United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs ( VA ) is a government - run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet - level status . It is the United States government ’ s second largest department , after the United States Department of Defense . With a total 2009 budget of about $ 87 . 6 billion , VA employs nearly 280 , 000 people at hundreds of Veterans Affairs medical facilities , clinics , and benefits offices and is responsible for administering programs of veterans ’ benefits for veterans , their families , and survivors . In 2012 , the proposed budget for Veterans Affairs was $ 132 billion . The VA 2014 Budget request for 2014 is $ 152 . 7 billion . This includes $ 66 . 5 billion in discretionary resources and $ 86 . 1 billion in mandatory funding . The discretionary budget request represents an increase of $ 2 . 7 billion , or 4 . 3 percent , over the 2013 enacted level . It is administered by the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs . History . The Continental Congress of 1776 encouraged enlistments during the American Revolutionary War by providing pensions for soldiers who were disabled . Direct medical and hospital care given to veterans in the early days of the republic was provided by the individual states and communities . In 1811 , the first domiciliary and medical facility for veterans was authorized by the federal government , but not opened until 1834 . In the 19th century , the nation ' s veterans assistance program was expanded to include benefits and pensions not only for veterans , but also their widows and dependents . After the Civil War , many state veterans homes were established . Since domiciliary care was available at all state veterans homes , incidental medical and hospital treatment was provided for all injuries and diseases , whether or not of service origin . Indigent and disabled veterans of the Civil War , Indian Wars , Spanish - American War , and Mexican Border period as well as discharged regular members of the Armed Forces were cared for at these homes . Congress established a new system of veterans benefits when the United States entered World War I in 1917 . Included were programs for disability compensation , insurance for servicepersons and veterans , and vocational rehabilitation for the disabled . By the 1920s , the various benefits were administered by three different federal agencies : the Veterans Bureau , the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department , and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers . The establishment of the Veterans Administration came in 1930 when Congress authorized the president to " consolidate and coordinate Government activities affecting war veterans . " The three component agencies became bureaus within the Veterans Administration . Brigadier General Frank T . Hines , who directed the Veterans Bureau for seven years , was named as the first Administrator of Veterans Affairs , a job he held until 1945 . The close of World War II resulted in not only a vast increase in the veteran population , but also in large number of new benefits enacted by Congress for veterans of the war . In addition , during the late 1940s the VA had to contend with aging World War I veterans . During that time , " the clientele of the VA increased almost five fold with an addition of nearly 15 , 000 , 000 World War II veterans and approximately 4 , 000 , 000 World War I veterans . " Prior to World War II , in response to scandals at the Veterans Bureau , programs that cared for veterans were centralized in Washington DC . This centralization caused delays and bottlenecks as the agency tried to serve the World War II veterans . As a result the VA went through a decentralization process , giving more authority to the field offices . The World War II GI Bill , signed into law on June 22 , 1944 , is said to have had more impact on the American way of life than any law since the Homestead Act nearly a century before . The VA health care system has grown from 54 hospitals in 1930 to include 171 medical centers ; more than 350 outpatient , community , and outreach clinics ; 126 nursing home care units ; and 35 domiciliaries . VA health care facilities provide a broad spectrum of medical , surgical , and rehabilitative care . The responsibilities and benefits programs of the Veterans Administration grew enormously during the following six decades . Further educational assistance acts were passed for the benefit of veterans of the Korean War , the Vietnam Era , the introduction of an " all - volunteer force " in the 1970s ( following the end of conscription in the United States in 1973 ) , the Persian Gulf War , and those who served following the attacks of September 11 , 2001 . The Department of Veterans Affairs Act of 1988 ( Pub . L . 