Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Mike Levin joined with community stakeholders Wednesday in Del Mar to emphasize the impact of proposed government cuts on veterans.
In the wake of plans for the Department of Veteran Affairs to shed as many as 80,000 jobs, Levin said, his constituents have come to him with concerns.
They are two-fold – veterans wonder how they will continue to receive care while those who work at the VA are unsure of their job security.
“They’re worried that they’re going to be the next person who’s going to lose their job, whether they’re willing to admit it publicly or not,” said Levin, whose 49th District covers parts of San Diego and Orange counties. “I’ve had private conversations with many folks who work at our local VA who are concerned about what tomorrow may bring.”
The afternoon roundtable featured five speakers, in addition to Padilla and Levin. One of them, Ian Foley, a veteran who served in the Army and Navy for eight years said Levin reached out asking him to speak. He felt he owed it to the congressman to be there.
“Levin basically saved my life,” the San Diego native said.
Foley, who now lives in Carlsbad with his wife and two children, for years has suffered from chronic illnesses without receiving answers to help manage the daily, debilitating pain.
He said he was on the brink of death when Levin connected him with the VA, which became the first medical provider to offer Foley a diagnosis. He had Crohn’s Disease and doctors with the VA helped him find ways to cope.
“The VA didn’t give up. Through a series of evaluations and follow-ups, they connected the dots. That diagnosis changed everything,” Foley said, and his voice began to shake as he held back tears. “It gave me not just an explanation, but a path forward, a way to manage my condition, regain a sense of control and heal.”
Maria Sittmann, CEO of the Veterans Medical Research Foundation, a non-profit that works to advance healthcare for former service members, highlighted the impact the organization already has felt since President Donald Trump took office.
In addition to the proposed VA cuts, there’s been a significant reduction in grants awarded from the National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense, she said.
Padilla is trying to help veterans in other ways. He introduced bipartisan legislation last week that will amend affordable housing stipulations that exclude veterans with certain disability benefits from receiving Section 8 assistance.
But both the California senator and Levin said there are currently no lawsuits regarding VA cuts though numerous other cases have been filed in attempts to stop Trump executive orders or actions take by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Beyond legislative or legal strategies, they said they are counting on the public to push back against federal job cuts that hit veterans hard.
“When public opinion begins to shift, then we think some of the Republicans in Congress will begin to feel and hopefully act differently,” Padilla said.
In 2024, the VA recorded a record number of health care visits and benefits, including more than 127 million doctor appointments.
Additionally, according to Padilla and Levin, nearly 800,000 veterans have enrolled in VA health care since new legislation was signed in 2022 to expand VA benefits to those exposed to toxic substances.
California has the most veterans in the nation and was home to 28% of all homeless veterans in the U.S. last year, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s January 2024 point-in-time count.
There are 9,300 homeless veterans across the state, including 865 in San Diego, according to the count.
Padilla and Levin also joined registered nurses and veterans at VA Medical Center-San Diego Wednesday. They delivered remarks at a rally organized by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United demanding an end to VA staffing cuts.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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