PROTECTING VETERANS IS NOT GOVERNMENT WASTE

PROTECTING VETERANS IS NOT GOVERNMENT WASTE

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2025)] [House] [Page H776] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PROTECTING VETERANS IS NOT GOVERNMENT WASTE The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Hernandez) for 5 minutes. Mr. HERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, during the past weeks, the Federal Government has been cruel to its workforce. It has offered deferred resignations. It has laid off employees. It has sent employees confusing information. As Jorge Santiago-Rivera, a labor leader from the Department of Veterans Affairs on the island, has said: The truth is that, yes, we live under fear. We live under uncertainty. I worry about the well-being of our Federal workers. I worry, in particular, about the well-being of the 13,000 Federal employees who reside in Puerto Rico, but I also worry about the thousands of veterans who rely on the VA for their healthcare needs in Puerto Rico. Why? Because the lack of structure and logic behind these cuts directly affects them. As Mr. Santiago asks: If you lose 10 emergency workers from the ER, who helps the patients? Unsurprisingly, the VA is now scrambling to deny deferred resignation requests. In the past, it has had to rehire workers that it laid off. The VA is not the only Federal agency on the island affected by this chaotic, irresponsible, negligent program of Federal cuts. The IRS reportedly laid off around 200 workers. The National Park Service, the USDA, and the national Forest Service are also laying off employees. Brenda Reyes Tomassini, a labor leader from the EPA, another agency affected, described it best: It is devastating, truly, a brutal level of anxiety. What makes this even worse is the process. Some of these employees have worked for the Federal Government for 15 or 20 years. They transferred to new positions, so they appeared as if they were on probation and have been terminated. That is unacceptable. Members of this Congress have not received accurate information about what is happening. I will be the first one to acknowledge that government waste exists. It exists at the Federal level, the State level, and the municipal level, but protecting our veterans is not government waste. Protecting our national parks and protecting our national forests, like El Yunque, is not government waste. Protecting the employees who work hard to ensure that millionaires and billionaires don't cheat on their taxes is not government waste. It is what government is for. In the coming days, my office will be taking action. We will share resources for Federal employees so that they know their rights. We will host a tele-townhall to hear directly from affected workers. We will demand transparency from the agencies responsible for these layoffs. I also urge the Government of Puerto Rico to step up to provide these workers the assistance that the government of Puerto Rico usually provides to workers who are laid off in the tourism or manufacturing sectors. To the workers affected, I send a clear message: I know that being laid off is painful. It hurts your finances. It hurts your stability. It can even hurt your sense of self-worth, but let's be clear: You are not the problem. Your government is the problem. I see you, hear you, and will fight for you. ____________________