Washington DC – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, responded to reports that researchers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are right now being fired by the Trump administration. The administration is refusing to honor researchers’ three-year “Not to Exceed” term limits (NTEs) by rolling them over as is standard and is instead immediately dismissing these researchers—who are in the middle of research on topics including mental health, alcohol and opioid withdrawal, cancer treatments, burn pit exposure, prosthetics, diabetic ulcers, and so much else.
“The Trump administration is right now firing researchers at VA who do lifesaving work for our veterans—research to prevent veteran suicide, build lifechanging prosthetics, address opioid addiction, and more. This move will effectively mean the end of VA research as we know it in red and blue states. Trump and Elon need to reverse course on this elimination of VA research positions immediately—this callous across-the-board firing threatens to decimate so much of the lifesaving research our veterans depend on.
“I’m hearing from longtime VA researchers in my home state of Washington who are right now being told to immediately stop their research and pack their bags—not because their work isn’t desperately needed, but because Trump and Elon have decided to fire these researchers on a whim. Americans should understand by now when it comes to these kinds of indiscriminate cuts and arbitrary mass firings—Trump and Elon have no idea what they are doing, nor do they care who they hurt in the process. Our veterans deserve the very best medical care and I am already demanding that VA provide me information about who made these decisions and much more—I’m not going to stand by and let Trump and Elon destroy VA medical research.”
According to VA, in fiscal year 2024, there were 102 active research sites nationwide, with 3,685 active principal investigators who led 7,278 active funded research projects involving teams of researchers. In addition, VA investigators authored or coauthored 11,732 published research articles.
Senator Murray was the first woman to join the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the first woman to chair the Committee—as the daughter of a World War II veteran, supporting veterans and their families has always been an important priority for her. Senator Murray has fought throughout her career for increased benefits for veterans, housing assistance, better access to veterans’ clinics throughout Washington state, and more accountability from the VA.
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