United States Department of Veterans Affairs

At the 170 VA medical facilities and outpatient clinics spread across the nation, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), an executive branch agency at Cabinet level, is responsible for providing eligible military veterans with lifelong healthcare services. Disability benefits, vocational rehabilitation, financial aid for schooling, veterans loans, and life insurance are examples of non-healthcare benefits. At 135 national cemeteries, the VA also offers burial and memorial benefits to qualified soldiers and their families.

Despite the fact that the federal government has been offering benefits to soldiers since the American Revolution, the Veterans Administration was not created until 1930. In 1982, its mandate was expanded to include a fourth mission: in times of national emergency, to provide medical treatment to non-veterans and civilians. The Department of Veterans Affairs was elevated to cabinet status from the Veterans Administration in 1989. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, a member of the government, serves as the organization’s chief executive.

By June 2020, the VA would have 412,892 employees working in its numerous hospitals, clinics, welfare offices, and cemeteries. Net programme expenses for the department in Fiscal Year 2016 were $273 billion, which includes the $106.5 billion VBA Actuarial Cost for compensation benefits. The total projected future payments for veterans and their families under the long-term “actuarial accrued liability” are $2.491 trillion for compensation benefits, $59.6 billion for educational benefits, and $4.6 billion for burial benefits.

History of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Since wounded soldiers make up the majority of the population that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) cares for, the history and evolution of the VA are intimately entwined with and reliant upon the history of America’s wars. From the American Revolutionary War to the present, the United States has been involved in a total of 89 conflicts. However, the following eight conflicts saw the bulk of American military fatalities: World War I (53,402), World War II (291,567), Korean War (33,686), Vietnam War (47,424), Iraq War (3,836), and the War in Afghanistan each claimed an estimated 8000 lives (1,833). The VA’s mission and evolution have been mainly influenced by these wars. War veterans make up the majority of the people served by the VA’s healthcare system, so the VA keeps a thorough list of them.

By offering pensions to disabled troops, the Continental Congress of 1776 encouraged enlistment in the American Revolutionary War. In the early years of the country, different states and communities were responsible for providing veterans with direct medical and hospital treatment. The federal government approved the first residence and medical facility for veterans in 1811, but it didn’t open until 1834. The nation’s veterans aid programme was enlarged in the 19th century to include benefits and pensions for veterans’ widows and dependents as well.

Numerous state soldiers’ homes were built after the American Civil War ended in 1865. All state veterans homes offered domiciliary care, so incidental medical and hospital care was given for all illnesses and injuries, regardless of whether they were related to military duty. These homes provided care for homeless and handicapped soldiers of the Civil War, Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, and Mexican Border eras as well as discharged regular personnel of the armed forces.

Two of the three forerunners of the Veterans Administration were founded during this time: the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in 1865 and the Department of Pensions in 1832.

How does the United States Department of Veterans Affairs work?

The VA’s main job is to help veterans during their transition from active duty by offering benefits and assistance.

Congress added the responsibility of caring for non-veteran civilian or military patients in 1982, and this position came to be known as the VA’s “fourth mission” (besides the three missions of serving veterans through care, research and training). When the Secretary of Health and Human Services activates the National Disaster Medical System and significant disasters and emergencies are declared by the President of the United States, it can offer medical services to the general population (paid for by other federal agencies). The Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Department of Health and Human Services receive requests for VA help from state governors during emergencies and disasters, and they then forward approved requests to the VA. Non-veterans may also receive emergency medical treatment from the VA at a cost. The VA revealed its COVID-19 response strategy for its medical facilities public on March 27, 2020, in order to safeguard staff, patients, and families of veterans.

Initiatives of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Combating military homelessness is one of the department’s initiatives. To address these problems, the VA collaborates with the US Interagency Council on Homelessness. In its proposal Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, published in 2010, the USICH set the goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015. Amendments to the 2010 version made in 2015 include a preface written by U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez that mentions a 33% decrease in veteran homelessness since the creation of the Opening Doors initiative. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ prominent position and integrated approach to veteran welfare have been deemed to set the US response to veteran homelessness apart globally.

Who heads the United States Department of Veterans Affairs?

The President, with the Senate’s advise and consent, appoints the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Denis McDonough, chosen by President Joe Biden and ushered in by Vice President Kamala Harris on February 9, 2021, is the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Thomas G. Bowman retired on June 15, 2018, leaving the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs post open. The Chief of Staff, who is presently Pamela J. Powers, is the third executive listed on the VA’s official website; this position is exempt from Senate confirmation. The VA has ten additional roles in addition to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary that call for presidential appointment and Senate approval. The department is divided into three major administrations, each of which is led by an undersecretary:

• The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is in charge of biomedical research (under the Office of Research and Development), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), regional medical centres (VAMCs), and readjustment counselling services (RCS) vet centres, in addition to providing healthcare in all of its forms.
• The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is in charge of five major business divisions (benefits and entitlements), initial veteran registration, and eligibility determination. Guarantee of Home Loan, Insurance, Work and Occupational Rehabilitation, Education (under the GI Bill), and Compensation & Pension
• The National Cemetery Administration is in charge of maintaining VA graves and offering burial and memorial benefits.

For Congressional and Legislative Relations, Policy and Planning, Human Resources and Administration, Operations, Security, and Preparedness, there are Deputy Secretaries of Veteran Affairs. The Chief Financial Officer, Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, General Counsel, and Inspector General are additional VA candidates whose nominations have received Senate approval.

There are 377,805 individuals working for the VA, of whom 338,205 are full-time, non-seasonal employees. The National VA Council deals in-depth with VA issues and represents 230,000 VA workers on behalf of the American Federation of Government Employees.

United States Department of Veterans Affairs FAQs