Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins posted a video on social media this week claiming to have cut $2 billion in contracts that he viewed as wasteful spending that did not help veterans.
One of the business owners who was notified of having their VA contracts cancelled that same day is based in Jeffersontown, and he says Collins is completely mischaracterizing the services that are now being terminated.
“(Collins) said specifically that it wouldn't impact veteran health care or benefits in any way,” said Neil Riley, an Army veteran and owner of Riley McGuire Partners. “And that is specifically a lie.”
Riley McGuire Partners is a federally certified service-disabled veteran-owned small business that had all of its contracts with the VA cancelled Tuesday in back-to-back emails with nearly identical language.
Riley said these contracts largely provide oversight for VA programs that lease out underutilized properties that can be used to service veterans. Its largest contract is under the Enhanced-Use Lease program, where private developers create low-income housing, especially targeting veterans who are homeless or transitioning from care.
His company manages safety and hazard inspections — such as testing for lead paint — at more than 50 properties that house thousands of veterans across the country, including in Lexington.
“Our oversight of that was to ensure that these private lessees continue to operate and maintain the properties in a safe manner for these veterans,” Riley said. “So it's directly contrary to what Secretary Collins said. That was a lie.”
Riley said he may have to lay off staff soon unless the VA reverses the cuts. Additionally, veterans would lose the company’s services and the administration would lose the proven cost savings of programs that are unable to be delivered by the VA’s own staff — which has already been reduced by 2,400 in recent layoffs.
“I’ve been doing this work for 8 years, and I can say with absolute confidence that, unfortunately, veterans will be less safe and see a degradation of the services they receive, and the taxpayers’ investment in these properties will suffer,” Riley said.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the 875 terminated VA contracts included ones to help cover medical services, fund cancer programs, recruit doctors and provide burial services to veterans.
The cuts are part of a massive effort by President Donald Trump’s administration — and led by the Department of Government Efficiency, run by his billionaire adviser Elon Musk — to reduce federal spending and bureaucracy that they characterize as wasteful and corrupt. Some cuts to federal agencies, workforce and grants have later been either reversed or paused by the administration or court orders, while the administration’s own data shows 40% of canceled contracts aren’t expected to save the government any money.
In his video, Collins said the contracts were being wasted on creating “PowerPoint slides,” as well as executive support, coaching and training, with the VA instead “putting money back to veterans health, back to veterans benefits.” Musk replied to the post, writing “More tax dollars saved!”
After the VA contract terminations produced an uproar, the agency signaled Wednesday it may reverse course. An email to VA staff stated that leadership “is reconsidering previous guidance” and ordered a pause, as “further contract reviews will be conducted to arrive at a new final decision.”
Despite that email, Riley says the VA hasn’t notified his company that it will reverse the contract’s cancellation, nor delivered any apology for Collins’ video.
Riley says the cancellation and Collins’ video are especially insulting to him as a veteran and a certified small business owner. He cited reporting that 89% of the cancelled VA contracts highlighted on the DOGE website were service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, like his.
“He screwed over all the veteran-owned businesses, first of all, and then second of all, everything we do is related to veteran care, housing, making their lives better,” Riley said. “He made it seem like these contracts, they're graft or something. But it's just not.”
He noted that the VA’s Enhanced-Use Lease program that he is contracted through actually saves the agency money, as it produced a $232 million net positive for the VA budget last year and more than $1 billion since the program began. He added that his company had already received $30,000 for a contract to facilitate a state land transfer to expand a veterans cemetery in Oregon, which is now likely to be scrapped.
Riley said the VA has spent years trying to win back the trust of veterans, but these actions have “set back the VA's credibility with veterans decades.”
“I don't know if it's reversible,” Riley said. “I don't know how it's tenable for (Collins) to be the secretary any longer. I really don't.”
Riley said he fears reprisals for speaking out against Collins and the contract terminations, but believes it is necessary to highlight what is happening to veterans.
“I guess that is just life in Trump’s America now, but this is not normal behavior from the secretary of Veterans Affairs or any administration, and I love this country too much to stay silent,” Riley said. “We should expect much better treatment for the nation’s veterans.”
The VA did not immediately return a request for comment on this story.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
