United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Overview
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
benefit system with Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
. 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.
The benefits provided include disability compensation, pension, education, home loans, life insurance, vocational rehabilitation, survivors’ benefits, medical benefits and burial benefits.
It is administered by the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
The United States Secretary of Veterans' Affairs is the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the department concerned with veterans' benefits and related matters...
.
The Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
of 1776 encouraged enlistments during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
by providing pensions for soldiers who were disabled.
