This column appeared in the July 2025 issue of The Lenawee Voice.

“To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan” were words spoken by President Abraham Lincoln during his second inaugural address in 1865.  With those words, Lincoln plainly stated that our government must care for those injured during war and provide for the families of those who died in battle.  Lincoln’s words were  adopted by the Veterans Administration in 1959 and are on a plaque on the front of their building in Washington D.C.

Fast forward to 2025. Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan, who serves on the House Committee of Veterans Affairs recently wrote  “As a member of Congress focused on the needs of our veterans, I hear the stories every day: chronic understaffing of VA facilities, unconscionably long waits for health care and mental health counseling, a six-figure backlog of benefit claims that continues to grow, an overreliance on medication instead of more innovative and effective treatments for those lucky enough to receive attention from the VA bureaucracy. Our dysfunctional VA system of care … has become more interested in self-preservation and political posturing than it is in serving the urgent needs of our nation’s veterans.”  

This past February, the VA’s Acting Inspector General  David Case, testified before the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, saying that “problems in the VA, though identified, persist because of mismanagement, persistent staff vacancies and a lack of follow-through on disciplining employees.  Employee misconduct, malfunctioning computer systems, confusing policies and program inefficiencies hamper operations at the Department of Veterans Affairs.” In the same meeting, Rep. Jen Kiggens of Illinois said, “too many times bureaucracy is put first and veterans come in second.” 

In response to these and other problems, VA Secretary Doug Collins recently pledged, “Veterans are going to notice a change for the better.”  However, in an article published by ProPublica titled “Internal VA emails reveal how Trump’s cuts jeopardize veterans’ care, including life-saving cancer trials,” reveals a far different story. A contract with an outside company that maintains and runs the VA’s cancer registry, where information on the treatment of veterans is collected and analyzed, was marked for “immediate termination” by Elon Musk’s DOGE. Just three years ago, Congress passed the PACT Act to expand care and benefits for veterans facing cancer and other issues after exposure to Agent Orange, burn pits or other toxins. Without the cancer registry, databases for tracking veterans’ conditions will not be kept up to date. 

Doctors and administrators at VA hospitals and clinics across the country have been sending emails to the VA warning of how the administration’s cuts will harm veterans’ health care.

Governmental reports and published articles point towards veterans overwhelmingly believing that the VA needs urgent reforms focused on “speed, accessibility and responsiveness to their health care needs.”  They are asking for streamlined processes, more staff focused on customer service, “extended medical referral windows and leadership that prioritizes meaningful structural reform over workforce cuts.” Our veterans are experiencing long wait times to see physicians they have been referred to, just to have the referral expire before receiving treatment. Veterans across the country say the VA needs urgent reform to deliver health care faster and make sure they get the care they need.

Our government is not heeding the words of President Lincoln.  

There is help available for veterans in Lenawee County to negotiate the slow-moving VA system.  Tammy Sheldon is the Veterans Service Director at Lenawee County Department of Veterans Affairs. According to Tammy, “As a county Veterans Affairs office, our focus remains on addressing the specific needs and experiences of veterans here in Lenawee County.  We understand that some veterans do face challenges with the federal VA system, including delays in receiving benefits or accessing timely health care … Overall, it’s important to recognize that both systemic challenges and individual factors contribute to the veteran experience …We remain committed to providing direct support and ensuring veterans in Lenawee County have a voice in improving the systems intended to serve them. Continued communication between local, state, and federal partners is essential to address these ongoing challenges effectively.” 

The Lenawee County Department of Veterans Affairs is a great resource for our local veterans. Thank you to Tammy and her staff.  

You can also be a resource. Saying the words “thank you for your service” is just not enough! We need to take action. Our representatives in Congress need to take action. Call your senators and representative and let them know that you demand that Congress must do everything possible to provide the health care and services that our veterans deserve:

• Sen. Elissa Slotkin: 313-962-4330. 
• Sen. Gary Peters: 517-377-1508.
• Rep. Tim Walberg: 517-780-9075.

Mitch Myers lives in Adrian.