Secretary: Gen (ret.) Eric Shinseki
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20240
202.273.4800
www.va.gov
Role: The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs oversees the treatment and consideration of the nation’s military veterans. Background: The Department of Veterans Affairs operates programs to benefit veterans and members of their families. Benefits include compensation payments for disabilities or death related to military service; pensions; education and rehabilitation; home loan guaranty; burial; and a medical care program incorporating nursing homes, clinics, and medical centers.
Background: The Department of Veterans Affairs operates programs to benefit veterans and members of their families. Benefits include compensation payments for disabilities or death related to military service; pensions; education and rehabilitation; home loan guaranty; burial; and a medical care program incorporating nursing homes, clinics, and medical centers.
Historical Note: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was established as an executive department by the Department of Veterans Affairs Act (38 U.S.C. 201 note). It is comprised of three organizations that administer veterans programs: the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration. Each organization has field facilities and a central office component.
Core Functions:
National Cemetery Administration
The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) is responsible for more than 120 national cemeteries nationwide. Burial in a national cemetery is available to veterans, their spouses, and dependent children.
Center for Minority Veterans
The work of the Center focuses on the unique and special needs of five distinct groups of veterans: African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans, which include American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives.
Center for Women Veterans
The Center for Women Veterans was established under Public Law 103-446 (108 Stat. 4645) and acts as the Secretary's primary adviser on women veterans issues and evaluates VA programs, policies, legislation, and practices to ensure that they are responsive and accessible to eligible women veterans.
Veterans Health Administration
The Veterans Health Administration provides hospital, nursing home, and domiciliary care, and outpatient medical and dental care to eligible veterans of military service in the Armed Forces.
Veterans Benefits Administration
The Veterans Benefits Administration provides information, advice, and assistance to veterans, their dependents, beneficiaries, representatives, and others applying for VA benefits.
Compensation and Pension Service
The Compensation and Pension Service is responsible for claims for disability compensation and pension, specially adapted housing, accrued benefits, adjusted compensation in death cases, and reimbursement for headstone or marker; allowances for automobiles and special adaptive equipment; special clothing allowances; emergency officers' retirement pay; survivors' claims for death compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, death pension, and burial and plot allowance claims; forfeiture determinations; and a benefits protection program for minors and incompetent adult beneficiaries.
Education Service
The Education Service administers the Montgomery GI Bill program and other programs which provide education benefits to qualified active-duty members, veterans, certain dependents of veterans, and members of the Selected and Ready Reserve.
Loan Guaranty Service
The Loan Guaranty Service is responsible for operations that include appraising properties to establish their values; approving grants for specially adapted housing; supervising the construction of new residential properties; establishing the eligibility of veterans for the program; evaluating the ability of a veteran to repay a loan and the credit risk; making direct loans to Native American veterans to acquire a home on trust land; servicing and liquidating defaulted loans; and disposing of real estate acquired as the consequence of defaulted loans.
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service
The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service provides outreach, motivation, evaluation, counseling, training, employment, and other rehabilitation services to service-connected disabled veterans. Vocational and educational counseling, as well as the evaluation of abilities, aptitudes, and interests are provided to veterans and servicepersons.
The Board of Veterans’ Appeals
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) is responsible for entering the final appellate decisions in claims of entitlement to veterans' benefits and for deciding certain matters concerning fees charged by attorneys and agents for representation of veterans before VA and requests for revision of prior BVA decisions on the basis of clear and unmistakable error.
Source: United States Government Manual
