The U.S. Federal Government expects to spend $420,000,000,000.00 on Department of Veterans Affairs in 2025. This represents 6% of all Federal spending in 2025.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a federal agency dedicated to providing comprehensive services to America's veterans and their families. Established as an independent agency in 1930 and elevated to a Cabinet-level department in 1989, the VA's mission is to "care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan." The department offers a wide range of services, including healthcare, benefits administration, and burial services.
The VA is funded primarily through discretionary spending, with allocations determined annually by Congress to support healthcare services, disability compensation, pensions, and education benefits for veterans. Some mandatory spending is involved, particularly for entitlement programs like disability and pension payments. Additional funding comes from user fees, such as co-payments from veterans for certain healthcare services.
For Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, the VA has requested a total budget of $369.3 billion, representing a 9.8% increase over the FY 2024 estimated levels. This budget is allocated across the department's primary administrations as follows: Veterans Health Administration (VHA): Purpose: Provides healthcare services to eligible veterans. Budget: Approximately $134 billion. Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA): Purpose: Administers benefits programs, including compensation, pension, education, and housing. Budget: Approximately $210.9 billion. National Cemetery Administration (NCA): Purpose: Provides burial and memorial benefits to veterans and eligible family members. Budget: Approximately $0.4 billion. Additionally, the budget includes $2.76 billion for construction projects to enhance and expand VA facilities.
There have been numerous reported examples of wasteful spending at Department of Veterans Affairs . See below for some of the most recent reported cases.
