Video: At Hearing, Former Responder Details Harm of Trump VA's Cuts on the Veterans Crisis Line

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – At a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing today focused on the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) stressed the harmful impact the Trump Administration’s policies and cuts will have on this life-saving resource for veterans experiencing mental health crises. Blumenthal emphasized how the hiring freeze at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), return to work policies, and VA Secretary Collins’ goal to fire 83,000 VA employees will worsen existing problems at the VCL—including current staffing shortages.

“…[T]he lack of transparency and accountability from this VA and this Administration make meaningful oversight of VA programs like the Veterans Crisis Line extremely challenging,” said Blumenthal. “The [Government Accountability Office] and [Inspector General] reports that we are discussing today show the Veterans Crisis Line needs more resources, more staffing, more investment into technology. These recommendations demonstrably conflict with the ongoing mismanagement of the Department by Secretary Collins and this Administration.”

Blumenthal continued, “In the first phase of illegal firings, the Veterans Crisis Line employees – including those who conduct advanced training for responders – were fired without warning…And the Administration has provided zero answers—none—regarding the Veterans Crisis Line and other suicide prevention efforts that will be impacted by Secretary Collins’ goal of terminating an additional 83,000 VA employees in the coming months. That is his plan. We’ve had testimony about it, but we have no specifics, no facts, especially that concern the Veterans Crisis Line.”

The Trump Administration mass firing of 2,400 VA employees earlier this year included VCL employees. Among the fired VCL employees, VA Secretary Collins fired at least nine staff working as Social Science Assistants (SSAs) at one VCL call center. These fired SSAs were responsible for locating veterans actively in crisis and coordinating in-person emergency response in coordination with VCL responders.

Blumenthal questioned Ms. Marcia Blane, a former VCL employee who retired in May 2025 after nine years of working at the VCL, on the effect of Collins firing these VCL employees working as SSAs: “These Social Science Assistants who were terminated are important to the work you do. I’d like you to expound on why that termination was so shortsighted.”

Ms. Blane responded by highlighting the critical role these employees—who were among the fired—play at the VCL, supporting responders and veterans in crisis: “The Social Science Assistants are on the same level as 9-1-1 operators. They are our eyes, our ears, and our fingers when we are handling a crisis call. We send a message saying ‘Hey, I need to find this person. They are actively suicidal…’ I can focus on the veteran when I have a Social Science Assistant who is diligently working, tracing calls, working to get locations, full name, date of birth, so I don’t have to be bothered in the sense of redirecting my attention. I can stay with this veteran. When those SSAs were terminated, averagely on the shift, you’re talking 45 to 50 people per two SSAs. My heart broke because…for every crisis that was coming in, they’re juggling so many different calls. It was a slap in the face of the SSAs and responders, because you’re telling us to give our best—but you take our best from us. Our best support, our best voice, our best fingers, and you leave all of us—including the veteran in crisis—in a gap and possibly harmed.”

Blumenthal continued to question Ms. Blane on the impact of the Trump Administration’s past and future planned firings on the VCL: “Would you say that employees, during the period January [2025] to May [2025]…feel more or less confident in reporting waste or fraud or abuse without fear of retaliation compared to the previous nine years that you were in the VA?”

Ms. Blane detailed VA employee’s increased reluctance to speak out amid the threat of future mass firings: “…In response to your question, [employees] are less likely to report the fraud and abuse because as long as we have the ugly umbrella of potential firings—that is going to stop people from fully engaging in sharing the information.”

The VCL provides a critical service for responding to veterans in crisis and is an important tool for preventing veteran suicide—offering 24/7 confidential assistance through call, text, or chat support.

