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legal interpretations, providing
tangible benefits and greater clarity to Georgia veterans navigating
complex claims processes.
A Georgia Veteran
Leads Veterans A昀昀airs
Former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins,
a Georgia native and Air Force
Reserve chaplain, was appointed
by President Donald Trump and
confirmed as the U.S. Secretary of
Veterans Affairs in February with
overwhelming bipartisan support.
Within months, he visited the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program
and pledged agency-wide reforms:
streamlining case reviews, rooting out inefficiencies, and purging
bureaucratic bloat from the previous
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administration. While Collins faced
intense criticism for proposed workforce cuts, his early agenda placed
Georgia veterans at the center of his
vision while seeking more precise
solutions to workforce reductions.
While Collins has pledged
“multiple safeguards [are] in place
to ensure these staff reductions do
not impact veteran care or benefits” he has made it clear he is not
done improving the VA. Though
a department wide Reduction in
Force is off the table for now, his
review has resulted in a “host of
new ideas” for serving veterans.
The VA’s disability claims backlog
is already down nearly 30 percent, after it increased 24 percent
during the Biden Administration.
Capitol Hill Legislation
Mirrors Georgia’s Focus
Traumatic brain injuries remain a prevalent issue for veterans
returning to civilian life. Georgia,
home to prominent veteran medical
centers like the Shepherd Center,
stands to benefit significantly from
increased funding and advanced
treatment protocols developed by
the Precision Brain Health Research Act. It would require the VA
to work with the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and
Medicine to create a ten-year research plan to establish the effects
of repetitive low-level blast injuries.
The Shepherd Center’s connection to this act lies in its commitment to advancing brain health
