Senator Murray: “I hope that Secretary Collins—who says he’s running the most transparent VA in history—decides that VA can be transparent enough to let a senator hold a discussion about VA healthcare onsite at the local VA, as I have done for over 30 years and I know other members have as well.”
ICYMI: After Trump Admin Refuses to Allow VA to Host Discussion on Women Veterans’ Health Care, Senator Murray Meets with Women Veterans and Advocates In Seattle
ICYMI: At Senate Hearing, Senator Murray Highlights Devastating Cuts to VA Workforce, and Presses Nominees on Willingness to Comply with the Law
*** VIDEO of Senator Murray’s Remarks and Questioning HERE***
Washington, D.C. — Today, at a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing to address veterans’ mental health, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Committee, questioned Dr. Thomas O’Toole, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Health and Clinical Services at Veterans Health Administration, on the importance of transparency and communication between veterans and VA after the Trump administration recently prohibited VA Puget Sound from either hosting or participating in a roundtable with Senator Murray and local Seattle area veterans on women’s health. Senator Murray also questioned how the Trump administration’s mass firings might undermine care for veterans who have dealt with sexual trauma and also raised the administration’s return to office policy and its disruptive impact on patients and providers.
Senator Murray began by emphasizing the importance of hearing directly from the VA and VA providers to improve mental health care outreach and noted that last week, VA Puget Sound was denied the ability to host and participate in a roundtable discussion with Senator Murray in Seattle, asking O’Toole, “Can you explain why having both the VA and veterans together is important for a robust conversation?”
O’Toole responded, “Thank you Senator, and I appreciate it. I’m not familiar with the situation you’re describing, so unfortunately, I can’t comment to that, and to the specifics or to the approval, or lack of. But absolutely we are informed by our veterans, it helps us be a better agency and a better organization, and it’s something we try to encourage in as many capacities as we can.”
Murray pressed, “Well do you know if the new policy that prevents elected officials from meeting with veterans at VA facilities comes from within VHA or does it come from political leadership at VA Central Office?”
“I would have to defer to our leadership in terms of describing it better than I can myself,” O’Toole replied.
Murray said, “Ok, well Mr. Chairman this is really important and I hope that Secretary Collins—who says he’s running the most transparent VA in history—decides that VA can be transparent enough to let a senator hold a discussion about VA healthcare onsite at the local VA, as I have done for over 30 years and I know other members have as well. So, I am not done with this topic.”
Murray addressed the fact that women are more likely to seek care through VA, and also more likely to be dealing with depression, anxiety, or sexual trauma. In 2022, suicide rates for women veterans with histories with sexual trauma were 75 percent higher than those without. Murray stressed getting in touch with these veterans can literally mean the difference between life and death, and said, “However, in February, President Trump and Musk fired more than 2,400 VA employees, including dedicated health professionals who staff the phones at VA’s veteran crisis line.”
“What steps is VA taking now to reach survivors of military sexual trauma?” Murray asked O’Toole.
O’Toole replied, “Thank you Senator. Well, first in relation to the veteran crisis line—that decision was reversed, and we have actually seen a net increase in staff working in the veteran crisis line, and I’m happy to report that outcome. The outreach and specifically efforts for women who are victims of military sexual trauma has been incorporated into our reach vet, and reach vet algorithm, so that we are specifically identifying and engaging those women to make sure that we are providing better care. I’d like to defer to Mr. Fisher who can also speak specifically to some of the efforts at the veteran resource centers as well.”
Mr. Fischer added, “Thank you Senator for the question, so vet centers have historically gone out and reached out to any veteran cohort and servicemember cohort that’s eligible for vet center services. That includes women veterans, that includes individuals who experience military sexual trauma. We’ve continued to do this since the change of the administration. Our outreach staff, as well as our counseling staff at vet centers are exempted from any hiring freeze. And what we can say specific to women veterans is that every year we see increases in the number of women veterans that are coming into vet centers. We also see high trust scores with women veterans who receive vet center services. Last year was at 93%.”
Murray continued by pressing, “I don’t see how 80,000 employees being removed will help the VA provide services.”
Murray pivoted to how remote work agreements have allowed VA to hire more mental health providers to treat disabled, rural, and geriatric veterans who have difficulty travelling to VA hospitals for in-person appointments. Now, VA providers are being required to work in-person, Murray said, “Those providers have been working remotely since before the pandemic and now, instead of being able to take video calls in private offices, they’re speaking with veteran patients in open floor spaces where there is no privacy. This is a violation of veterans’ privacy, it’s a violation of HIPAA, it is leading doctors and counselors to look elsewhere for work. I am almost out of time, I just want to say that the elimination of telework agreements is really affecting our veterans access to mental healthcare, and we need to have a further conversation with you about how we can fix that.”
Senator Murray was the first woman to join the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the first woman to chair the Committee—as the daughter of a World War II veteran, supporting veterans and their families has always been an important priority for her. Senator Murray has been a leading voice in the Senate speaking out forcefully against President Trump and Elon Musk’s mass firing of VA employees and VA researchers across the country and Elon Musk and DOGE’s infiltration of the VA, including accessing veterans’ sensitive personal information. In recent weeks, Senator Murray and her colleagues sent letters to VA Secretary Doug Collins demanding that the VA swiftly reverse moves to cut VA researchers, as well as multiple letters pressing Secretary Collins to sever Elon Musk and DOGE’s access to any VA or other government system with information about veterans, and protect veterans, their families, and VA staff from unprecedented access to sensitive information. Senator Murray grilled Trump’s nominee for VA Deputy Secretary, Dr. Paul Lawrence, on the mass firings of VA employees and VA researchers, and voted against Doug Collins’s nomination to be VA Secretary in early February, sounding the alarm over reports of DOGE at the VA and making clear that the Trump administration’s lawlessness was putting our national security and our veterans at risk.
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