Washington – The United States Senate confirmed on Tuesday to Doug Collins as secretary of Veterans Affairs, putting the former congressman and veteran of the Iraq war at the head of an department that provides crucial attention to the veterans of the United States.
Collins, a former Air Force chaplain, was confirmed in a 77-23 vote, becoming the last incorporation into President Trump’s cabinet.
“We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great defender of our members, veterans and military active duty families to ensure that they have the support they need,” Trump said in a November statement announcing the nomination of Collins.
The Department of Veterans Affairs manages a budget of more than $ 350 billion and supervises almost 200 medical centers and hospitals throughout the country. It also manages national cemeteries and works in close collaboration with the Department of Defense on Personnel Affairs.
Collins has promised to reduce regulations throughout the department and raise the quality of care for veterans.
The challenges facing the department have evolved in recent years, with a younger generation of veterans who bring new health challenges of their service in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
“I am a veteran of the Iraq war. I understand the wells of burns because I slept next to one for many months,” Collins said in his opening comments during his January confirmation audience. Collins said he understands the challenges faced by veterans today that “they were again and again, deployment after deployment” in conflict areas.
Collins served in the 2013 to 2021 representatives. He ran for the Senate in 2020, but lost the Republican primaries against Kelly Loeffler, an important republican donor that Trump has taken advantage of to lead the association of small businesses in the United States.
Senator Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, called Collins a “friend” who has “an attractive personality that attracts people to what he is working on.”
“It is not that they are better doctors or better psychiatrists or better nurses or technicians. They are empathic,” Cramer said. “While they appreciate access to community attention, they appreciate the empathy of a veteran partner, and Doug brings that. But, guys, he is a chaplain. I mean, come on, how perfect is that?”
The Nomination of Collins navigated through the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in an 18-1 vote. The solitary dissident, Senator Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat, said he was concerned that Collins would limit access to reproductive care such as IVF or abortion for veterans.
Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat of Illinois, said she had a productive conversation with Collins during her confirmation audience, but pressed it on whether she committed to work with Congress to “strengthen and refine” the department “instead of resorting to the privatization ”
Collins said he would focus on addressing waiting times and increasing preventive attention.
By
