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Sent in by Veterans News and Information Services
Washington, D.C. -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) turns 10 years old today, marking a decade of growth and profound change for the nation's second largest cabinet agency.
Prior to becoming a cabinet-level department in 1989, the then-Veterans Administration was the largest independent agency. Although it is the most recent agency added to the President's Cabinet, it is surpassed in size only by the Department of Defense, and has a legacy that dates to 1776 when the Continental Congress developed a program to provide pensions to disabled veterans.
"Although we are observing an important milestone as a cabinet department, VA has a proud tradition of service to our nation's veterans that goes back to the origins of our country," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo D. West Jr.
VA as a cabinet department was a goal that few, in and out of government, ever expected would be achieved. In the late 1980s, however, at the urging of veterans' service organizations, Congress responded, passing legislation that became "The Department of Veterans Affairs Act" on Oct. 25, 1988, with an effective date of Mar. 15, 1989. President Bush hailed the creation of the new cabinet-level department in a ceremony held that day on the South Lawn of the White House and said, "There is only one place for the veterans of America and that place is in the Cabinet Room, at the table with the President of the United States."
Milestones
The new department's first major challenge was posed by a new generation of wartime veterans who returned from the Gulf War with questions and lingering concerns about their health.
In 1991, on the heels of Operation Desert Storm, Congress passed legislation authorizing wartime benefits for these veterans. VA readjustment counseling services were extended to Gulf War veterans that same year and, in 1992, VA established Gulf War Referral Centers to assist veterans with undiagnosed illnesses.
In 1994, President Clinton designated VA as lead coordinator of all Gulf War-related research funded by the federal government. That same year, the White House established the interagency Persian Gulf Veterans Coordinating Board with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as chairman.
As with Gulf War issues, VA's response to the needs of homeless veterans have grown steadily. The Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans Program was developed in 1989 to help destitute veterans. VA is the only federal agency that provides substantial hands-on assistance directly to homeless persons. Although limited to veterans and their dependents, VA's major homeless programs constitute the largest integrated network of homeless assistance programs in the country, offering a wide array of services and initiatives to help veterans recover from homelessness and live as self-sufficiently and independently as possible.
The establishment of a separate VA Emergency Medical Preparedness Office in 1990 also reflected VA's growing role beyond its traditional mission. The office was given the job of coordinating VA's support of the National Disaster Medical System. Congress also recognized VA as the principal hospital backup to the Defense Department in time of war or national emergency. VA's ability to mobilize resources in response to domestic disasters and military crises was put to the test repeatedly during a decade that began with the Gulf War and witnessed the ravages of hurricanes, earthquakes and floods throughout the United States as well as the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
In 1995, under the leadership of then-Secretary Jesse Brown, VA began restructuring the organization and management of its health-care system. A new health-care delivery structure, developed by Under Secretary for Health Dr. Kenneth Kizer, was built around 22 Veterans Integrated Service Networks funded through a Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation system based on workload and operational efficiency.
In addition, VA opened more than 200 community-based outpatient clinics, primary care access points placed in underserved areas.
In October 1998 VA launched a new health-care benefits plan that provided enrolled veterans a predictable, guaranteed package of services at any VA facility.
Meanwhile, the increasing mortality rate of World War II and Korean War veterans was a driving force within VA's National Cemetery Administration. Veteran deaths increased 25 percent a year during the decade. In 1992, VA opened the new San Joaquin Valley, Calif., National Cemetery and by the year 2000, five more new cemeteries will have been added, providing reasonable access to 77 percent of the veteran population.
VA's reinvention efforts were recognized by Vice President Gore with the very first Hammer Award presented to the New York VA Regional Office. That office's pioneering work in reengineering the claims process sparked a renewed systemwide effort to simplify, consolidate and automate the process of adjudicating claims for benefits.
Today, VA Under Secretary for Benefits Joe Thompson envisions a paperless future for claims processing, and has initiated a pilot program conducted in partnership with leading high-tech companies that will computerize everything needed to adjudicate and deliver a benefit check.
As a department, VA has played major roles in issues that have dominated the national agenda such as homelessness, health care management, reinvention/reengineering, AIDS, workplace diversity and office automation.
In the last 10 years the number of VA hospital patients has declined from 1.1 million to 695,000 a year, while the number of outpatient visits has grown from 22.6 million to 37 million. The number of outpatient clinics has grown from 230 to more than 600. The number of VA employees has declined from 246,000 to 203,000. The VA budget is up from $30 billion in 1989 to nearly $43 billion today.
But as Secretary Togo D. West, Jr. said, "one thing that has not changed in these ten years is VA's mission -- to serve and care -- on behalf of a grateful nation for America's veterans and their families."
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