Baldwin Leads Senators Demanding Trump Protect Veterans Crisis Hotline Amid Deep Staffing Cuts at VA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Angus King (I-ME), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) called on the Trump Administration to protect the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) from deep staffing cuts at Veterans Affairs (VA) and return to office orders that will impact this critical service for veterans in crisis. The letter comes as reports show that VA employees working on the VCL were fired. Senator Baldwin wrote the legislation to create the 988 Hotline, including streamlined access to the VCL, which since its launch in July 2022 has answered 2 million calls, texts, and chats.

“We write to you out of concern for ability of the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) to continue to provide critical support to veterans and their loved ones. Over the past month, the Department of Veterans Affairs has fired more than 2,400 federal employees, including dedicated health professionals who man the phones at VA’s suicide crisis line,” wrote the Senators in a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins. “We urge you to take immediate action to ensure the Veterans Crisis Line is not disrupted by layoffs or other executive orders.”

In addition to demanding answers about the Trump Administration and Secretary Collins’ plan to protect this vital service for veterans, the Senators also requested the VA immediately consider an exemption for the vast majority of VCL workers who were hired and work remotely. A January 20th executive order that directed federal departments to end remote work arrangements would mean deep disruptions and workforce reductions at the VCL, directly impacting support for veterans in crisis. 

“You affirmed during your confirmation process your commitment to addressing the epidemic of veteran suicide and to reaching at risk veterans,” wrote the Senators to VA Secretary Collins. “Risking the loss of access to immediate, life-saving mental health resources is not congruent with that promise. This is a critical time to ensure the VCL has the operational environment to support its substantial call volume and to support our veterans and save lives.”

A full version of Baldwin’s letter is available here and below.

Dear Secretary Collins,

We write to you out of concern for ability of the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) to continue to provide critical support to veterans and their loved ones. Over the past month, the Department of Veterans Affairs has fired more than 2,400 federal employees, including dedicated health professionals who man the phones at VA’s suicide crisis line. Moreover, employees that work at the Veterans Crisis Line who remain employed are facing uncertainty about their work status following the President’s January 20th directive that all departments of the executive branch take steps to terminate remote work arrangements. We urge you to take immediate action to ensure the Veterans Crisis Line is not disrupted by layoffs or other executive orders, including by bringing these employees back to work and seeking exemptions to the termination of remote work arrangements.

The VCL is a dedicated hotline available to our nation’s veterans for assistance in addressing acute mental health issues, particularly thoughts of attempting suicide. The VCL allows veterans to reach assistance through phone calls, text messages, or online chats. The responders fielding these requests for support are trained in evidence-based practices for crisis response and many of them are licensed mental health professionals. Many were hired as fully remote workers and now, the President’s directive jeopardizes veterans’ 24/7 access to this crisis care.

We understand that some employees have received deadlines for returning to agency facilities while others, such as those covered under bargaining units or those with official duty stations outside 50 miles of an agency facility, are awaiting further guidance. Now is the time for you to seek an exemption for VCL responders and to communicate this intent clearly to the workforce to prevent further uncertainty and avoid any disruptions to the crisis line’s services.

As Members of Congress who championed the legislation to merge the Veterans Crisis Line with the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, thereby streamlining its use for veterans, we have followed its implementation closely. We note the disruptions and intermittent access issues that resulted in disconnected or dropped calls and chats in recent years, and we also note the Department’s ongoing efforts to work with the Office of Information and Technology as well as to comply with Inspector General recommendations to improve services for veterans. Disrupting the professionally-trained response workforce would not support the success of these ongoing improvement efforts.

The ease of use of this hotline has led to increasing usage, with the VCL reporting receipt of more than 2 million calls, texts, and chats answered since its transition to the 988 line. Due to the dedicated professional response workforce, the VCL reports an average wait time of 9 seconds. We cannot risk failing our nation’s veterans by jeopardizing the continued function of this crisis support line.

You affirmed during your confirmation process your commitment to addressing the epidemic of veteran suicide and to reaching at risk veterans. Risking the loss of access to immediate, life-saving mental health resources is not congruent with that promise.

This is a critical time to ensure the VCL has the operational environment to support its substantial call volume and to support our veterans and save lives. We look forward to your prompt attention to this matter and to your response.

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