For insightful coverage on Project 2025’s proposals for the U.S. military and Department of Defense, stay tuned.
Project 2025 is a comprehensive policy guide that could serve as the blueprint for a potential second term under Donald Trump. This document outlines significant changes for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including plans to increase privatization, narrow eligibility criteria for health benefits, and replace civil service-style employees with political appointees.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reforms
The document begins with a historical overview of the Department of Veterans Affairs and its ongoing challenges. It highlights the difficulties the VA faces in serving an aging and migrating veteran population while also striving to modernize and stay within budget constraints. Chapter 20, which is focused on VA reforms, was authored by Brooks D. Tucker, the former VA Chief of Staff during the Trump Administration.
“Our goal is to assemble an army of aligned, vetted, trained, and prepared conservatives to go to work on Day One to deconstruct the Administrative State,” the manual states. “The VA must continually strive to be recognized as a ‘best in class,’ ‘Veteran-centric’ system with an organizational ethos inspired by and accountable to the needs and problems of veterans, not subservient to the parochial preferences of a bureaucracy.”
- Increasing privatization within the VA
- Narrowing eligibility criteria for health benefits
- Replacing civil service-style employees with political appointees
These proposed changes aim to create a more efficient and veteran-focused VA, aligning with the broader goals of Project 2025 to reform and modernize government institutions.
Veteran Concerns About Project 2025
Some veterans believe that the aims of Project 2025 could directly impact veterans even before any changes are implemented within the VA. In a July 9 op-ed, Michael Embrich, a veteran and former member of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs’ Advisory Committee on the Readjustment of Veterans, expressed his concerns. He argued that the proposed cuts to federal agencies like the FBI and Justice Department could “disproportionately affect” the 300,000 veterans who make up roughly 30% of the federal workforce.
Impact on the VA
Despite these concerns, it is worth noting that Project 2025 dedicates an entire section to overhauling significant aspects of the VA. This indicates a focused effort on reforming the VA, although the specifics of these changes remain to be seen.
In line with its objectives for other federal agencies, Project 2025 envisions a Veterans Affairs (VA) department managed predominantly by political appointees. The policy aims to revoke all “delegations of authority” granted by the Biden Administration and move Senior Executive Service employees out of roles designated for presidential appointees. This shift is intended to ensure greater political control over the VA.
Rescinding Controversial Policies
Project 2025 plans to eliminate all Department of Defense policies that it deems inconsistent with conservative governance principles. This includes policies related to abortion services and gender reassignment surgery. The project argues that these services do not align with conditions connected to military service and therefore should not be covered by VA care.
Reevaluating Work Policies Post-Pandemic
Another focus of Project 2025 is to revisit the VA’s work policies, which have shifted towards hybrid and remote work arrangements following the coronavirus pandemic. The policy manual claims that these changes have led to the VA’s current Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and their staff frequently working from home, limiting in-person meetings, and increasingly relying on video conference calls.
Key Points to Consider
- Project 2025 seeks to ensure the VA is governed by more political appointees.
- The project aims to revoke policies related to abortion and gender reassignment surgery.
- There is a push to reevaluate remote and hybrid work policies within the VA.
As Project 2025 unfolds, these proposed changes are likely to have significant impacts on the structure and functioning of the VA, with the goal of aligning it more closely with conservative governance principles.
If the policies associated with Project 2025 are enacted, veterans who were previously deemed eligible for service-connected disabilities might see their statuses revised or even revoked.
Major Changes in VA Policies
The Project 2025 manual highlights two significant VA policy changes that have expanded the number of veterans qualifying for service-connected disability claims: the 1991 Agent Orange Act and the 2022 PACT Act (Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act). According to the manual, these “ambitious authorities” have overwhelmed the VA’s capacity to process new claims and adjudicate appeals, necessitating more employees to keep up with the demand. It also mentions that the inclusion of injuries related to Agent Orange and Burn Pits/Airborne Toxins has led to “historic increases” in spending.
The Impact of the PACT Act
In May, the VA announced that it had granted its one millionth benefit claim related to the PACT Act. This act changed the VA’s assumption of veteran claims if they were present in a war zone where toxic chemicals were likely present, such as at most U.S. bases during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. When signed into law, the Wounded Warrior Project described the PACT Act as a policy that “opens up the door to pre- and post-9/11 combat veterans who served in areas of exposure.”
