About 80% of VA's roughly 450,000 employees are union members, but the department will no longer honor its contracts with the bargaining units.
GOP lawmakers are pushing reforms for a host of department employee financial incentives, but Democrats worry the moves will hurt recruiting efforts.
More than 17,000 Veterans Affairs jobs have been eliminated or vacated since the start of the year.
Congressional fights over plans to cut tens of thousands of VA staffers hinge on lawmakers' views on just how dysfunctional the department is.
