If you have the stomach for it, go read the recent report from Business Insider. It confirms what every single one of us already knows. It lays out, in black and white, that veterans are "paying the price" for the massive cuts to the VA. But the real story isn't just the article. It is the spectacle surrounding it.

I am talking about the recent hearing and the release of this "Democratic congressional report" that supposedly exposes the rot at the heart of the VA.

You have likely seen the clips by now. Lawmakers sitting on their elevated platforms, feigning shock and outrage. They grilled administration officials. They waved papers in the air. They asked "tough questions" about the 40,000 staff members who have been purged from the VA workforce over the last year. They looked into the cameras, furrowed their brows, and acted as if they were the guardians of our well-being.

Do not buy it. Not for a second.

This hearing was not about fixing the VA. It was not about the veteran sleeping under a bridge in Seattle or the one waiting six months for a PTSD screening in Phoenix. This was theater. This was a casting call for their next campaign ad.

Let’s look at the Republican side of the aisle first. They are the ones driving this "efficiency" train. They look at the Department of Veterans Affairs and see a bloat that needs to be cut, not a promise that needs to be kept. They treat the VA like a failing subsidiary of a corporate conglomerate. They slash the budget, freeze hiring, and fire support staff, and then they have the audacity to act surprised when the system collapses.

We have Secretary Collins and his team defending these cuts as "getting back to basics" or "trimming the fat." Let me tell you what that "fat" is. That fat is the person who answers the phone when you are in crisis. That fat is the scheduler who ensures you see a doctor before your condition becomes terminal. To the Republicans in that hearing, the bottom line on a spreadsheet matters more than the heartbeat of the soldier they sent to war. They are treating our healthcare like a business transaction, and business is booming for everyone but us.

Then you have the Democrats. They are currently acting as the "saviors" in this narrative, but their hands are just as dirty. They use these hearings as a cudgel to beat their political opponents, but where is the legislation? Where is the funding protection that makes the VA untouchable? They had chances to fortify this system. Instead, they wait until the damage is done so they can use our suffering as a talking point.

They sit in that hearing room and express "fury" over the staffing cuts. They act stunned that wait times have exploded. It is all a performance. They do not care that you can't get an appointment. They care that they can blame the other guys for the fact that you can't get an appointment.

While they play these little political games, the reality on the ground is getting darker.

We are not talking about misplaced paperwork. We are talking about human lives. We are talking about veteran suicide rates that remain a national tragedy. Every single day, we lose brothers and sisters to their own demons because the help they were promised is locked behind a "please hold" message. We are talking about thousands of homeless veterans who are told there are no resources available, while politicians in D.C. argue about "fiscal responsibility" and "strategic realignment."

The government has proven, once again, that they do not care about veterans. They care about the idea of veterans. They like us in parades. They like us in voting blocks. But when we are broken, sick, or dying? We become an inconvenience. We become a line item to be managed or a statistic to be weaponized.

This hearing was a disgrace. It was a room full of people in expensive suits arguing over the cost of our survival. The Republicans want to starve the beast, and the Democrats want to film it dying so they can fundraise off the footage.

They are all complicit. And we are the ones paying the price.

Business Insider Article: https://www.businessinsider.com/veterans-are-paying-the-price-for-va-cuts-lawmakers-say-2026-1?hl=en-US