Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani at the Tucson VA Medical Center on Monday, April 28, 2025. Secretary Collins says he is taking care of veterans.
VA employees who accepted the original Deferred Resignation Program through the Office of Personnel Management need to reapply for what is known as DRP 2.0 according to a resource website for the federal workforce.
Tucson VA employees were notified Wednesday morning that the deadline to apply for DRP 2.0, that was initially set for Wednesday, April 30 by 5 p.m. ET, has now been extended through May 16.
Employees who request and are approved for the deferred resignation would separate from the agency by September 30 and go on administrative leave on either July 1 or 7 days after or 7 days after both employee and manager have signed the necessary paperwork if the employee is aged 40 or older according to MyFEDBenefits.com.
Wednesday’s email from Secretary Collins says that, “Under this program, employees can choose to resign from VA and receive full pay and benefits through September 30, 2025.”
The message also says, “As we have stressed before, should you elect not to use the DRP, VA cannot provide assurance about the certainty of your position moving forward. What we can say, however, is that if you are separated through a RIF, you will be afforded all the protections and benefits to which you are entitled under law.”
A Tucson VA employee who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution said, “The protection is that you aren’t involved in a RIF (Reduction in Force), being able to defer resignation for longer and save yourself from a RIF.”
According to the Tucson VA, “As of April 29, 2025, the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS) has approximately 3,418 employees and about 21% of those are Veterans. Prior to March 4, the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System had approximately 3,426 employees and approximately 22% of those were Veterans.”
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6) toured the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System in Tucson on Monday, to hear from healthcare providers, staff, and veterans.
Secretary Collins, who took the job about 80 days ago said that he’s spent half of his time fighting against “innuendo and rumor” about what’s going on at the VA.
“One of the things at the VA that we’re working on is making sure that we’re using the resources and the people that Congress has provided for us to do, exactly what President Trump told me to do,” Collins said.
Collins, a veteran, has been a practicing military chaplain for the U.S. Air Force Reserve since 2002 and served in Iraq from 2008-2009.
He was a member of the U.S. House representing Georgia between 2013 and 2021.
He says that over the last 10 years, the VA has struggled with inefficiencies.
“Certain parts of our system, our hospitals, our disability claims and even our cemeteries have had issues that we’re not working on as we should,” he said before praising the efforts made by the Tucson VA to address issues like veteran suicide and homelessness.
The agency is one of the top employers of veterans, according to the Pew Research Center.
As of September 2024, the VA employed 122,015 veterans, followed by the different branches of the military.
According to the New York Times, about 1,960 employees have been fired from the VA, however most have been reinstated and no official number of cuts to the federal workforce exists.
The VA is also planning a mass-reorganization of its workforce and outlined plans to cut about 15% of its employees according to an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press that has since been widely circulated.
The memo states, “For planning purposes, the Department’s initial objective is to return to our 2019 end-strength numbers of 399,957 employees.”
Collins said that the organization currently has about 470,000 employees.
When asked about the projected 80,000 positions slated for cuts, Collins said “I did not say 80,000; I said there was a goal of 15% which if you do the math is about 80,000.”
During Monday’s media event, when asked about how he would reconcile the estimated thousands of veterans who had already been laid off due to mass federal workforce cuts by DOGE, he said no one has been terminated yet.
“How do I reconcile terminations that have never happened yet? Well they haven’t happened,” Collins said.
According to federal data compiled by Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, and reported in the New York Times, about 6,000 veterans have been laid off from the federal workforce.
When asked for clarification on whether veterans employed by the federal government had not been laid off Collins said, “I did not say that, there will be veterans laid off just like there is in every other industry in this country.”
When asked about future layoffs, Collins said that he is not getting rid of any doctors or therapists and that if they happened to leave, it would be on their own accord.
“Explain to me how an interior designer is helping my veteran get healthcare and occupational therapy? Explain to me how a supply of workers and people that are in a middle management system, which do not do a disability claim or actually see a patient in a healthcare center are actually stopping them from getting quality care?”
However, VA employees disagree.
Employees who work at the Tucson VA told AZPM that interior designers serve a purpose.
Those staff members asked to remain anonymous due to fears of retribution.
According to one Tucson VA employee, “They work really hard to make sure that our hospitals are equipped with all of the ADA compliant signage, they make sure that people can navigate the hospital easily, the old veterans always get lost at the SAVAHCS…They know all of the rules and regulations for building code, they work to make sure our facility looks nice.”
The employee added that VA interior designers have also been tapped to find room for employees who are returning to work.
NPR reported in 2023, according to a nationwide Medicare survey, veterans rated VA hospitals higher than private healthcare facilities in ten categories relevant to patient satisfaction.
“The problem is we have an organization that has been run by people who have complained about the VA for years, there’s individuals who are invested in this system as it is and that to me is appalling,” Collins said.
The Secretary noted receiving letters from Ciscomani and others from across the aisle calling for accountability to the VA.
“But the minute we even talk about making changes, all of a sudden says you’re destroying VA healthcare,” Collins said.
The employee also added that they are concerned about the quality of healthcare that will be provided after the 15% reduction in workforce throughout the agency.
AZPM’s reporting in March showed that Tucson VA employees expressed concerns about already being understaffed across many departments.
According to USAJOBS, the federal workforce job board, the Tucson VA currently has 31 vacant positions for physicians, nurses, psychologists, physical therapists, social workers and other jobs.
According to another Tucson VA employee, that number is usually much higher.
The Department has not confirmed yet how many employees have left or been let go from the VA in Southern Arizona.
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