---
title: "The VA Doesn’t Want You To Know Exactly How Short-Staffed It Is"
date: "2018-09-01"
modified: "2018-09-01"
authors:
  - name: "Jared Keller"
    job_title: "Former Managing Editor"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/department-veterans-affairs-job-vacancies/"
categories:
  - "Analysis"
  - "Around the World"
  - "News"
  - "United States"
---

# The VA Doesn’t Want You To Know Exactly How Short-Staffed It Is

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/18990150-1.jpg>)

The Department of Veterans Affairs waited until just before 5 pm on the Friday before Labor Day weekend to [release](<https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5104>) eye-popping job vacancies data: the agency currently has a whopping 45,239 overall vacancies, 40,456 (89%) of which belong to the Veterans Health Administration.

Any veteran who's had to deal with insane wait times at their local VA medical center know that staffing at the agency has a direct impact on its ability to deliver effective care to patients, a subject that drew the ire of Montana Sen. Jon Tester, ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans' Affairs committee, during an [interview](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-says-veterans-wait-too-long-for-health-care-vas-33000-vacancies-might-have-something-to-do-with-that/2018/04/10/d20bc890-3ccf-11e8-974f-aacd97698cef_story.html?utm_term=.df2be6fecfaa>) with the Washington Post back in April.

“It’s crippling our ability to deliver health care to our vets,” Tester [said](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-says-veterans-wait-too-long-for-health-care-vas-33000-vacancies-might-have-something-to-do-with-that/2018/04/10/d20bc890-3ccf-11e8-974f-aacd97698cef_story.html?utm_term=.df2be6fecfaa>) at the time. “ It’s effectively pushing veterans outside the system.”

But the new VA vacancy report, legally [mandated](<https://veterans.house.gov/uploadedfiles/va_mission_act_summary.pdf>) under the recently-passed VA Mission Act to increase personnel transparency at the beleaguered agency, is disturbing for two reasons.

1. Back in April, VA spokesman Curt Cashour [stated](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-says-veterans-wait-too-long-for-health-care-vas-33000-vacancies-might-have-something-to-do-with-that/2018/04/10/d20bc890-3ccf-11e8-974f-aacd97698cef_story.html?utm_term=.df2be6fecfaa>) that there were "more than 33,000 full-time vacancies as of early March," [per](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-says-veterans-wait-too-long-for-health-care-vas-33000-vacancies-might-have-something-to-do-with-that/2018/04/10/d20bc890-3ccf-11e8-974f-aacd97698cef_story.html?utm_term=.df2be6fecfaa>) the Washington Post, [adding](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-says-veterans-wait-too-long-for-health-care-vas-33000-vacancies-might-have-something-to-do-with-that/2018/04/10/d20bc890-3ccf-11e8-974f-aacd97698cef_story.html?utm_term=.df2be6fecfaa>) that the department "has added nearly 15,000 slots since Trump came into office." Given the [well-documented](<https://www.gao.gov/products/100667>) problem with VA hiring and retention detailed in a December 2017 Government Accountability Office [report](<https://www.gao.gov/products/100667>), this makes the successes touted by the VA increasingly suspect.
2. Dropping a legally required transparency report at 5 pm before a holiday weekend is what's known as a "[Friday news dump](<https://politicaldictionary.com/words/friday-news-dump/>)," a move designed to avoid media attention surrounding potentially negative news stories. It's a classic DC public relations news: if you have to stand up and say something bad, try to do it when nobody's listening. It's also shady as hell!

Really, guys?

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/image-placeholder-title-1597.png>)

To be clear, this is not a problem specific t0 the Trump administration: a 2015 [analysis](<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/23/va-has-41500-unfilled-medical-jobs-forcing-vets-into-costly-private-care/30504525/>) by USA Today found that, under then-VA Secretary Bob McDonald, the VHA alone [boasted](<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/23/va-has-41500-unfilled-medical-jobs-forcing-vets-into-costly-private-care/30504525/>) some 41,500 job vacancies for medical professionals, more than the number listed in the agency's Friday news dump.

That said, Trump did [inform](<https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/08/30/trump-cancels-pay-raise-due-federal-workers-january.html>) Congress on Thursday that he was [canceling](<https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/08/30/trump-cancels-pay-raise-due-federal-workers-january.html>) the 2.1 pay raise for civilian federal employees set for January. Chances are that won't do wonders for recruiting and retention, especially for high-demand medical specialists — and that means things are only going to get worse before they get better for patients who rely on the VA for care.

[*h/t David Philipps*](<https://twitter.com/David_Philipps/status/1035687382555623424>)

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/image-placeholder-title-1598.png>)

## Author
Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/jaredbkeller>)  
[Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/jaredbkeller>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredbkeller/>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/jaredbkelller/>)