Collins Presses VA on Togus Needs in Augusta, Maine

AUGUSTA, Maine (Day.News) — Maine Sen. Susan Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, confronted VA Secretary Doug Collins on May 1, 2026, about dire needs at the Togus VA Medical Center, the nation's oldest VA facility serving thousands of veterans across the Pine Tree State. Speaking on Capitol Hill, Collins highlighted a $594 million infrastructure backlog identified last year, with the current budget request covering just $226 million, leaving prioritized projects in limbo. She pressed the secretary on timelines for reinstating funds, underscoring how Maine's vast rural expanses amplify the crisis for veterans traveling from places like Aroostook County to Augusta.

Collins also spotlighted staffing shortages plaguing Togus's new Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program, the first in Maine dedicated to long-term care for veterans battling substance use disorder, PTSD and depression. The facility's recent ribbon-cutting, where Collins spoke, promised comprehensive rehab services, but understaffing threatens its rollout amid national VA hiring challenges. Secretary Collins noted a recent Undersecretary for Health visit to Togus and touted the VA as the country's largest integrated healthcare system, yet offered no firm hiring commitments.

Rural transportation emerged as another flashpoint, with Collins advocating for boosted grants to shuttle Maine's far-flung veterans to care — a lifeline in a state where 60% of the population lives beyond Augusta. The exchange reflects Togus's outsized role, treating over 30,000 veterans annually from all 16 Maine counties and parts of New Hampshire, as federal budgets strain under aging infrastructure built in 1866. Collins's push aims to secure Maine's veterans the support they earned.