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Show VA established 47 years ago The Veterans Administration was established July 21, 1930 to bring together under a single agency agen-cy responsibility for providing benefits be-nefits to veterans and their dependents. depen-dents. Paralleling the vast increase in the number of veterans over the last 57 years, the VA has grown dramatically and is now one of the federal government's largest independent inde-pendent agencies. The present veteran population of 27.6 million is almost six times the 4.7 million veterans living in America in the V A' s founding year. War veterans living today account for 58 percent of all Americans who ever served in war during our more than two-century history. Eighty of every 100 living veterans served during defined periods of armed hostilities. Altogether, 79.3 million persons, veterans, dependents and survivors survi-vors of deceased veterans, are potentially eligible for VA benefits and services. This is almost one-third one-third of the mation's population. Care for veterans and dependents depen-dents spans centuries. The last dependent de-pendent of a Revolutionary War veteran died in 1911. The last dependent de-pendent of the War of 1 8 1 2 died 4 1 years ago. The last dependent of a Mexican War veteran died in 1962. Widows and children of Civil War and Indian War veterans still draw VA benefits. As of July 1, 1987, there were three living veterans of the Spanish American War and over 5,000 children chil-dren and widows of that war receiving re-ceiving VA compensation of pension pen-sion benefits. Through Sept. 30, 1986, the VA and its predecessor agencies have . spent $486 billion for benefits and services to veterans, their dependents depen-dents and survivors. While in 1930 the VA accounted for one-fourth of the federal budget, in Fiscal 1986 its budget represents less than three percent of total federal expenditures. expendi-tures. The proposed Fiscal 1988 VA budget is $27.6 billion. Some 58.7 percent of VA outlays go for direct benefits such as compensation, com-pensation, pension and education checks; 36.2 percent of the budget is for hospital and medical care; 2.3 percent for hospital, national cemetery and other construction programs, and 2.8 percent for general gen-eral operating expenses. Today, the VA is providing the most comprehensive and diverse benefits programs in its history tc veterans and dependents. r-i - : |
