator Hirono. “Yet, President Trump and his administration’s recent executive orders are sowing chaos for our veterans and the federal employees who care for them, causing health care and benefits shortages, and causing instability that affects the health of millions of Americans. While Trump and his billionaire buddies continue to treat government agencies like corporations, our veterans are the ones who will pay the price. This shouldn’t be controversial—providing world class care for our veterans is something we should all be able to agree on and I will continue doing everything I can to protect and care for our nation’s servicemembers and veterans.”
There are more than 15 million veterans in the U.S., with more than 100,000 in Hawaii alone. However, President Trump and Elon Musk’s recent policies do not just harm veterans, but also millions of people’s access to health care across the country.
During the press conference, Senator Hirono highlighted that nearly 70 percent of physicians practicing in our country have trained at VA. In addition to physicians, many other health care professionals—including nurses, medical technicians, administrators, and those who keep medical facilities safe and clean—also rely on VA facilities for training. Hawaii, like many other states, already faces a massive health care shortage with thousands of positions left unfilled and the recent hiring freezes and rescission of jobs will only continue to elongate wait times and increase obstacles to receiving care.
“That is how important our VA system is and how important it is to keep all of that going,” said Senator Hirono during the press conference. “So, here we are once again, standing up for the people in our country who deserve our support.”
Video of Senator Hirono’s remarks at the press conference is available here.
As a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senator Hirono has consistently worked to support veterans in Hawaii and across the country. This month, Senator Hirono reintroduced the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act of 2025, bicameral, bipartisan legislation that would speed up the visa process for children of Filipino World War II veterans. In January, Senator Hirono introduced the Veterans Member Business Loan Act. This bipartisan and bicameral legislation expands access to capital for veteran-owned small businesses by removing arbitrary lending caps imposed on credit union member business loans. In May 2024, Senator Hirono introduced the Parity for Native Hawaiian Veterans Act, legislation to improve the affordability of health care services for Native Hawaiian veterans. Among other things, the bill would eliminate copays for Native Hawaiian veterans for care received through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and would enable Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems to seek direct reimbursement from VA for care provided to Native Hawaiian veterans.
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