Supervisor Mallek concerned about cuts to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

While the federal government is undergoing an unprecedented dismantling by the second Trump administration, business continues in the over 3,100 counties across the United States of America. Their interests are represented by a group called the National Association of Counties.

Albemarle Supervisor Ann Mallek recently attended the organization’s spring conference and reported to her colleagues at their March 5 meeting. Members of NACO’s veteran’s affairs committee learned from Congressional staffers about the current situation in Washington.

“There was great concern particularly at the Veterans Committee about the number of veterans who have been let go who are providing service, casework services and medical services, to other veterans,” Mallek said.

Also on March 5, the Associated Press reported that the Trump administration plans to let go of up to 80,000 personnel from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. in order to return the service back to 2019 staffing levels. The website military.com reported the number at 83,000 and reports that the cuts seek to overturn the 2022 PACT Act which expanded the service and provided benefits to millions of veterans exposed to toxic substances.

The full name of the PACT Act is “The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022.” It passed the House of Representatives on March 3, 2022 with a 256 to vote and initially passed the Senate on an 84 to 12 vote. However, 25 Republicans later flipped their vote in a procedural maneuver.

Military.com reported on August 1, 2022, that dozens of veterans who had been exposed to toxic chemicals as part of their service camped outside Congress. The next day, the Senate voted 86 to 11 to proceed.

Robinson had served as a combat medic in Kosovo and Iraq who had been exposed to burn pits, a once-common practice to dispose of waste. He died in 2020. Prior to signing of the PACT Act, the Department of Veteran Affairs routinely denied claims and required proof that illnesses derived from exposure.

Before you go: This story was first sent out in the March 6, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. That newsletter and this website are part of Town Crier Productions, a journalism experiment centered around public meetings. This is not a nonprofit but instead a small business you can support by buying a paid subscription, taking out an ad, or sharing the information with people you may know. There is also Patreon, but if you pay through Apple’s IOS, Apple gets a thirty percent cut. I’m trying to work out a new solution. It’s an experiment!