Here are some key points regarding these changes:
- 1991 Agent Orange Act: Expanded coverage for veterans exposed to Agent Orange.
- 2022 PACT Act: Expanded coverage for veterans exposed to burn pits and airborne toxins.
- Increased VA Workload: More employees are required to process the influx of new claims and appeals.
- Historic Spending Increases: The inclusion of additional injuries has significantly increased VA spending.
These policy changes are pivotal in ensuring that veterans receive the benefits they deserve, but they also present challenges that must be addressed to maintain the efficiency and sustainability of the VA system.
With the VA’s growing number of service-related health conditions, Project 2025 addresses a critical issue: determining which conditions are genuinely connected to military service. According to Project 2025, some conditions are either tenuously related or entirely unrelated to military service, which is a core concern when it comes to approving or denying service-connected disability claims.
Implications of Project 2025
One significant outcome of Project 2025 could be that fewer health conditions will qualify a veteran for disability benefits. Specifically, the project advocates for a revision of the disability rating awards for future claims and proposes either a full or partial change to existing claims for veterans.
Increased Role of Private Healthcare
Another notable aspect of Project 2025 is its vision to incorporate more private companies into VA healthcare services. This includes:
- Providing VA health care delivery
- Conducting disability medical examinations
- Processing claims
- Managing overall bureaucratic operations such as acquisition and technology integration
The call for a larger budget to enable veterans to access private medical providers through the VA’s Community Care network is gaining momentum. This network utilizes third-party providers, including TriWest Healthcare Alliance and Optum Serve. In July 2022, a VA official informed the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee that Community Care accounted for 44% of the VA’s health care services. The VA has also significantly increased its expenditure on Community Care, rising from $7.9 billion in 2014 to $18.5 billion in 2021.
Expansion of Community Care
Alongside the expansion of Community Care, Project 2025 aims to enshrine the VA MISSION Act access standards into legislation. This step is crucial to “prevent the VA from avoiding or watering down the requirements in the future.” Passed in 2018, the act offers veterans greater flexibility to access care outside the Veterans Health Administration.
Challenges and Benefits of Increased Community Care
A September 2022 study by the RAND Corporation highlighted some complications that come with increased Community Care. These include:
- Complicated coordination of veteran care between the VHA and community providers.
- Confusion for patients.
- Duplicative tests.
- Increased costs.
- Potential lower-quality care.
However, researchers also noted that Community Care has enhanced access for rural veterans who live far from VHA facilities. Despite these improvements, the study indicated that “research on this topic has been limited.”
As the debate continues, it is clear that finding the right balance between expanding access and maintaining quality care is essential for the future of veteran health services.
In an effort to better serve our nation’s veterans, a new policy introduces a comprehensive “Veterans Bill of Rights.” This initiative aims to ensure that both veterans and VA staff are well-informed about the process for dispute resolution and their benefit entitlements, including eligibility for Community Care. Currently, many veterans are unaware of their eligibility unless they specifically request information or receive a referral, according to the manual.
Changes to VA Structure
Project 2025 is set to evaluate the VA health facilities’ misalignment and the rising infrastructure costs. The policy highlights that the Veterans Health Administration’s 172 inpatient medical facilities across the U.S. are, on average, 60 years old, underutilized, and inadequately staffed.
The proposed restructuring envisions expanding community outpatient clinics in regions where it is financially unsustainable for the VA to maintain large healthcare campuses for a shrinking or already small population of veterans.
Key Points of Project 2025
- Veterans Bill of Rights: Educates veterans and VA staff on dispute resolution and benefit entitlements.
- Assessment of VA Facilities: Evaluates the misalignment of health facilities and rising infrastructure costs.
- Facility Restructuring: Plans to expand community outpatient clinics in cost-inefficient areas.
These changes are aimed at creating a more efficient and accessible healthcare system for veterans, ensuring they receive the quality care they deserve.
Sources:
- https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_CHAPTER-20.pdf
- https://www.va.gov/opa/bios/docs/tucker.pdf
- https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
- https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/
- https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-to-grant-1-millionth-benefit-claim-for-veterans-and-their-survivors-under-the-pact-act/
- https://www.va.gov/COMMUNITYCARE/providers/Community-Care-Network.asp
- https://www.va.gov/COMMUNITYCARE/docs/pubfiles/factsheets/VHA-FS_MISSION-Act.pdf
