Rep Tom Barrett Newsletter, 18 May 2025
Tom Barrett Newsletter, "Honoring Law Enforcement and Getting Results" May 18, 2025 ... "I was also able to participate in the Veterans' Affairs Committee oversight hearing on the VA’s 2026 budget. This gave me the opportunity to ask some very frank questions to Secretary Doug Collins on the upcoming Electronic Health Records roll out in Michigan, problems with community care scheduling, and more. Lives depend on this roll out going smoothly, and I appreciate the secretary for coming before the committee." ...
Representative Barrett, 19 May 2025
This letter is in response to your Newsletter dates May 18, 2025. I am please you managed to get the Social Security Office in Shiawassee county opened again. However, I am deeply disappointed with your other reported "accomplishments."
In particular, you claim to be standing up for our veterans and write about efforts to streamline electronic records. Your efforts are meaningless in the fact of the Trump/Musk destruction of the VA. There will be no one to staff the VA because you have supported those efforts to destroy the VA.
You are silent on the Administration's attack on the VA. You have said nothing about the thousands of VA employees the administration has fired and the Administration's threat to fire another 80,000. The capacity of the VA's medical research has been destroyed, you have said nothing. You had the opportunity to ask Doug Early about the firing of two-thirds of the VA employees who run important programs helping veterans.
Senator Elisa Slotkin, who previously held your seat, has been quite vocal in her fight for our veterans. You have been following the GOP's agenda to pretend to support veterans while doing everything you can to undermine them. Clearly, your loyalty is to Trump, not our veterans. I"m sure they will remember that in 2026.
Do better.
John Jackson