VA Secretary Doug Collins Promises Veteran-Centered Reform

The Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins will prioritize veteran choice, ease of access and bipartisan veteran issues, according to his remarks leading up to his recent Senate confirmation.

Collins was confirmed by the Senate on Feb. 4 in a 77 to 23 vote, succeeding Denis McDonough, after vowing to carry on many of the bipartisan initiatives supported by former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump during his first administration.

“As a longtime congressman and attorney, I know the federal government, and I have the policy background to solve complex problems, cut through red tape and get things done for those who have worn the uniform,” Collins told Congress.

Enhancing User Experience

Collins outlined his agenda during his nomination hearing on Jan. 21, stating he’d make VA more “user-friendly, so veterans won’t need outside help to navigate the department’s bureaucracy.”

Former Chief Veterans Experience Officer John Boerstler explained VA’s user experience journey and progress made since 2021 in an interview with GovCIO Media & Research following his departure from the agency.

The PACT Act dramatically increased the number of veterans applying for and receiving benefits from the VA. Boerstler’s office helped ensure veterans could better transition to civilian life, protect them from fraud and provide them information on how to access the benefits they earned.

“I think what I’m most proud of is … developing more communication channels with our veterans directly, especially those communication channels that got disrupted by COVID,” said Boerstler. “That was important for me especially when we have PACT Act and this massive expansion of care and benefits, which made millions of veterans eligible for benefits and care from VA.”

Delivering on Bipartisan Policies

During his nomination hearing, Collins highlighted his military record and eight years served in Congress, where he “champion[ed] bipartisan legislation like the First Step Act, the Music Modernization Act and the Defending Trade Secrets Act.”

Collins called the MISSION Act, PACT Act and VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act the “three of the most important veterans laws in recent history,” and said the bipartisan support is indicative of where the department’s focus should be.

The MISSION Act passed while Collins was a congressman in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first administration. It expanded access to community care clinics while improving VA’s hiring capabilities. Collins said it was a bill he was “proud to vote for.”

“To be clear: I want to make sure that if veterans want to receive their health care at a VA facility, they can do so,” Collins said. “But, I also want to ensure veterans have the health care choices they were promised in the MISSION Act.”

Collins also said he would continue the work of the PACT Act, adding it “provides vital health care and benefits to veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances.”

The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) has been on a journey to modernize its claims processing systems, integrating human-centered design and building cultural competency, to process claims at record numbers. McDonough said in his final press conference before leaving his post that the agency processed more than 11,000 claims in a day for the ninth time in fiscal year 2025.

“Building on that momentum, we’ve continued enhancing many of the programs and services veterans and their families rely on,” Undersecretary for Benefits Josh Jacobs told reporters during the press conference.

Advancing Long-Standing Veterans Issues

Collins said, under his leadership, VA will tackle long-standing veterans issues like homelessness, suicide prevention, EHR modernization and the size of the claims backlog.

Mission Daybreak, a grant campaign centered around developing innovative solutions to combat veteran suicides, has already yielded promising early results VA Executive Director of Suicide Prevention Matthew Miller said in Dec. 2024.

“I think that there are encouraging signs of progress overall. I think that suicide prevention and a public health approach are a long term investment,” Miller said. “What you’re going to be hearing in the coming year and coming years involves what we’re doing from a public health approach to advance not only the clinical aspects and domains of suicide prevention, but also those community-based, in collaboration with states and local communities.”

VA announced in Dec. 2024 that it plans to resume rollout of its EHR in mid-2026 at four sites in Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Detroit and Saginaw, Michigan, focusing recent feedback to drive continuous improvement amid the presidential transition.

Neil Evans, acting program executive director at the Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office, that same month said the agency will continue to drive “continuous improvement of health IT systems to support the needs of [its] end users.”

“We’re going to deliver timely access to care and benefits for every eligible veteran, family member, caregiver and survivor. We’re going to put veterans at the center of everything VA does, focusing relentlessly on customer service and convenience,” said Collins in a statement to VA employees. “We’re going to challenge the status quo in order to find new and better ways of helping VA beneficiaries. … Together, we will strengthen VA so it works better for America’s heroes. Let’s get to work.”