Press Releases

Today, Congressman Richard E. Neal announced that he will be joined by Michael Slater, former Program Support Assistant with the Springfield Vet Center, as his guest for the Presidential Address to Congress on Tuesday, March 4. 2025.

A U.S. Army veteran who completed four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Slater served as an Army combat engineer, responsible for inspecting and clearing routes of any explosive devices. Slater was recently terminated from his employment with the Springfield Vet Center after the Trump Administration announced on February 13 that more than 1,000 employees with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) had been let go. On February 24, the VA announced another 1,400 positions had been cut.

“When our servicemembers enter the service, we make them a promise: you protect us, and we’ll take care of you. The VA is central to the obligation we have of fulfilling that promise, which is why we saw historic investments under President Biden with the enactment of the PACT Act. Now, this administration is turning their backs on our veterans at a time when they need our help the most,” said Congressman Neal. “Like many VA employees, Mike has dedicated his career to serving our nation – first in the military and most recently with the VA. The suggestion from the administration that nobody from the VA who interacts with veterans has been let go is simply not true, and Mike is a testament to that fact. The notion that we are going to cut programs like Medicaid and SNAP and terminate jobs with the VA, IRS, FAA, and other federal agencies all to support a tax cut for the top two percent is absurd. That is why I am proud to host Mike as my guest for the Presidential Address to Congress and share the stories of those that have been wrongfully terminated without cause.”

Established in 1979 to provide counseling to Vietnam-era veterans who were having trouble readjusting to civilian life, Vet Centers fall within the Readjustment Counseling Services arm of the VA, providing a wide range of social and psychological services to eligible Veterans, active-duty service members, and their families. There are more than 300 Vet Centers nationwide that serve nearly 300,000 veterans, service members, and their families.

"No VA employee who answers the phone or has face to face contact with veterans has been terminated. This was the statement from VA Secretary Collins, and it could not be further from the truth. As the Program Support Assistant at the Springfield Vet Center, I was the first face or voice to interact with veterans seeking services at our community-based Mental Health Outpatient Clinic. In the last two weeks, roughly 60 Program Support Assistants were terminated across the nation. This position had been a priority hiring due to its critical role in the success of each individual clinic. However, the push to hire led to a large number of probationary hires, making these employees a targeted demographic during the current downsizing of our federal employee footprint,” said Michael Slater. “The care of our veterans is and should always be an issue that crosses the proverbial aisle of American politics. The VA is not perfect, but a chainsaw is not the tool to fix it. There must be a surgical approach, one that ensures the minimal disruption of services to those who have carried the weight of freedom and who have worn the uniform to defend this nation from all enemies foreign and domestic. I ask that Congress stand for America's veterans and the system that provides so much more than simply health care for veterans before it is pushed beyond the point of saving."

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