*Congressional briefing: Tuesday, May 20*

In a congressional briefing on Tuesday, May 20, registered nurses who work at Veterans Health Administration (VA) facilities across the country will share their stories about the state of veterans health care as a result of harmful actions by the current administration, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU).

This event will be held virtually. All members of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees will be invited to participate.

“We are inviting Congressional members and their staff to hear directly from us, the nurses who care for the veterans in their districts, about the impact of staffing cuts and this administration’s attempts to silence nurses’ advocacy,” said Irma Westmoreland, RN, chair of Veterans Affairs for NNOC/NNU. “Our veterans deserve elected representatives who are committed to maintaining the highest quality of health care at the VA. That begins with addressing their nurses’ requests for safe staffing and respecting the nurses’ right to advocate for better conditions.”

What:   Congressional briefing: VA nurses share stories on state of veterans health care
Participating nurses:
Irma Westmoreland, RN - Augusta, Ga.
Sharda Fornnarino, RN - Denver, Colo.
Mildred Manning-Joy, RN - Durham, N.C.
Andrea Johnson, RN - San Diego, Calif.
Jennifer Giles, RN - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Monica Coleman, RN - North Chicago, Ill.
Estaban Ramirez-Orta, RN - New York City, NY

When:  May 20, 4 p.m. EST

VA Secretary Doug Collins is seeking a reduction in force in the range of 70,000 to 80,000 workers. Sec. Collins has refused to offer a concrete number, instead telling the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, “could be more, could be less.” Massive staffing cuts would be catastrophic for patient care as according to an August 2024 Inspector General’s report, 82 percent of VA facilities already have severe shortages in nursing staff. In addition, these cuts would come at a time when the VA is seeing historic enrollment.

“Every day we feel the effects of the current staffing crisis as nurses struggle to provide timely therapeutic care to veterans without the nursing or support staff we need,” said Sharda Fornnarino, RN at the Denver VA and local director of NNOC/NNU. “Sec. Collins has said he will not cut ‘mission critical’ staff, but we know ancillary staff are critical to providing care to our veterans. When we don’t have housekeeping staff, lab technicians, or dietary personnel, all those duties become the nurses’ responsibility. This takes valuable time away from a nurse who should be caring for the clinical needs of their patients. This means veterans are waiting longer for pain medication, or help to get to the restroom. We are short-changing veterans who may need emotional and educational support after receiving a life changing diagnosis. Now is not the time to shrink the VA but rather grow the VA so we can fulfill our mission and our promise to be there for veterans in their times of need.”

Nurses contend efforts to cut resources at the VA are part of an effort to privatize the system and push more veterans into the private sector, where care is not scrutinized and publicly overseen as in the VA. The VA’s own “Red Team” Executive Roundtable analysis, which reported $30 billion of VA spending on private-sector care in 2023, noted that privatization “threaten[s] to materially erode the VA’s direct-care system and create a potential unintended consequence of eliminating choice for the millions of Veterans who prefer to use the VHA direct care system for all or part of their medical care needs.”

This congressional briefing comes as nurses and other federal workers are fighting against this administration’s attack on their collective bargaining rights.

• On March 27, an executive order was issued that attempts to strip away federal workers’ collective bargaining rights claiming “national security” is at issue. However, in a fact sheet explaining the executive order, it was made clear the executive order was issued because federal employee unions had “declared war” on the administration’s agenda. Nurses contend that the executive order is a retaliatory attempt to punish federal employee unions that have been engaging in constitutionally protected speech.
• In April, NNU joined with other federal- sector unions in a lawsuit to challenge this executive overreach in the courts.
• In addition, nurses are supporting the VA Employee Fairness Act, a federal bill introduced May 7 that will ensure nurses and other VA clinical staff have full bargaining rights as they currently are unable to bargain on issues such as staffing, and other workplace issues that impact care.

Collective bargaining rights are critical as nurses advocate for workplace safety, safe nurse-to-patient ratios and quality working conditions that help recruit and retain experienced nurses. Without union protections, nurses and other workers may be subject to retaliation, intimidation, and even firing without clear recourse. These threats can make nurses hesitant to speak out about patient safety concerns

NNOC/NNU represents more than 15,000 registered nurses at 23 VA facilities across the country, many of whom are also veterans.

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.