The Department of Veterans Affairs has temporarily suspended billions of dollars in contract cuts after an uproar that critical veterans health services were harmed, lawmakers and veterans service organizations said Wednesday.

Veterans Affairs leaders this week touted $2 billion in savings for department efforts from canceled government contracts they insist were not providing real benefits to veterans, but critics are warning the efforts could seriously jeopardize some health and benefits services.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Wednesday paused an effort to terminate hundreds of contracts after pressure from Democrat lawmakers, according to Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.

After firing 1,000 VA probationary employees Feb.15, the VA terminated 1,400 more employees they called “non mission critical” on Feb. 24.

A day after the VA celebrated about $2B in savings on canceled contracts, it began reversing some that may have affected medical care, according to agency records.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat and the ranking member of the Senate VA committee, expressed concerns following the administration's sweeping cuts.

In his first public address to a veterans group, Doug Collins outlined plans to broaden VA benefits and cut back bureaucracy.

Doug Collins, the new secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, attends the Disabled American Veterans’ winter conference outside Washington, D.C.

I interviewed the VA Secretary Doug Collins last night and it was pretty clear he had a message for the roughly 18 million living veterans in this country. “We're not cutting critical health care. We're not cutting health care benefits,

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins explained that these contracts included training, executive support, Microsoft PowerPoint tutorials, and meeting minutes.

The pause affects hundreds of VA contracts, which Secretary Collins described a day earlier as nonessential consulting agreements.

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it is cutting more than 1,400 workers, which will save more than $83 million annually.