Schumer proposes $2.2B increase for veterans affairs department, to undo cuts to Northport VA

Sen. Chuck Schumer is proposing $2.2 billion in increased funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs and legislation that would protect up to 30,000 jobs nationwide, including at the VA hospital in Northport.

Schumer, (D-N.Y.) gathered Monday with union representatives at the VA  Medical Center in Northport to announce proposed legislation to reverse the elimination of VA jobs proposed by the Trump administration. 

The Northport hospital has 21 listed vacancies, including 10 doctors and six nurses and clinicians, that have not been filled. Union officials said the uncertainty of funding and increased workload makes it difficult to recruit and retain medical staff. The Northport VA union includes 1,700 employees, except for nurses and hospital management

President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency has called for eliminating 30,000 jobs in the VA system, which union officials said would include about 40 positions at Northport, Long Island's only VA hospital

"It's a shame on the reputation of America to play politics with our veterans’ health care," Schumer said. "It says to the administration, ‘Get your hands off our veterans health care.’ We need to be investing more in Northport, not less."

The U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs told Newsday on Monday the department is fully funded through fiscal 2025 and the president has requested a 10% increase in funding in next year's proposed budget.

The VA has disputed any claims that veterans' funding or benefits were being cut. In July, the VA announced the elimination of 30,000 jobs "through attrition, early retirements, deferred resignations and the federal hiring freeze."

The VA is also investing $800 million nationwide on VA infrastructure, including several projects in Northport, such as upgrading dialysis renovations, upgrading emergency generators and boilers, stormwater and sewage improvements and building renovations, a spokesman for the federal agency said Monday.

Schumer will introduce the "Protect America’s Workforce Act" in the Senate this week to go with a House bill introduced by Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) in April, which would nullify an executive order by Trump that called for removing collective bargaining rights from unions such as the VA's American Federation of Government Employees.

The Senate minority leader said he was hopeful he could work with Republicans in passing the health-care-related bill after previously passing the bipartisan PACT Act, which increased coverage and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.

The proposed veterans' funding increase does not have to be approved by the Sept. 30 deadline to fund the federal government, which could face a shutdown without a continuing resolution. Schumer is proposing the increased funding as part of the budget for next year. He said he has asked to meet with Republicans to avert a shutdown, but has been rebuffed.

In a statement late Monday, the White House press office said that if "Schumer really cared about our nation’s heroes, he would partner with President Trump to cut through the red tape that has long failed those who fought and bled for our country."

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), also a Navy veteran, said House Republicans passed an appropriations bill in June, which includes a 3% funding increase for the VA. The bill was passed by the Senate by a vote of 81-15 and sent back to the House for reconciliation.

"Instead of holding a press conference on a bill that hasn’t even been introduced," LaLota said Monday in a statement to Newsday. "The best way the Senator can help my fellow veterans is by backing government funding before the month’s end and supporting the House’s VA appropriations bill."

The House committee has said previously the appropriations bill fully funds veterans’ health care programs, benefits and VA programs. It also includes housing assistance, funding for research and mental health programs. 

Under a March executive order from Trump, the VA stopped withholding union dues, beginning in April. Last month, the VA terminated all collective bargaining agreements for its employees. An appellate court lifted an injunction obtained by AFGE, the VA employees' union, in July, under the condition that contracts not be canceled pending litigation. Five days later, the VA canceled the contracts, Schumer said.

"This move, make no mistake, is not about government efficiency or national security," said Tim McLaughlin, national representative for AFGE District 2, which covers 200,000 government employees in the Northeast, at the news conference.

"It's about silencing workers and clearing the way for for-profit companies to assume the federal role in treating our veterans," McLaughlin said as he stood next to Schumer. "This is an attack on our union and the right to organize. It’s un-American and plain and simple, union busting in its purest form."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.