CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. – Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer visited Canandaigua to oppose cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“We’re here because we love our veterans. We love them. We respect them. We admire them and now, a meat ax is being taken to the VA,” Schumer said. He emphasized that 80,000 VA jobs could be cut nationwide by August, affecting nearly one-fifth of the workforce.

Schumer criticized the cuts, saying, “Let me tell DOGE and Musk they [VA employees] are not government waste. Workers here are not government waste, they’re not government inefficiency, they’re the government’s best.”

Wayne Thompson, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, expressed his pride in the VA hospital where he worked as a nurse for 28 years. “The proposed staffing cuts would be detrimental, not only to veterans in need of assistance but also to the remaining employees who provide these vital services… It needs to stop before it’s too late!”

VA Press Secretary Pete Kasperowicz released a statement saying”

“Imagine how much better off Veterans would be if lawmakers like Sen. Schumer cared as much about fixing VA as they do about protecting the department’s broken bureaucracy. Here are the facts:

VA health care has been on the Government Accountability Office’s high-risk list for more than a decade, and GAO says VA faces “system-wide challenges in overseeing patient safety and access to care, hiring critical staff, and meeting future infrastructure needs.” Under Secretary Collins, VA is working hard to fix these and other issues. Unfortunately, many in the media, government union bosses and some in Congress are fighting to keep in place the broken status quo. Our message to Veterans is simple: Despite major opposition from those who don’t want to change a thing at VA, we will reform the department to make it work better for Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors.”

According to the DOGE, the cuts have saved $155 billion. The VA ranks 19th on DOGE’s efficiency board.

Ronnie Orlowski, Canandaigua VA employee and President of AFGE Local 3306 that represents Canandaigua VA workers voiced concerns about the cuts, saying, “They’re killing the people that work here. They’re going to be killing veterans because they’re not going to get the care they need. These veterans were promised care. They should have world-class care. The VA provides world-class care, continue to provide it.”

Schumer described the cuts as a “grave threat” and a “direct assault on New York vets.

This is not the first wave of cuts impacting the VA. Rochester workers have also been fired.

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