Juneau residents and veterans rallied outside the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, in response to the Trump Administration’s plans to eliminate tens of thousands of jobs in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Ed Sasser, a disabled Army and U.S Coast Guard veteran, stood outside the capitol holding a sign that read “Save the VA.”
“The VA saved my life,” he said.
Sasser can access medical testing through the VA, which he says he wouldn’t be able to afford if he was on private insurance. He says those benefits are the reason he’s alive today.
“I had kidney cancer and didn’t know it. I had six weeks to live. The VA ran some tests that I would never have paid for if I were on private insurance,” he said. “That was 10 years ago, and I’m still alive.”
Sasser was joined by about 20 other demonstrators outside the capitol to protest the cuts proposed by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
The VA provides health care and other services for millions of veterans across the country. There are nearly 70,000 veterans living in Alaska and more than 20,000 of them receive disability compensation, according to the agency.
In response to DOGE’s efforts to shrink the federal government, the VA has already cut thousands of positions and plans to terminate tens of thousands more.
VA Secretary Doug Collins has said the reductions won’t mean cuts to veterans’ health care or benefits.
But Juneau demonstrator Norene Nelson doesn’t buy that. She held an upside-down American flag alongside her uncle, who is a veteran. She said the cuts would harm many of her family members and friends who rely on the department’s services.
“It would just be so disrespectful to every veteran that has served our country,” she said. “We need to support them.”
The demonstration on Friday was one of many that have taken place at the capitol in the last month as the Trump administration continues its efforts to dramatically reduce the federal workforce. Earlier this week, dozens of Juneau residents protested as Congress considers drastic funding cuts to Medicaid, the government-funded health insurance program for low-income families and people with disabilities.
KTOO’s Jamie Diep contributed to this story.
