Texas Border Business
Texas Border Business
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez announced that he has sent a letter to Douglas A. Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, expressing “serious concern about the voluntary reduction in workforce at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by 30,000 employees through the end of September 2025.”
In his letter dated August 19, 2025, Rep. Gonzalez warned that the planned cuts could have “devastating effects” on veterans in South Texas, particularly in the Rio Grande Valley and Coastal Bend, where access to VA healthcare remains limited. “Veterans in our community face significant barriers to accessing care, with many traveling nearly 300 miles to the nearest VA hospital in San Antonio. Any reduction in the VA workforce threatens to exacerbate already long wait times and jeopardize essential services,” Gonzalez wrote.
The Congressman emphasized that the VA plays a critical role in providing medical support to veterans, stating that the department “provides countless lifeline services to our veteran population, whether it is cardiovascular care, radiology, oncology, or behavioral health. These vital services address specific health gaps in the lives of our veterans, and any cuts to these services would amount to a dangerous reduction in the care they have rightfully earned.”
Gonzalez noted that the Rio Grande Valley and surrounding communities, including Kingsville and Corpus Christi, still lack a full-service VA Medical Center despite the large veteran population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are over 23,000 veterans in Texas’ 34th Congressional District, including nearly 5,000 veterans with a service-connected disability rating of over 50 percent as of 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau).
Currently, the closest full VA hospital for South Texas veterans is the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans’ Hospital in San Antonio, which Gonzalez pointed out already serves a “large radius.” He stressed that a workforce reduction could “exacerbate the already long wait times and jeopardize the quality of care for veterans from the Rio Grande Valley, Kingsville, and Corpus Christi.”
The Congressman also requested answers from Secretary Collins by September 2, 2025, on several key issues, including:
• Whether specific departments or facilities would be disproportionately affected by the reductions, especially those serving South Texas.
• What safeguards are in place to prevent increased wait times or decreased quality of care.
• Whether critical emergency services could be impacted.
• How the VA plans to communicate these workforce reductions to veterans to “reassure them of the continuation of their care.”
Gonzalez, the son of a Korean War veteran and Merchant Marine, reiterated his commitment to ensuring timely and efficient care for South Texas veterans. “I am deeply committed to ensuring South Texas veterans and personnel at Naval Air Station Kingsville receive the best care in a timely and efficient manner,” he stated.
Read the letter below:
