Richard Blumenthal on Veterans Affairs

Public programs, benefits and services for military veterans, including housing, health care and disability support, and the agencies that administer them.

How we classify topics

Counts show individual statements. They do not assign an overall position.

Statement history

2 statements on this page. Dates: December 13, 2025 to March 13, 2026

2 matching statements. Dates: December 13, 2025 to March 13, 2026

2 published statements. Dates: December 13, 2025 to March 13, 2026

Condemned

2 published statements. Dates: December 13, 2025 to March 13, 2026

2 statements on this page. Dates: December 13, 2025 to March 13, 2026

Richard Blumenthal

Role at the time: Ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, in a committee release

March 13, 2026Condemned

Statement summary

After the court ordered the AFGE contract restored, Blumenthal says the administration illegally stripped VA workers of their legal right to collective bargaining, says unions help staff raise concerns about patient care without fear of retaliation, and says he wants the courts to uphold those rights permanently.

“VA workers have a legal right to collective bargaining that this Administration illegally stripped away last year. ... Veterans deserve a VA workforce that comes forward with concerns about poor patient care, waste, fraud and abuse without fear of retaliation. Unions are essential to this mission, and I will be looking to see that the courts uphold all VA employees' collective bargaining rights permanently.”

Read the official statementSenate Veterans' Affairs Committee release: Blumenthal applauds court decision ordering restoration of AFGE VA workers' collective bargaining rights · Richard BlumenthalPress release text

Statement by Senator Richard Blumenthal, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, after the court granted AFGE/NVAC's motion for a preliminary injunction ordering the VA to reinstate the master collective bargaining agreement.

Archived copy

Why we used this label

The reference point is the Department of Veterans Affairs' termination of most of its union contracts on August 6, 2025, and its later treatment of the AFGE master agreement as expired in October 2026. Blumenthal calls the termination an illegal removal of VA workers' bargaining rights, which condemns it.

Read statement Full case: VA ends most union contracts, then treats AFGE's as expired; Collins cites veterans' care and unions call it retaliation

Richard Blumenthal

Role at the time: Ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs

December 13, 2025Condemned

Response to this claim

The reorganization is not a reduction in force, and staffing and operations at VA medical centers and clinics will not change as part of it.

“At a time where VA has already lost more than 30,000 employees, his plan to eliminate tens of thousands of unfilled positions, including doctors and nurses, is totally unacceptable.”

Read the official statementSenate Veterans' Affairs Committee release: Blumenthal statement on the VA's plan to eliminate more than 35,000 health care jobsStatement text

Statement from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, issued December 13, 2025 after a Washington Post report that the VA planned to eliminate as many as 35,000 health care positions, most of them unfilled.

Archived copy

Why we used this label

The reference point is the VA's reorganization of the Veterans Health Administration, announced December 15, 2025, and the staffing caps that came with it. Blumenthal rejects the elimination of vacant positions that set the new staffing baselines and says it will lengthen waits for care, which condemns the staffing caps.

Read statement Full case: VA consolidates its health care networks from 18 to five and caps staffing; Collins says it cuts bureaucracy, and critics say the caps strain veterans' care