WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., focused on the oversight of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and its employees during his questioning of President Donald Trump’s nominee for department secretary, Doug Collins, Tuesday.
Tuberville started off his allotted time during the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee nomination hearing by recognizing the size of the department, noting it has the second largest budget among federal agencies.
“We’ve had a lot of people tackle this job and it is a hard job and it’s very, very important,” Tuberville said.
Collins is an Air Force Reserve chaplain, former Congressman from Georgia and Navy veteran. He played a major role in defending Trump during his first impeachment inquiry.
Alabama has four VA medical centers along with several outpatient clinics, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. There’s more than 347,000 veterans living in Alabama, according to the department.
Tuberville asked Collins to commit to looking at the VA personnel who take care of veterans. He seemingly referenced and highlighted how the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 allowed the VA to fire in an expedited process employees who committed misconduct.
Tuberville said the Biden administration hired those terminated employees back and wanted Collins to address that. However, after the 2017 law, the VA and the American Federation of Government Employees reached a settlement that employees unjustly removed under that law were given the option to have their job back with compensation, but it did not include those who were terminated for “grievous misconduct.”
“Now I come from a previous profession (where) if you didn’t do it right, you were gone,” Tuberville said. “Will you commit to doing what’s right for the veterans when it comes to the personnel that are handling these people?”
Collins said he will focus on accountability for VA employees and setting high standards.
“If there is someone who is harming, or in the way of a veteran, or taking a veteran’s benefit away, I have no problem in getting rid of that person and making sure we do it properly,” Collins said.
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., posted on X showing her support for Collins Tuesday.
Doug Collins will fight for America’s veterans because he himself knows what it’s like to serve. I am confident he will ensure our veterans have timely access to VA care and benefits while improving this institution that cares for our heroes.
— Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) January 21, 2025
Tuberville also asked Collins to ensure the VA does not use its funds to pay for health care for undocumented immigrants. According to a 2023 Department of Homeland Security Report, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement contracts with the Department of Veterans Affairs Financial Services Center to process medical claims reimbursements for migrants.
Collins said he would ensure all of VA’s funding would go toward veterans.
Tuberville also asked about the VA’s problems implementing the electronic health records system that was overhauled by Cerner, now Oracle Health, in 2018. The VA Office of Inspector General audit of the new record system found performance issues with the system.
“The Department of Defense completed their update, yet the VA has nothing to show for the $20 billion,” Tuberville said. “Houston, we got a problem.”
Collins called the EHR problems unacceptable and vowed to address it as secretary.
“Put every player on the table to make sure that we’re getting it right from the VA perspective and from the Oracle perspective as it’s currently held,” Collins said.
Democrats on the committee also pressed Collins on similar issues with the EHR system and asked whether or not the VA would continue offering abortion services to veterans.
“When we get in, we’re going to look and make sure that the law is being followed–from the 1992 law, where it said they couldn’t, and the revision that just happened,” Collins said.
Collins’ nomination is expected to pass. The committee is set to vote on Collins Thursday before being sent to the full Senate for a vote.