U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono, representing Hawaii and a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, held a press conference in Washington, D.C., alongside Senator Richard Blumenthal, VA labor unions, advocates, and veterans. The event addressed concerns about policies from the Trump Administration that allegedly impact VA employees and veterans' healthcare negatively.
The policies under scrutiny include the "Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative," which aims to cut the workforce by 75 percent, a hiring freeze affecting critical healthcare positions for veterans, and Elon Musk's "Fork in the Road" buyout offer. This offer forces VA employees to choose between retaining their jobs or accepting eight months of pay and benefits to leave their roles. These actions come amid staffing shortages at the VA and increased demand for services like health care, support for homeless veterans or those experiencing mental health crises, food service, and cemetery services.
Senator Hirono stated: “Veterans are important members of our communities who deserve the utmost respect and have made the ultimate sacrifice to serve our country.” She criticized President Trump’s executive orders as disruptive to veterans' care and federal employees’ stability. Hirono emphasized that treating government agencies like corporations could lead to negative consequences for veterans.
There are over 15 million veterans in the U.S., including more than 100,000 in Hawaii. According to Hirono, recent policies by Trump and Musk threaten not only veteran services but also millions of Americans' access to healthcare nationwide.
Hirono highlighted during her remarks that nearly 70 percent of practicing physicians have trained at VA facilities. Many other healthcare professionals also rely on these facilities for training. With existing healthcare shortages in states like Hawaii exacerbated by hiring freezes and job cuts, wait times may increase further.
“That is how important our VA system is,” said Hirono during her speech at the press conference. “So here we are once again standing up for people in our country who deserve our support.”
As part of her ongoing efforts as a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee member, Senator Hirono has introduced several legislative measures supporting veterans. These include reintroducing the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act of 2025 aimed at expediting visas for children of Filipino World War II veterans; introducing the Veterans Member Business Loan Act to expand capital access for veteran-owned small businesses; and proposing legislation such as the Parity for Native Hawaiian Veterans Act to improve healthcare affordability for Native Hawaiian veterans.