Coleman Nee, the national commander of Disabled American Veterans, testifies during a joint House and Senate Veterans Affairs’ Committee hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The Disabled American Veterans’ top leader delivered a dire message to lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday, warning that a continued shift of resources from the Department of Veterans Affairs to the private sector risks “hollowing out the only health care system in the country that is purpose-built for veterans.”
Coleman Nee, the DAV’s national commander, testified at a joint House and Senate Veterans Affairs’ Committee hearing to hear the policymaking priorities of veterans advocacy groups.
The presentation of legislative agendas to lawmakers is an annual bipartisan tradition that enables the nation’s major veterans groups to present their priorities for specific bills pending in Congress.
But Nee, who was joined at the witness table by a contingent of DAV officers, focused on what he described as a “defining crossroad” for VA’s network of hospitals and clinics, as the agency embarks on a $1 trillion plan to expand private-sector health coverage over the next decade.
“As resources, talent and expertise are siphoned away, the VA’s ability to function deteriorates — creating a self-fulfilling prophecy in which weakened performance is used to justify further destruction of the department,” said Nee, a Marine Corps veteran with service-connected disabilities.
Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., said he appreciated DAV’s focus on strengthening the VA.
“I share your deep concerns about VA not being there for future generations and efforts to dismantle the workforce — and carry out reorganization — without significant feedback from veterans and other stakeholders,” Pappas said.
Nee said the VA has struggled to adapt to the evolving needs of modern veterans, which include addressing coverage gaps in rural areas and meeting demands from the growing population of female veterans, who more frequently use community care.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., makes remarks during a joint House and Senate Veterans Affairs’ Committee hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., acting chairwoman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, asked about DAV support for private health care in remote communities where veterans live a considerable distance from a VA clinic or hospital.
Mace was filling in for Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., the committee chairman, who was absent due to travel delays from snowstorms blanketing swaths of the nation.
Jon Retzer, DAV’s national legislative director, said the organization supports an integrated community network of private providers that more closely aligns with the practices within the VA health care system.
The DAV, for example, favors competency standards for private providers authorized to receive reimbursements to care for veterans, Retzer said. The competency standards should be the same that VA doctors and nurses must meet, he said.
Nee also urged lawmakers to better fortify VA hospitals and clinics through targeted investments in an era of downsizing government services.
He pointed to the need to decrease wait times for appointments, update aging medical facilities and fill critical vacancies for medical staff.
“On one path lies the dismantling, fragmentation and gradual erosion of a system built to serve veterans. On the other lies a principled effort to modernize and strengthen and safeguard” the VA health care system, he said.
Retzer emphasized the importance of a digitized system for patient records that can be shared between the VA, Defense Department and authorized non-VA community providers.
Rep. Kimberlyn King-Hinds, a Republican representing the Northern Mariana Islands, asked what is the one thing that Congress can do over the next five years to ensure the long-term viability of the VA system.
“We need mandatory funding to keep it strong and healthy,” Retzer said.
Core VA medical care has historically been funded through annual congressional appropriations, which are discretionary, though the PACT Act mandates spending on benefits for toxic-exposed veterans.
Veterans raise their hands after being asked by Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., if anyone has had negative impacts due to VA staffing shortages during a joint House and Senate Veterans Affairs’ Committee hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
