United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Committee information

  • Date created: 1970
  • Members: Nineteen members in the 119th Congress (2025-2027)
  • Subcommittees: None

Role

The United States Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is responsible for matters relating to veterans. This encompasses veterans’ compensation, education, medical care, and pension benefits. From the start, federal support for veterans was largely financial. Many veterans’ programs fell under the authority of the Senate Finance Committee from 1917 to 1946. The Senate Finance Committee was responsible for the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly called the GI Bill of Rights. This act gave service members and their families many benefits including education, housing and business loan guarantees, unemployment assistance, and vocational training. It also provided medical and pension benefits previously handled by other committees. With the creation of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in 1970, all matters relating to veterans were placed under a single legislative body.

House and Senate committees are smaller groups within Congress. They assume responsibility for specific issues and government agencies. Within their sphere of influence, they may investigate, review, and vote on legislation. Committees may make recommendations and take legislation before the full House or Senate. While many committees further divide responsibilities by establishing subcommittees, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs does not utilize subcommittees. While the first Congress established congressional committees, they were viewed primarily as temporary bodies to address specific issues or duties. Some committees were made permanent during the nineteenth century, and the number of committees increased. During the twentieth century, Congress embarked on reforms and reduced the number of committees. It also established rules for the number of subcommittees that could be formed.

The House had twenty permanent committees at the onset of the 119th Congress and the Senate had twenty-one. Both houses of Congress also have several joint committees—which include members of both the House and Senate—and varying temporary committees. The House and Senate combined have more than two hundred committees and subcommittees. While the Senate has no rules restricting the number of subcommittees, the House limits the number to five per committee. House rules also permit the formation of an oversight, or supervisory, subcommittee. Despite House rules, some committees are permitted more than the standard five subcommittees. This allowance is usually accomplished through a separate order in the opening-day rules resolution. While some committees review all actions taken by their subcommittees, others may only consider major issues or may send measures supported by subcommittees to the floor with few alterations.

In the early 2020s, about 6 percent of American adults were veterans. This translates to about 16 million veterans who served during the Gulf War and Vietnam eras, as well as various conflicts and wars in the Middle East. With such numbers, the importance and influence of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is considerable. Modern veterans often contend with mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal thoughts, depression, homelessness, and medical disability resulting from combat wounds. The Senate has increasingly focused on the perceived failures of the Department of Veterans Affairs and demanded better service for veterans.

History

The Senate Committee on Pensions was created on December 10, 1816, as one of the earliest standing, or permanent, Senate committees. It provided financial services related to the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and the War of 1812 (1812–1815). The committee addressed bills establishing general pension rights for veterans, their widows, and their orphans. It also handled measures suggesting new pensions, pensions overdue, or pension increases for those who had been denied or deemed ineligible.

Veterans’ pensions were funded by high tariff rates established in 1816. The following year, President James Monroe suggested surviving Revolutionary War veterans be paid from the resulting surplus. This was meant to offer some compensation for poor payments during the war and later calls to duty from out of service. Congress passed a pension law in 1818, and going forward, veterans were compensated through tariffs. Much of the work of the committee during the nineteenth century pertained to individuals seeking pensions for service or participation in revolutionary acts. These included a man who claimed to have participated in the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and widows of Revolutionary War veterans seeking pensions. Later, veterans of the American-Indian wars, the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the Mexican-American War (1846–1848) also sought pensions.

About a century after the Pension Committee was formed, the federal government changed the focus of veterans’ benefits. While the Committee on Pensions had paid veterans after their service, with America’s involvement in World War I (1914–1918), the Committee on Finance began offering low-cost government insurance and other benefits as compensation in 1917. Many veterans returned home with severe injuries, and the Committee on Finance began providing medical care and vocational rehabilitation to those whose disabilities were service related. This shift was in response to issues raised by the Committee on Pensions. The Pensions Committee was among several standing committees eliminated with the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. Going forward, the Committee on Finance also handled pension matters.

The Finance Committee established and maintained just one subcommittee—the Subcommittee on Veterans. Throughout the 1960s, many veterans’ organizations petitioned the Senate to establish a permanent committee for veterans. Their efforts eventually succeeded, and in 1970, the Senate created the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. The committee took over many responsibilities previously handled by the Finance Committee.

The very first Veterans Affairs Committee comprised nine members in the 92nd Congress (1971–1973). The first chair was Rupert Vance Hartke of Indiana. Hartke was a veteran of World War II, having served in the US Coast Guard and the US Navy. During the 1960s, he was one of the first senators to publicly oppose the Vietnam War (1954–1975). Hartke served as chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs through 1977.

Jurisdiction and Impact

The jurisdiction of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee includes compensation of veterans, government life insurance for service members, national cemeteries, pensions, readjustment of service members to civilian life, civil relief for soldiers and sailors, veterans’ hospitals, medical care and treatment, vocational rehabilitation and education of veterans, and veterans’ issues in general.

Among the earliest legislation that originated in the Veterans’ Affairs Committee was the Veterans and Survivors Pension Adjustment Act of 1974, which was sponsored by Senator Hartke. This law increased disability and death pensions and compensation for veterans as well as their survivors—a continuation of the federal government’s responsibilities in compensating veterans. Hartke also introduced a resolution to approve a monument to Vietnam War veterans.

