VA exempts 300,000 health care positions from government-wide hiring freeze

The Department of Veterans Affairs is exempting more than 300,000 health care positions from a government-wide hiring freeze.

Doctors, nurses, pharmacists and VA physicians are among dozens of professions excluded from the hiring freeze.

Acting VA Secretary Todd Hunter, in a memo to department heads, said Veterans Health Administration positions “critical to providing care to veterans” are exempt from the freeze, under the category of public safety.

Military Times first reported on the memo before its public release Thursday.

The VA memo exempts about three-quarters of VHA’s approximately 400,000 employees.

President Donald Trump, in an executive order signed Monday, provided several exemptions, including one for veterans’ benefits.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, VA will always do what is necessary to provide America’s veterans with the benefits and services they have earned,” Morgan Ackley, VA media affairs director, said in a statement Thursday. “The targeted exemptions to the hiring freeze announced today underscore this fact. »

The VA exempted its health care staff from the Trump administration’s first hiring freeze in 2017. But former Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Trump’s nominee to lead the VA, has not given a explicit assurance to lawmakers upon his confirmation. hearing that the ministry would grant these same exclusions this time.

“President Trump, in this executive order, must obtain an assessment of the situation of our employees. It’s not about taking away anything from what currently exists,” Collins said Tuesday. “We can’t, at this point, bring in a new person tomorrow unless it’s necessary, but that’s where we are.”

VA Senate committee members expressed concerns about Tuesday’s hiring freeze and whether the Trump administration would continue VA workforce reductions.

The committee advanced Collins’ nomination in an 18-1 vote Thursday. Ranking committee member Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) said he would support Collins’ nomination but added that he had “really intense concerns” about the hiring freeze.

“Regardless of the effects on other departments or agencies, you all know how dire the need is for doctors, nurses, attendants – everyone involved in the VA health care system,” Blumenthal said. “There are positions to be filled now, they must be filled, particularly in the field of mental health care. Delaying these medical appointments and benefits in some cases amounts to a denial of these benefits, because health care is a very urgent need for many of our veterans, especially our older veterans.

The VA memo states that all jobs not exempt from the hiring freeze must be removed from USAJobs.gov and other websites by January 21 at 5 p.m.

As of Thursday afternoon, the VA had announced 139 open positions on USAJobs.gov.

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