Pielli fights for veterans at West Chester rally
Rep. Chris Pielli March 14, 2025 | 1:02 PM
WEST CHESTER, March 14 -- State Rep. Chris Pielli, D-Chester, stood alongside local veterans today at a rally organized at the historic Chester County Courthouse.
The rally was a response to a federal memo circulated by the Department of Government Efficiency that planned to cut as many as 80,000 jobs in the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. Pielli said these cuts would impact the VA in Coatesville which employs nearly 1,200 people and serves thousands of fellow veterans.
“Right now, veterans are waiting an average of six to nine months for VA claims decisions,” Pielli said. “That’s too long. With these proposed job cuts, these wait times will increase to nearly a year or more. That’s unacceptable. And DOGE has already gotten started. Since the start of the year, twenty-four hundred workers in the VA have been laid off, disrupting supply chains and backlogging medication requests by a full week. And that’s just 3% of the staff they plan to fire.
“Elon and Trump don’t get it. We are not suckers and losers. This isn’t a business. This isn’t about profit margins. This is about people. True American patriots who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our country, if necessary, who now need our help. As a U.S Army soldier, I swore to support, obey and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. I made this pledge with my fellow veterans to the republic for which it stands, not to a king. Not to billionaires for their tax breaks and not to Russian dictators. As a PA state representative, I swear and pledge the same," Pielli said.