100 - 527 ) changed the former Veterans Administration , an independent government agency established in 1930 , primarily to see to the needs of World War I veterans , into a Cabinet - level Department of Veterans Affairs . It was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on October 25 , 1988 , but actually came into effect under the term of his successor , George H . W . Bush , on March 15 , 1989 . The Department of Veterans Affairs was created in direct response to the Supreme Court of the United States case of " Rose v . Rose " . The failure to perform apportionments by the previous Veterans Administration was identified under Title 38 of the United States Code . The Supreme Court ruled the existing language of 38 USC § 211 did not provide sole authority , did not include state courts and only included eligibility questions . As a huge point the Court said the language didn ’ t even obligate the VA to do its job . From the disgrace and failures of the Veterans Administration for not performing apportionments , Congress responded with extreme magnitude in comparison to previous cases . After " Hisquierdo v . Hisquierdo " for railroad retirement and " McCarty v . McCarty " , for military retirement only a brief addition of family law to the USC was needed . For veterans and their families Congress responded with the Department of Veterans Affairs Act of 1988 and a complete rewrite of Title 38 . Congress addressed the issue of exclusive and sole authority over payments . The language of the new § 511 applies to all courts , not just federal . It precludes the States from making any decisions which affect these benefits not just the eligibility " process . It obligates the USDVA to assert this authority and perform their duties . In their major reform period of 1995 – 2000 , the Veterans Health Administration ( VHA ) implemented universal primary care , closed 55 % of their acute care hospital beds , increased patients treated by 24 % , had a 48 % increase in ambulatory care visits and decreased staffing by 12 % . By 2000 , the VHA had 10 , 000 fewer employees than in 1995 and a 104 % increase in patients treated since 1995 , and had managed to maintain the same cost per patient - day , while all other facilities ' costs had risen over 30 % to 40 % during the same time frame . Functions Of The Organization . The Department of Veterans Affairs is headed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs , appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate . The current Secretary of Veterans Affairs is Retired U . S . Army General Eric Shinseki . The primary function of the Department of Veterans Affairs is to support Veterans in their time after service by providing certain benefits and supports . A current initiative in the Department of Veterans Affairs is to prevent and end Veterans ' homelessness , with the VA working with the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to address these issues . Secretary Shinseki sits on the Council , and is committed to the goal of ending Veterans homelessness by 2015 as laid out in " Opening Doors : Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness " , which was released in 2010 . The Department has three main subdivisions , known as Administrations , each headed by an Undersecretary : Benefits . The benefits provided include disability compensation , pension , education , home loans , life insurance , vocational , rehabilitation , survivors ’ benefits , medical benefits , and burial benefits . The VA currently breaks down benefits in an easy to understand benefits booklet . Benefits and topics include ; VA Health Care Benefits , Veterans with Service - Connected Disabilities , VA Pensions , Education and Training , Home Loan Guaranty , VA Life Insurance , Burial and Memorial Benefits , Reserve and National Guard , Special Groups of Veterans , Transition Assistance , Dependents and Survivors Health Care , Dependents and Survivors Benefits , Appeals of VA Claims Decisions , Military Medals and Records , and Other Federal Benefits . Costs for care . As is common in any time of war , recently there has been an increased demand for nursing home beds , injury rehabilitation , and mental health care . VA categorizes veterans into eight priority groups and several additional subgroups , based on factors such as service - connected disabilities , and one ’ s income and assets ( adjusted to local cost of living ) . Veterans with a 50 % or higher service - connected disability as determined by a VA regional office “ rating board ” ( e . g . , losing a limb in battle , PTSD , etc . ) are provided comprehensive care and medication at no charge . Veterans with lesser qualifying factors who exceed a pre - defined income threshold have to make co - payments for care for non - service - connected ailments and pay $ 9 per 30 - day supply for each prescription medication . VA dental and nursing home care benefits are more restricted . Reservists and National Guard personnel who served stateside in peacetime settings or have no service - related disabilities generally do not qualify for VA health benefits . In recent years , the VA has opened hundreds of new convenient outpatient clinics in towns across the United States , while steadily reducing inpatient bed levels at its hospitals . VA ’ s budget has been pushed to the limit in recent years by the War on Terrorism . In December 2004 , it was widely reported that VA ’ s funding crisis had become so severe that it could no longer provide disability ratings to veterans in a timely fashion . This is a problem because until veterans are fully transitioned from the active - duty TRICARE healthcare system to VA , they are on their own with regard to many healthcare costs . The VA has worked to cut down screening times for these returning combat vets ( they are now