The full text of Blumenthal’s questioning is copied below and a video link is available here.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): Just a few questions. Ms. Blane, I have to tell you, I was really profoundly moved by your testimony—coming from the daughter of a Marine and the mother of a Marine, both combat veterans, both having gone through trauma. You know in your heart how deep and dire the danger can be to somebody going through crisis. But you also know that more is required than just a good heart. Empathy goes a long way, but professionalism is required, and you are a consummate professional, a licensed professional counselor, a certified professional counselor supervisor, and a certified hypnotherapist. You’ve worked for 28.5 years as a federal employee, 19 of those years at the Department of Treasury in the Internal Revenue Service, but you pursued your dream, which was to help veterans. And so, I think your testimony comes from someone who’s seen this problem not only in a personal way, not only in an emotional way, but in an analytical way that is very, very important. And I thought one of the most important observations you made was the effect of terminating the social science assistance. Now, the temptation is to say “oh, I’m doing it on my own. I can do it all as a crisis line counselor,” but these Social Science Assistants who were terminated are important to the work you do. I’d like you to expand a little bit on why that termination was so shortsighted.

Marcia Blane: The Social Science Assistants are on the same level as 9-1-1 operators. They are our eyes, our ears, and our fingers when we are handling a crisis call. We send a message saying, “Hey I need to find this person, they are actively suicidal,” and all of that information. I can focus on the veteran when I have a Social Science Assistant who is diligently working, tracing calls, working to get locations, full name, date of birth, so I don’t have to be bothered in the sense of redirecting my attention. I can stay with this veteran. When those SSAs were terminated, averagely on the shift after their termination, you’re talking 45 to 50 people to two SSAs. My heart broke because I had so many years in criminal investigations at IRS—I knew how to do a lot of research—but my heart was breaking for them because for every crisis that was coming in, they’re juggling so many different calls. It was a slap in the face of the SSAs and the responders, because you’re telling us to give our best, but you take our best from us—our best support, our best voice, our best fingers—and you leave all of us, including that veteran in crisis, in a gap and possibly harmed.

Blumenthal: And often, these SSAs, the Social Scientist Assistants, help you locate the voice behind the call when they don’t want to be located, because they are about to take their own lives. And this is a desperate act on their part to call you, and you need to find out where they are so you can reach out to them.

Blane: Absolutely.

Blumenthal: You remarked in your testimony about how there are a lot of very well-meaning professionals working on the crisis line, “Who are frequently encouraged to dim their lights and just answer the call.” Could you explain what you meant by that?

Blane: Yes, in 2018—I believe that’s the correct year—we had a clinical operations person that came into the Veterans Crisis Line with a production model, answer the call, answer the call—in fact, when we began questioning that, his response in one meeting was if you don't like the way we do things, find another job, not taking into consideration the lives that we were changing, which was always a detriment to me, simply because if you don't know what we do, making a blatant statement like that shows that you have ill concern. Trying to operate—and I shared this earlier—trying to operate a production mentality for human services will never be a win. We are not selling products. We are saving lives.

Blumenthal: Yeah, I think that is really important. We have all called the lines, you know, like, I don’t know, for Amazon or whatever—we want to return a product, and we are put on hold, and it is maddening. But it's not about taking our lives, it's about sending something back and getting a refund. You have to demonstrate a responsiveness and empathy that is very different when we talk about a crisis line. You know, it’s some merchandiser who says we have great service on our call-in lines because you don't have to wait for more than 30 minutes or whatever it is. A caller to your line is not going to wait for 30 minutes.

Blane: Not at all.

Blumenthal: They need help right away. I just want to ask you one more question. Would you say that employees during the period of January to May—you left in May, in January, there was a new Administration—feel more or less confident in reporting waste or fraud or abuse without fear of retaliation compared to the previous nine years that you were in the VA?

Blane: So, honestly it began in November once the election results came in. People immediately became afraid of just understanding what the previous four years were like with this Administration, and not really having an idea of where we were going. So, in response to your question, they are less likely to report the fraud and abuse because as long as we have the ugly umbrella of potential firing, that is going to stop people from fully engaging in sharing the information. We see that every year with those employee survey responses. It never gets 100% participation.

Blumenthal: I want to thank you and Mr. Combs for your testimony today. It has been extremely important and enlightening, and I want to thank the Chairman, Chairman Moran, for having this hearing which has given us an opportunity to explore the issues that you have raised. It really is, I think, extraordinarily important that we hear from you and have this hearing, so I thank the Chairman.

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