Summary
Mission:
The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs deals with oversight of United States veterans problems and issues.
House counterpart: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Democratic Members (Majority):
Jon Tester, Montana, Chair
Patty Murray, Washington
Bernie Sanders, Vermont
Sherrod Brown, Ohio
Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut
Mazie Hirono, Hawaii
Joe Manchin, West Virginia
Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona
Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire
Angus King, Maine
Republican Members (Minority):
Jerry Moran, Kansas, Ranking Member
John Boozman, Arkansas
Bill Cassidy, Louisiana
Mike Rounds, South Dakota
Thom Tillis, North Carolina
Dan Sullivan, Alaska
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
Kevin Cramer, North Dakota
Tommy Tuberville, Alabama
Featured Video:
Jon Tester addresses the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
OnAir Post: Veterans’ Affairs Committee (Senate)
News
Majority Press Releases and news can be found here at the committee website.
Minority Press Releases and news can be found here at the committee website.
Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, – October 8, 2021
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has appointed its first-ever Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs, including Jestin Dupree of Poplar, Montana. In response, Chairman Tester released the following statement:
“Native Americans serve our nation in uniform at the highest rates, and it’s critical these veterans are well represented at VA and empowered to shape Department policy to meet the needs of all veterans living in Indian country,” said Tester. “This is a groundbreaking moment for Native veterans in Montana and across the country, and I couldn’t be prouder to have Mr. Dupree serve on this first-ever Committee. Mr. Dupree is well-qualified for this position, and I look forward to working with him and the Committee to ensure we are living up to our promises to our Native American veterans.”
The Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs will provide advice and guidance to the VA Secretary on all matters relating to American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native veterans. It will also report recommendations to Congress for legislation to improve Native American veterans’ access to VA health care and benefits.
Chairman Tester’s VA Tribal Advisory Committee Act established the VA Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs, which was signed into law earlier this year as part of an end-of-year package to better address the needs of Native veterans nationwide.
United States Senate Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, – September 9, 2021
(U.S. Senate) – Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) are urging Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough to address oversight failures at medical facilities across the country.
“We write to discuss oversight failures at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities,” the Senators wrote in a letter to McDonough. “In particular, we are concerned with the failures at the Louis A. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia (Clarksburg), and the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks in Fayetteville, Arkansas (Fayetteville) that resulted in significant harm and death of veterans in VA’s care. In both instances, facility leadership created cultural conditions that fostered mismanagement and a lack of accountability resulting in tragic outcomes. The Department must work to prevent future similar incidents from occurring, and we request more information about how VA intends to accomplish this objective.”
Earlier this year, VA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued damning reports detailing failures at the Louis A. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks in Fayetteville, Arkansas that resulted in death of veterans in these facilities. In Clarksburg, the OIG found that serious, pervasive, and deep-rooted clinical and administrative failures contributed to a nursing assistant’s criminal actions between 2017 and 2018 that resulted in seven counts of murder and one count of assault. In Fayetteville, the OIG found the facility’s Path and Lab Service Chief misdiagnosed more than 3,000 patients over the course of many years, including 589 major diagnostic discrepancies.
United States Senate Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, – August 17, 2021
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee – today requested answers from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough regarding the VA’s plans and preparation to support veterans during and following the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“Our military servicemembers fought honorably to accomplish every mission their country asked of them, and as veterans, many of them continue to fight for the safety and well-being of our Afghan allies,” wrote Sen. Moran. “How the United States concludes our involvement in Afghanistan will have lasting impacts on both our Afghan allies and on the brave men and women whose honor will forever be entwined with the fate of the country in which they fought. The VA has an important role to play in how our country ends this war and deals with its aftermath. I will work to make certain we do all we can to see that this war is ended responsibly and its aftermath is dealt with compassionately.”
About
History
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 Mexican War, the Civil War and the Spanish–American War – 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.
Source: Wikipedia
Contact
Locations
Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Russell Senate Building – Room 412, Washington, D.C. 20510-6050
Phone: (202) 224-9126
Web Links
Legislation
Bills
Source: Committee website
Hearings
Source: Committee website
More Information
Nominations
Source: Committee website
For Veterans
Source: Committee website
Information sources for veterans.
Campaign Finance
Source: Open Secrets webpages
