HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs deals with oversight of United States veterans problems and issues.


Description

The committee was created in 1970 to transfer responsibilities for veterans from the Finance and Labor committees to a single panel. From 1947 to 1970, matters relating to veterans compensation and veterans generally were referred to the Committee on Finance, while matters relating to the vocational rehabilitation, education, medical care, civil relief, and civilian readjustment of veterans were referred to the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. Congressional legislation affecting veterans changed over the years. For the members of the armed forces and their families in the nation's early wars – the Revolutionary War, the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
, the Mexican War, the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
and the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
– the response of the federal government had been essentially financial. This was clearly the legislative mission of the Senate Committee on Pensions which was created as one of the Senate's original standing committees in 1816 and continued until its termination in the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. During World War I the nature of the congressional response to veterans' needs changed towards a more diversified set of programs. A war risk insurance program, which was referred to the Senate Finance Committee, changed the consideration of veterans benefits in the Senate. The Finance Committee was the Senate standing committee most responsible for veterans programs from 1917 to 1946. After World War II, the Finance Committee handled the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, the GI Bill of Rights, which extended to servicemen and their families, a number of benefits including unemployment assistance, education, vocational training, housing and business loan guarantees, as well as the traditional medical and pension benefits of previous times. Many experts believe this law was one of the most important elements in the expansion of the middle class following World War II. The Veterans' Affairs Committee had nine members in its initial congress, the 92nd Congress (1971–73). It now has a total of 18 members.


Members, 117th Congress (from December 9, 2022)

According to committee members' official online biographies, two of the eighteen members are veterans: Richard Blumenthal and Dan Sullivan.


Chairs of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 1971–present


Historical committee rosters


117th Congress (until December 9, 2022)

Source:


116th Congress


115th Congress

Source:


114th Congress

Source:


113th Congress

Source: to 297


112th Congress

Source:


111th Congress

Source: and


110th Congress


See also

*
List of current United States Senate committees This is a complete list of U.S. congressional committees (standing committees and select or special committees) that are operating in the United States Senate. Senators can be a member of more than one committee. Standing committees , there are ...
*
United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs The standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new bills or amendments concerning U.S. military veterans. Jurisdiction includes retiring an ...
*
United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...


References


External links


United States Senate Committee on Veterans' AffairsArchive

Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee
Legislation activity and reports,
Congress.gov Congress.gov is the online database of United States Congress legislative information. Congress.gov is a joint project of the Library of Congress, the House, the Senate and the Government Publishing Office. Congress.gov was in beta in 2012, a ...
. {{Authority control 1971 establishments in Washington, D.C. Veterans' Affairs Military-related organizations Veterans' affairs in the United States