Many bills have been debated by the committee before going on to the full Senate, or dying a quiet death without further action. Some have become laws that have wide impact. For example, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia proposed the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act in 2007. The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a number of hearings on the proposal in 2007 and 2008. Though Webb was unable to get the committee to send the bill to the full Senate, he worked with his counterparts in the House to gather support. A companion bill in the House generated more interest and cosponsors, and eventually, the House voted for the so-called new GI Bill. The Senate soon followed and the bill became law in 2008.

Like its predecessors, the 2008 GI Bill provided education benefits to those who have served on active duty for at least ninety days after September 10, 2001. It is named for the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. Veterans and service members may use the benefits to obtain college degrees, vocational or technical training, apprenticeship programs, to cover the costs of licensing and certification for the SAT and other national testing programs, for work-study programs, tuition and tutorial assistance, and flight and correspondence training.

The bill covers tuition and fees, provides monthly housing allowances, and pays up to $1,000 a year for books and supplies. It also includes the Yellow Ribbon Program, which helps service members attend private schools where tuition exceeds the maximum amount allowed by matching a college’s waiver. The benefits may be transferred to family members in some cases. Benefit payments are tiered based on eligible active-duty service since September 10, 2001. For example, an individual with twenty-four months of active duty receives 80 percent of benefits. Service members discharged for disability after at least thirty days of active duty qualify for 100 percent of benefits. Reservists and Guard members also benefit from the bill if they qualify based on active-duty service.

The 115th Congress (2017–2019) addressed a number of issues also relevant to veterans, including one meant to address problems with the existing GI Bill. Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia promoted several reforms and improvements, including the Veterans Benefits and Transition Act of 2018. The measure included the following features:

  • Construction of and improvements to veterans’ medical facilities.
  • Educational assistance programs that ensured veterans would not be charged late fees if GI Bill benefits were late.
  • Provisions to ensure spouses and dependents of active-duty service members could be buried in national cemeteries.
  • Provisions to prevent service members and their families from being charged fees such as service contract cancellation or rental contracts due to issues such as relocation orders.
  • Electronic health record modernization; aid for veterans experiencing homelessness; and expanded access to dental care.

The law also addresses problems veterans encountered when the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) made late or incorrect housing payments and tuition payments because of computer problems. Many veterans were racking up credit card debt to cover their expenses. The VA resisted requests from Congress to provide information about how and when the problems would be corrected. As a result, the law also requires accountability for such mistakes.

The 116th Congress began 2019 with several new bills pending on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee schedule. One of these proposed VA clinical trials of the effects of cannabis on patients for potential use as a treatment for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder—a common disorder seen in combat veterans—and as a possible treatment for other conditions. Another bill suggested payments to help provide care for dependents of veterans experiencing homelessness.

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee is most visible during confirmation hearings for positions under its purview, such as those held to examine nominees to serve in the Department of Veterans Affairs. For example, in 2018, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee considered Robert Wilkie who had been nominated by President Donald Trump to become the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The committee held a confirmation hearing in June. Soon after, the committee approved Wilkie, recommending him for leadership of the VA, and forwarded his nomination to the full Senate for a vote.

In the 2020s, the United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs introduced several important bills and laws to support veterans. The Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2024 aimed to ensure in-state tuition to all service members regardless of residency status. The Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act modified the process the Department of Veterans’ Affairs follows to support veterans who were defrauded by fiduciaries appointed to manage veteran benefits. Other important legislation in the early 2020s included the Housing Our Military Veterans Effectively Act, the Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition Administration Act, and the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act. In January 2025, Kansas Senator Jerry Moran became chairman of the committee, and Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal became the ranking member.

Bibliography

“About.” The United States Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, www.veterans.senate.gov/about. Accessed 16 Jan. 2025.

Absher, Jim. “Post-9/11 GI Bill Overview.” Military Advantage, 20 Mar. 2024, www.military.com/education/gi-bill/new-post-911-gi-bill-overview.html. Accessed 16 Jan. 2025.

"Committee Membership List." US Senate, www.senate.gov/general/committee‗membership/committee‗memberships‗SSVA.htm. Accessed 16 Jan. 2025.

"Committee Members." US Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, www.veterans.senate.gov/members. Accessed 16 Jan. 2025.

“Guide to Senate Records: Chapter 9 Pensions.” National Archives, www.archives.gov/legislative/guide/senate/chapter-09.html. Accessed 16 Jan. 2025.

Heitshusen, Valerie, and Thomas P. Carr. “Committee Types and Roles.” Congressional Research Service, 2 May 2017, crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RS/98-241. Accessed 16 Jan. 2025.

Schaeffer, Katherine. “The Changing Face of America’s Veteran Population.” Pew Research Center, 8 Nov. 2023, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/08/the-changing-face-of-americas-veteran-population. Accessed 16 Jan. 2025.

“Senate Sends Bipartisan Veterans Package to President, Capping Off Record Two Years of Accomplishments.” The United States Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, 20 Dec. 2018, www.veterans.senate.gov/newsroom/majority-news/senate-sends-bipartisan-veterans-package-to-president-capping-off-record-two-years-of-accomplishments. Accessed 16 Jan. 2025.