Federal Benefits

Veterans Advantage members get a compilation of State, Local and Federal Benefits online and sent by e-mail so you are always informed.

Veterans Benefits, A Brief History
The comprehensive system of assistance for veterans of the United States Armed Forces has its origins with the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony. In 1636, when the Pilgrims were at war with the Pequot Indians, they passed a law that soldiers disabled during the fighting would be supported by the colony. At the birth of the United States in 1776, the Continental Congress encouraged enlistments by providing pensions for soldiers who were disabled. Medical care and hospital care in the early days of the new Republic were provided by the individual states and communities. In 1811, the first domiciliary and medical facility for veterans was authorized by the federal government. In later years, the nation's veterans' assistance program was expanded to include benefits and pensions not only for veterans but for their widows and dependents as well. In the wake of the Civil War, several 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 they were incurred during military service. 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. When the United States entered the First World War in 1917, Congress established a new system of veterans benefits. This included programs for disability compensation, insurance for servicemen and -women and veterans, and vocational rehabilitation for disabled vets. By the 1920s, these various benefits were administered by a trio of federal agencies. In 1930, Congress established the Veterans Administration (soon to be known almost universally by its acronym, the VA), authorizing the President to "consolidate and coordinate government activities affecting war veterans." The VA health care system has grown from 54 hospitals in 1930 to 171 medical centers; more than 350 outpatient, community, and outreach clinics; 126 nursing home care units; and 35 domiciliaries. The responsibilities and benefits programs of the VA also multiplied. The national effort in World War II not only vastly increased the number of veterans, but also led to the enactment of new benefits for veterans of the war when the GI Bill was signed into law on June 22, 1944. Subsequent educational assistance acts were passed for veterans of the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam Era, the Gulf War, and the All-Volunteer Force. (Several of these benefits were considered by many to be faint shadows of what had been granted to veterans of World War II, a fact which did not endear the VA in the eyes of many, particularly Vietnam veterans.)

In 1973, the VA assumed another major responsibility, absorbing (except for Arlington National Cemetery) the National Cemetery System from the Department of the Army. In 1989, the Department of Veterans Affairs was established as a Cabinet-level agency, although some have argued that this has not substantially increased the role, or the prestige, of the VA in the corridors of power.

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