Washington, D.C. – The American Federation of Government Employees National Veterans Affairs Council (AFGE NVAC), representing 291,100 VA employees, and the Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute (VHPI) will hold a press conference on Tuesday, March 21, at the AFGE Headquarters in D.C. and virtually on the release of new findings showing the incredible staffing and budget crises across VA facilities and the challenges facing overworked VA employees.

The report, which surveyed over 2,000 VA employees, roughly a third of whom are veterans, provides new insight into how VA facilities are struggling to fulfill their mission due to chronic underfunding, understaffing and incremental privatization.

The report also provides recommendations to improve and strengthen the VA, such as fully staffing and funding the VBA and VHA, eliminating obstacles to hiring and reforming VHA access standards and passing the VA Employee Fairness Act, which would improve retention via pay increases.