often evaluated by VA personnel well before their actual discharge ) , and they receive first priority for patient appointments . VA ’ s backlog of pending disability claims under review ( a process known as “ adjudication ” ) peaked at 421 , 000 in 2001 , and bottomed out at 254 , 000 in 2003 , but crept back up to 340 , 000 in 2005 . No copayment is required for VA services for veterans with military - related medical conditions . VA - recognized service - connected disabilities include problems that started or were aggravated due to military service . Veteran service organizations such as the American Legion , Veterans of Foreign Wars , and Disabled American Veterans , as well as state - operated Veterans Affairs offices and County Veteran Service Officers ( CVSO ) , have been known to assist veterans in the process of getting care from the VA . In his budget proposal for fiscal year 2009 , President George W . Bush requested $ 38 . 7 billion — or 86 . 5 % of the total Veterans Affairs budget — for veteran medical care alone . In the 2011 Costs of War report from Brown University , researchers projected that the cost of caring for veterans of the War on Terror would peak 30 – 40 years after the end of combat operations . They also predicted that medical and disability costs would ultimately total between $ 600 billion and $ 1 trillion for the hundreds of thousands treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs . The New GI Bill . The new GI Bill authored by Sen . Jim Webb ( D - VA ) doubled GI Bill college benefits while providing a 13 - week extension to federal unemployment benefits . The new GI Bill doubled the value of the benefit to roughly $ 90 , 000 up from $ 40 , 000 . In - state public universities essentially are covered to provide full scholarships for veterans under the new education package . For those veterans who served at least three years a monthly housing stipend was also added to the law . Upon passage of the new GI Bill President George W . Bush stated " Our nation has no greater responsibility than to support our men and women in uniform - especially because we ' re at war , " . . . " This bill shows the American people that even in an election year , Republicans and Democrats can come together to support our troops and their families , " which highlighted that the new GI Bill had been overwhelmingly supported by both parties in the U . S . Congress . President Barack Obama extended the new GI Bill in August 2009 at the cost of roughly $ 70 billion over the next decade . Upon passing the GI Bill extension President Obama stated his support of the fighting forces of the United States by saying ; " Over the last eight years , they have endured tour after tour of duty in dangerous and distant places , " . . . " They ' ve experienced grueling combat , from the streets of Fallujah to the harsh terrain of Helmand province . They ' ve adapted to complex insurgencies , protected local populations and trained foreign security forces . " The Pentagon worked closely with Congressional lawmakers to ensure military families were protected in the expansion of the law . In doing so , military officials worked non - stop to add a provision to extend the GI Bill to the surviving spouse and children of servicemembers killed while in combat . This provision was highly favored by the Pentagon which authorized the Department of Defense ( DoD ) to allow individuals who , on or after August 1 , 2009 , have served at least 6 years in the Armed Forces and who agree to serve at least another 4 years in the U . S . Armed Forces to transfer unused entitlement to their surviving spouse . Servicemembers reaching 10 year anniversaries could choose to transfer the benefit to any dependent ( s ) ( spouse , children ) . National Cemetery Administration . In 1973 , the Veterans Administration assumed another major responsibility when the National Cemetery System ( NCS ) ( except for Arlington National Cemetery ) was transferred to the Veterans Administration from the Department of the Army . The VA was charged with the operation of the NCS , including the marking of graves of all persons in national and State cemeteries ( and the graves of veterans in private cemeteries , upon request ) as well and administering the State Cemetery Grants Program . The VA ' s National Cemetery Administration maintains 131 national cemeteries in 39 states ( and Puerto Rico ) as well as 33 soldier ' s lots and monument sites . The Department of the Army maintains two national cemeteries , the Arlington National Cemetery and the U . S . Soldiers ' & Airmen ' s Home National Cemetery . Many states have established state veterans cemeteries . The American Battle Monuments Commission maintains 24 overseas military cemeteries that serve as resting places for almost 125 , 000 American war dead ; on Tablets of the Missing that memorialize more than 94 , 000 U . S . servicemen and women ; and through 25 memorials , monuments and markers . Fourteen national cemeteries are maintained by the National Park Service . Further reading . In 1998 , the Institute of Medicine began a series of studies to respond to requests from the U . S . Department of Veterans Affairs and Congress for an examination of the health effects of potentially harmful agents to which Gulf War veterans might have been exposed .