The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs was authorized by enactment of Public Law 601, 79th Congress, which was entitled "Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946."
The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs is the authorizing committee for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the second largest government agency in the federal government. The Committee is responsible for advancing legislation to expand, modernize, or fine-tune existing laws – as well as creating new programs – related to veterans' healthcare, disability compensation, burial benefits, and education benefits through the VA. The Committee also has oversight responsibility through its Article 1 powers as granted by the US Constitution, which means every single day the Committee is monitoring and evaluating the operations of VA to ensure it meets the needs of the veteran community and the taxpayers’ investment. If the Committee finds that VA is not administering laws or programs as Congress intended, those issues are then addressed through the oversight hearing and legislative process. The Committee proudly serves as the voice of Congress for veterans, their families, and their survivors by ensuring VA fulfills the promise it has made to generations of veterans.
Jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
- Veterans' measures generally.
- Pensions of all the wars of the U.S., general and special.
- Life insurance issued by the government on account of service in the Armed Forces.
- Compensation, vocational rehabilitation, and education of veterans.
- VA hospitals, healthcare, and treatment of veterans.
- Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief.
- Readjustment of servicemen to civilian life.
- National Cemeteries.
Complete Jurisdiction of the Committee
The Department of Veterans Affairs
VA was established as the Department of Veterans Affairs on March 15, 1989, succeeding the Veterans Administration and assuming responsibility for providing federal benefits to veterans and their dependents. Led by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, VA is the second largest of the 14 Cabinet departments and operates nationwide programs of health care assistance services and national cemeteries.
Chronological History of the Department of Veterans Affairs
1930
The Veterans Administration was created by Executive Order S.398, signed by President Herbert Hoover on July 21, 1930. At that time, there were 54 hospitals, 4.7 million living veterans, and 31,600 employees.
1933
The Board of Veterans Appeals was established.
1944
On June 22, President Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. (Public Law 346, was passed unanimously by the 78th Congress). This law offered home loan and education benefits to veterans.
1946
The Department of Medicine & Surgery was established, succeeded in 1989 by the Veterans Health Services and Research Administration, renamed the Veterans Health Administration in 1991.
1953
The Department of Veterans Benefits was established, succeeded in 1989 by the Veterans Benefit Administration.
1973
The National Cemetery System (except for Arlington National Cemetery) was transferred to the VA.
1988
Legislation to elevate VA to Cabinet status was signed by President Reagan.
1989
March 15. VA became the 14th Department in the President's Cabinet.
Hearing Room
The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs’ historic legacy is captured in the Committee’s hearing room in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC. The Committee was formerly known by various names over the course of its history, including, the Committee on Naval Affairs, and the Committee on World War Veterans’ Affairs. After the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, the Committee became formally known as the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Even though the Committee’s name has changed over the years, its mission has remained constant – to represent and serve America’s veterans, their families, and survivors with honor.
Flags
The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs’ main hearing room was built in the Beaux-Arts style, with a dome ceiling, designed by the New York architecture firm Carrère and Hastings. The room provides a view of the Capitol. Behind the dais stand 21 flags representing congressionally chartered Veterans Service Organizations with which the Committee works closely. The flags provide visitors with a physical representation of the veterans who have directly impacted the work of the Committee. The Committee’s hearing rooms represent the voice of the veterans on Capitol Hill.
Artwork
The Committee’s hearing room also contains original artwork. In the Committee’s hearing room and anteroom, portraits of past Committee Chairmen Phil Roe, Jeff Miller, Chris Smith, Bob Stump, and G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery hang.
In 1982, the VFW Post 1830 presented the portrait of the “Montgomery G.I Bill” author, 1981-1994 Chairman G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery, painted by Thomas Nielsen. Chairman Montgomery also served in the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War. On November 10, 2005, President George W. Bush awarded Montgomery the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest American civilian honor.
The Committee’s hearing room also contains a statue of Audie L. Murphy with a gold placard, which reads, “America’s Most Decorated Citizen Soldier, WWII 1924-71.”
In 1950, Chandler Christy painted the portrait of the first woman Chair of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts, who served from 1947-1948 and again in 1953. Today, this portrait hangs in the Committee space.
POW/MIA Chair
The Committee’s hearing room also proudly displays the black and white POW/MIA chair to represent those servicemembers who are unable to fill that chair because of their sacrifice. Similar to the POW/MIA chair displayed in the US Capitol, this empty chair serves as a memorial to those who served in the military of our great nation but have not returned home to us. They are Prisoners of War and Missing in Action. America – and especially the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs – will forever be grateful for those heroes’ bravery and sacrifice in service to our nation. We will never forget.
