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Encyclopedia > Veterans benefits
Dept. of Veterans Affairs
Seal of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Larger version
Established: October 25, 1988
Activated: March 15, 1989
Secretary James Nicholson
Deputy Secretary: Gordon H. Mansfield
Budget: $60.3 billion (2004)
Employees: 218,323 (2004)

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for administering programs of veterans benefits for veterans, their families, and survivors. Caption: The creation of the new Department of Veterans Affairs in 1989 required a new official seal to represent VA. In November 1988, after the law establishing VA as a cabinet department was signed, VA initiated a competition among employees for a seal design that would give the new department... October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 67 days remaining. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in Leap years). ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs is the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the department concerned with veterans benefits and related matters. ... Robert James Jim Nicholson is the current United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. ... Cabinet meeting on May 16, 2001. ...


It is administered by the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs is the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the department concerned with veterans benefits and related matters. ...

Contents

History

It was formerly called the Veterans Administration, also called the VA, which was established July 21, 1930 to consolidate and coordinate government activities affecting war veterans. The VA incorporated the functions of the former U.S. Veterans' Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is a Cabinet department of the United States government that manages and conserves most federally-owned land. ...


On October 25, 1988, President Reagan signed legislation creating a new federal Cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs to replace the Veterans Administration effective March 15, 1989. October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 67 days remaining. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Order: 40th President Vice President: George H.W. Bush Term of office: 21 January 1981 – 20 January 1989 Preceded by: Jimmy Carter Succeeded by: George H.W. Bush Date of birth: 6 February 1911 Place of birth: Tampico, Illinois Date of death: 5 June 2004 Place of death: Bel-Air... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in Leap years). ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...


In both its old and new forms, the VA drew its mission statement from President Abraham Lincoln's eloquent Second Inaugural Address. The specific phrase quoted by VA is: "...to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan..." Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th (1861–1865) President of the United States, and the first president from the Republican Party. ... Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address, which was his favorite of all his speeches, on March 4, 1865, at the start of his second term as President of the United States. ...


Function

It is the federal government's second largest department, after the Department of Defense. With a budget of more than $60 billion, VA employs approximately 219,000 people at hundreds of VA medical centers, clinics, benefits offices, and national cemeteries throughout the country. It is one of the largest employers of healthcare personnel in the U.S. VA claims that one-fourth of all American physicians worked in a VA facility at some point in their training. The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ...


Reputation

Because of chronic underfunding, VA has had to become more conservative in the provision of benefits over the past five decades. Currently, VA only provides complete comprehensive services at no cost to the most seriously disabled soldiers, with war injuries like amputations or loss of an eye. Soldiers with less serious injuries must pay out-of-pocket co-payments for service at VA facilities.


In November 2004, it was widely reported that VA's funding crisis has become so severe that it can no longer provide disability ratings to veterans in a timely fashion. This is a problem because until veterans are fully transitioned from the Department of Defense to VA, they are on their own with regard to many healthcare costs. November is the eleventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with the length of 30 days. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...


Operating functions

  • Compensation and Pension
  • Education and Training - GI Bill
  • Medical Care - VA Hospitals
  • Research
  • Home Loan Assistance
  • Insurance
  • National Cemeteries

Related legislation

1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The G. I. Bill of Rights or Servicemens Readjustment Act of 1944 provided for college or vocational education for returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as GIs or G. I.s) as well as one-year of unemployment compensation. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... This act, established in 1944, required employers to favor returning veterans when hiring new employees. ... 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Department of Veterans Affairs Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-527) changed the former Veterans Administration, an independent government agency established in 1930, primarily at that time to see to needs of World War I, into a Cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs. ...

See also

This is a list of veterans organizations. ... Many of the original old soldiers homes were constructed in high Victorian style, like the New Hampshire Soldiers Home in Tilton, New Hampshire. ... The Police and Security Service of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs is the uniformed security police force responsible for the protection of the veterans hospitals and medical centers and other facilities operated by the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs. ... Veterans Health Administration is the component of the Department of Veterans Affairs that implements the medical assistance program of the VA through the administration and operation of numerous VA Outpatient clinics, hospitals, medical Centers and longterm healthcare facilities (i. ...

External links

  • United States Department of Veterans Affairs Official Website (http://www.va.gov/)
  • A Brief History of the VA (http://www.va.gov/facmgt/historic/Brief_VA_History.asp) from the Office of Facilities Management
  • VA HyperFAQ (http://www.va.gov/hyperfaq) directory of top VA web pages.




 

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