The United States has the most comprehensive system of
assistance for veterans of any nation in the world. This
benefits system traces its roots back to 1636, when the Pilgrims
of Plymouth Colony were at war with the Pequot Indians. The
Pilgrims passed a law which stated that disabled soldiers would
be supported by the colony.
The mission of caring for veterans traces its roots to benefits
administered by the first U.S. Congress in 1789. The country’s
recognition of its responsibility followed precedent set by
English law and enacted in 1736 by the Pilgrims of colonial
America. It read "If any man shall be sent forth as a soldier
and shall return maimed, he shall be maintained competently by
the colony during his life." The concept of service earned
through service has long been part of the American
consciousness. It is for this reason that the first U.S.
Congress in 1789 passed a law to provide pensions to disabled
veterans and their dependents.
The Continental Congress of 1776 encouraged enlistments during
the 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. 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.
In 1818, the Secretary of War assumed the responsibility of
administering veterans programs. In 1833, the program was
assigned to the Bureau of Pensions. Sixteen years later, this
activity was moved from the War Department to the Department of
the Interior. During this period there were other agencies
providing veterans service. The National Home for Disabled
Volunteer Soldiers, founded in 1866, provided domiciliary,
hospital and medical care for disabled veterans. The Public
Health Service, preceded by Marine Hospitals in 1798, provided
physical examinations to veterans.
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.
When America entered the war in 1917, Congress provided new
benefits, including disability compensation, insurance for
servicemen and veterans, a family allotment program for
servicemen and vocational rehabilitation for the disabled. All
but the vocational rehabilitation programs were administered by
the Bureau of War Risk Insurance. The Federal Board of
Vocational Education, an independent bureau of the Treasury
Department, was charged with providing vocational rehabilitation
to persons having a disability incurred, increased or aggravated
while a member of the armed forces.
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1921, Congress established the U.S. Veterans’ Bureau to
consolidate the powers, functions and duties of the independent
agencies which administered veterans benefits, including some
phases of medical care. This organization took over the
functions of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance, responsibility
for vocational educational education and functions of the Public
Health Service that had to do with physical examination and care
and treatment of veterans. While the reorganization resolved
some of the problems, this still left three agencies
administering veterans benefits - the Veterans’ Bureau, the
Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department and the National
Homes.
To address this concern Congress established the Veterans
Administration on July 21, 1930 to "consolidate and coordinate
government activities affecting war veterans." The VA
experienced enormous growth near the end of World War II with
the return of some 16 million veterans and the passing of the GI
Bill and education and housing benefits.
Veterans Administration was established by Congress on
July 21, 1930, to incorporate all veterans programs. The bureaus
and the home were absorbed by the newly created agency.
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 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. World War II resulted in not only a vast increase in
the veteran population, but also in large number of new benefits
enacted by the Congress for veterans of the war. 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 more than a century ago. Further educational
assistance acts were passed for the benefit of veterans of the
Korean Conflict, the Vietnam Era, Persian Gulf War, and the
All-Volunteer Force.
In 1973, the Veterans Administration assumed another major
responsibility when the National Cemetery System (except for
Arlington National Cemetery) was transferred to the Veterans
Administration from the Department of the Army. The Agency was
charged with the operation of the National Cemetery System,
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.
On October 25, 1988, President Reagan signed legislation
creating a new federal Cabinet-level
