What is the Department of Veterans Affairs?

The Department of Veterans Affairs is the federal department responsible for benefits and services for U.S. military veterans and their families. Often called the VA, it became a Cabinet-level department in 1989 under President Ronald Reagan, after years of operating as a smaller agency known as the Veterans Administration. Edward J. Derwinski served as the first Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The department's headquarters is the Vietnam Veterans of America Memorial Building in Washington, D.C. With more than 400,000 employees, the VA is the second-largest federal department after the Department of Defense and serves more than 19 million American veterans. The VA's motto, drawn from Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, is to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.

The department operates three main administrations. The Veterans Health Administration runs the largest integrated health care system in the United States, with more than 170 medical centers and 1,000 outpatient clinics serving roughly 9 million enrolled veterans. VA hospitals provide a wide range of services including primary care, mental health treatment, surgery, prosthetics, and long-term care.

The Veterans Benefits Administration administers disability compensation, pensions, education benefits (including the Post-9/11 GI Bill), home loan guarantees, vocational rehabilitation, and life insurance for veterans. The National Cemetery Administration maintains 158 national cemeteries, including Arlington National Cemetery (which is operated by the Army), where veterans and eligible family members can be buried with military honors.

The VA's responsibilities expanded significantly after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which produced more than 2 million veterans with service-connected injuries or illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and conditions related to burn pit exposure. The PACT Act of 2022 expanded VA benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances during military service. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs advises the President on veterans' issues and is responsible for ensuring that promised benefits and care reach those who served. Recent Secretaries include Robert Wilkie, Denis McDonough, and Doug Collins.