Winning for Veterans: Trump-Era VA Cuts Backlog 70 Percent, Opens 47 Clinics Ahead of Veterans Day

There is simply not too much we can do for our veterans, especially those wounded in the line of duty; taking care of our heroes is the main mission of the federal Department of Veterans' Affairs, which oversees the various Veterans' Administration (VA) hospitals, clinics and facilities around the nation. So it's appropriate that, on Veterans Day, VA Secretary Doug Collins, speaking on Fox News to host Todd Piro, has announced a major plan to deal with veterans' homelessness.

.@SecVetAffairs: We just allocated over $1B to help groups across the country deal with veteran homelessness. Last year, we permanently housed over 50,000 veterans, and we're coming close to that number again this year. https://t.co/4a51Czh0nf

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 11, 2026

Here's what the Secretary had to say:

It's getting even better in the sense that we've just allocated over a billion dollars to help groups across the country deal with homelessness. Last year we permanently housed over 50,000 veterans. We're coming again close to that number, and as we're doing so, we're seeing more and more. Understand that, the homelessness issue typically is tied with other things. And so, what we're doing at the VA is not only getting them into temporary housing, we're moving them into permanent housing. But also we're taking the time to make sure we give them the wrap-around services that they need, what got them there to start with. For sometimes, it's medical conditions. For sometimes it's mental health. For sometimes maybe it's just financial, or addiction. Those are the kind of things that we're going to take and make sure that not only we are helping them get out of the situation, we make sure they stay out.

Also on Veterans Day, the VA under Secretary Collins issued a press release documenting the VA's achievements over the last year, and what the VA intends to do next, to deliver more and better benefits to our nation's veterans.

Here are a few key points:

• VA has opened 47 new healthcare clinics, expanding access for Veterans around the country.
• The backlog of Veterans waiting for VA benefits is down nearly 70% since Jan. 20, 2025.
• VA has cut the average disability claims processing time by 46% since Jan. 20, 2025.
• VA processed a record high 3.11 million compensation claims in FY2026, a 23.5% increase from FY2024. VA granted more than 60% of the claims filed, with the highest accuracy rate in three years (nearly 94%), and only about 3% of these decisions were appealed to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.

There's no other group of people in the United States quite like our nation's veterans. We all served, many of us under harsh conditions, many of us far from home, in strange lands with strange customs. Many veterans came away scarred by their experiences, mentally and physically. And we owe those veterans a great debt, one we can never really repay completely. What we can do, though, is to ensure that they receive the best treatments and services we can provide them; we literally owe the continued existence of our republic to these great heroes.

The Veterans Administration is making some pretty good strides in that direction. Secretary Collins seems to understand that mission. And on this, of all days, we should all understand this great debt, and the steps the federal government is taking to repay it as best it can.

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