21 January 2009
The Cabinet
Veterans Affairs
Secretary Eric Shinseki
Confirmed, January 20
General Eric Shinseki was selected by President-elect Barack Obama December 7, 2008, to be the next secretary of veterans affairs. A former U.S. Army chief of staff, Shinseki is the first Asian American to reach the rank of four-star general. During his 40-year Army career, Shinseki served two combat tours in Vietnam, where he was wounded in action. See “Road to the White House.”
Shinseki’s confirmation hearing took place January 14. The text of Shinseki's prepared testimony is available on the Veterans' Affairs Committee Web site.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, established 1930 (elevated to Cabinet-level in 1989)
Mission: To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise — “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan” — by serving and honoring the men and women who are America’s veterans.
Staff: More than 240,000 employees
Duties: The department provides benefits and medical and rehabilitative services to 25 million military veterans. The department also manages the National Cemetery System, the final resting places for the bodies of veterans and their eligible family members.
History: The first U.S. Congress enacted a law establishing veteran benefits in 1789. Various government agencies administered veterans’ pensions and other benefits until the Veterans Administration was created in 1930. In 1989, the administration was recast as a full-fledged department and elevated to Cabinet rank.
Fun fact: A system of veterans’ benefits first appeared in the future United States in 1636 when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony, at war with the Pequot Indians, passed a law stipulating disabled soldiers would be supported by the colony.
More information: http://www.va.gov
