Department of Veteran Affairs

     The United States has the most comprehensive system of assistance for veterans of any nation in the world. 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 tremendously during the following six decades.  World War II resulted in 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 was signed into law on June 22, 1944, and is said to have more impact on the American way of life than any law since the Homestead Act a century ago.  Futher educational assistance acts were passed for the benefit of veterans of the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam Era, and the Persian Gulf War.

     In 1973, the Veteran Administration got another major responsibility when the National Cemetry System (except the Arlington National Cemetry) was transferred to the Veterans Administration from the Department of the Army.