Dallas, Texas -- On Monday, July 7, Department of Veteran Affairs Secretary Doug Collins made his first visit to Texas as VA secretary.
The day began with remarks at the 80th Blinded Veterans Association convention held at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. There he spoke to a room of veterans who spoke highly of the services provided to veterans along with benefits for their service dogs.
Collins then recognized Dallas Vet Center staff on the readjustment counseling they provide to veterans in areas of military sexual trauma, mental health and bereavement services. He also challenged the staff to help him eliminate any bureaucracy that could hinder a veteran obtaining VA services. “I want to hear from you on how we can make it better.”
While visiting the Dallas VA Medical Center, Secretary Collins engaged with the facility’s leadership team, led by Jason Cave, medical center director. He toured the facility, which is recognized as the second largest VA medical center based on the complexity of care provided and the number of enrolled veterans.
He visited the construction of the soon-to-open Long Term Care Spinal Cord Injury Center, while taking the time to recognize and honor some of the exceptional staff members for their outstanding service and unwavering commitment to caring for our nation’s veterans.
One such employee, Wanda Lee, has provided care and services to veterans for over 50 years! In her role as a patient advocate, she is steadfast in her support and assistance with veterans’ concerns and questions.
While addressing Dallas VA leadership, Collins stressed for leaders to focus on how they can each improve by 5-10 percent for veterans, “we need to go back to good management,” said Collins.
During his tour, Secretary Collins was thrilled to get to shake hands with several veterans and thank them for their service and sacrifice.
Collins also held a media availability where he highlighted the progress made since January while also focusing on some of the challenges we still face as a department. “I am so pleased to be here in Dallas and see the progress VA is making, and one of my goals is to make sure our facilities have what they need. It is important to remember we only exist for our veterans. I am tired of people talking about giving things to veterans, they have earned those benefits.”
Secretary Collins closed out his day in Dallas by touring Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, the third largest national cemetery nationwide. Director David Van Meter showed Secretary Collins where a few of Texas’ most notable and honored Medal of Honor recipients were laid to rest including Candelario Garcia Jr. and James L. Stone.
The Dallas visit came the same day the VA announced it’s on pace to reduce total VA staff by nearly 30,000 employees by the end of fiscal year 2025, eliminating the need for a large-scale reduction-in-force.
While VA had been considering a department-wide RIF to reduce staff levels by up to 15%, employee reductions through the federal hiring freeze, deferred resignations, retirements and normal attrition have eliminated the need for that RIF.
The numbers break down as follows:
VA had roughly 484,000 employees on Jan. 1, 2025, and 467,000 employees as of June 1, 2025 — a reduction of nearly 17,000.
Between now and Sept. 30, the department expects nearly 12,000 additional VA employees to exit through normal attrition, voluntary early retirement authority or the deferred resignation program.
