ICYMI: Arizona Veterans and Community Leaders Host Statewide Speak Outs at VA Hospitals to Confront Threats to Healthcare
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2025
PHOENIX, AZ — Today, Common Defense, a national membership organization of veterans and military families, joined by the Arizona Poor People’s Campaign held statewide community “Speak Out” events at the Phoenix and Tucson VA Medical Centers.
Speakers included veterans, healthcare workers, clergy, and community members who spoke about the human cost of recent policies stripping healthcare from those who need it most. Speakers on behalf of Common Defense addressed legislation, such as the “Big Beautiful Bill” (BBB), which is having devastating impacts on hard earned VA services, Medicaid, and other safety net programs for poor and low income people throughout the state of Arizona and nationwide.
The following statements were issued by Common Defense:
“At Common Defense, we are a community of veterans and allies who believe in a democracy that serves all of us, not just the wealthy few. And that includes healthcare as a human right, not a privilege. This ‘Speak Out’ is not about politics as usual. It’s about people. It’s about policy. And most importantly—it’s about power. The power we hold when we come together. The power to vote. The power to organize. And the power to build the kind of future we know is possible.” - Selina Cardenas, Deputy Director of Arizona Organizing for Common Defense (Phoenix)
“We hear a lot of gaslighting and lies when the current Administration and Arizona Reps like Biggs, Gosar, Schweikert, Hamedah, Ciscomani, and Crane talk about their ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ and the impact on healthcare for Veterans in our state—but we know if their lips are moving they are lying. And they know the harm these cuts will cause. Rep. Ciscomani even put out a letter prior to the vote because he knew how devastating the cuts would be, then he and his comrades ALL voted YES for the bill. So at this point we just need to call this what it is—a multi-front attack on the healthcare rights and benefits our Arizona Veterans have earned and are owed” - Chris Hill, a 20-year Army Medical Service Corps veteran and Common Defense staffer (Phoenix)
“And here’s the most painful part: many of the politicians behind this bill promised they would protect veterans. Promised they would protect seniors. Promised they would never touch Social Security or Medicare. But now—they’ve broken those promises. And why? To protect the wealth of billionaires and corporations who’ve rigged the system in their favor for decades.” - Melissa Cordero, Common Defense Lead Organizer (Tucson)
“Right now, VA leadership claims they can cut 30,000 staff without compromising care. That’s simply not true. Before the ‘DOGE chainsaw cuts,’ the VA already had 60,000 vacancies. With cuts, a hiring freeze, attrition, contract buyouts, and micromanagement, staff are walking away. Here in Tucson, at our VA hospital, 79 staff have applied for deferred resignation and 92 total are set to leave—about 2–3% of the workforce. Nationally, the largest groups taking these buyouts are nurses, medical support assistants, and social workers. That means fewer frontline providers and fewer people supporting the mission veterans depend on.” - Jenalyn Lazana, Common Defense Member, Current Healthcare Executive (Tucson)
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Common Defense Civic Engagement is a grassroots, veteran-led organization that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.