Veterans Administration Act

Acts, Bills, and Laws, July 3, 1930

During the early part of American history, the care of war veterans was primarily a state and local matter. The War Department assumed control over pensions paid to veterans and their dependents in the early 19th century; in 1849 that responsibility was passed to the newly created Department of the Interior.

Following the Civil War, the states continued to play the leading role in providing care for former soldiers. A major change occurred, however, at the time of American entry into World War I in 1917. A federal Veterans’ Bureau was created to administer disability compensation, insurance for veterans and vocational rehabilitation for the disabled.

During the Hoover administration, a Veterans Administration was created that drew together the roles played previously by the Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Brigadier General Frank T. Hines, who had directed the Veterans Bureau since 1923, was named as the first Administrator of Veterans Affairs and continued in that position until 1945.