Benefits

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it will establish a Vet Center (Readjustment Counseling Service) Scholarship Program to assist individuals pursuing graduate degrees in psychology, social work, marriage and family therapy, or mental health counseling.

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it is closing a gap in survivor benefits for certain survivors of LGBTQ+ Veterans - specifically, for those who were unable to wed until the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision, and who, therefore, were not married to their now-deceased Veteran spouses for long enough to qualify for survivor benefits.

Yesterday, the Department of Veterans Affairs submitted to the Federal Register an interim final rule that will extend Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers eligibility for certain Veterans and their family caregivers through Sept. 30, 2025.

Last night, the Department of Veterans Affairs submitted to the Federal Register an interim final rule that will allow VA to provide access to abortion counseling and - in certain cases - abortions to pregnant Veterans and VA beneficiaries. Specifically, VA will provide access to abortions when the life or health of the pregnant Veteran would be endangered if the pregnancy were carried to term, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. VA beneficiaries enrolled in CHAMPVA will also have access to this care.

Based on Veteran feedback and VA Secretary Denis McDonough’s commitment to ensuring timely access to care, the Department of Veterans Affairs launched an improved Access to Care website that now offers a simplified, user-friendly experience to make it easier for Veterans to make informed decisions as they plan their health care appointments.

President Biden has stated we have a sacred obligation to support Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors. As part of his first State of the Union address, he identified supporting Veterans as a key pillar of his Unity Agenda and an issue that can unite the country. The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act makes good on that promise.

As part of President Biden’s Unity Agenda commitment to support the nation’s Veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs is adding nine rare respiratory cancers to the list of presumed service-connected disabilities due to military environmental exposures to fine particulate matter.

The Department of Veterans Affairs released its Equity Action Plan, April 14, to eliminate barriers to health care, benefits and services, and create opportunities to improve access and experiences for historically marginalized Veterans.

The Department of Veterans Affairs introduces new efforts to improve interagency coordination and expand outreach to criminal justice partners, to better help those reentering into society after incarceration.

The Biden-Harris administration submitted to Congress the president’s budget for fiscal year 2023. This budget delivers critical resources to help VA serve Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors as well as they have served our country — and it will allow VA to continue providing more care, more services, and more benefits to more Veterans than any time in its history.

We’ve announced our intent to propose a new rule that would add presumption of service connection for nine rare respiratory cancers; and we’re fundamentally changing, improving, and expediting how these presumptions are established moving forward.

On March 6, 2022, Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Donald Remy delivered remarks during the 57th anniversary commemoration of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Ala.