The United States secretary of veterans affairs is the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,the department concerned with veterans' benefits,health care,and national veterans' memorials and cemeteries. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet and second to last at sixteenth in the line of succession to the presidency. Until the appointment of David Shulkin in 2017,all appointees and acting appointees to the post were United States military veterans,but that is not a requirement to fill the position.
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country. Non-healthcare benefits include disability compensation,vocational rehabilitation,education assistance,home loans,and life insurance. The VA also provides burial and memorial benefits to eligible veterans and family members at 135 national cemeteries.
Eric Ken Shinseki is a retired United States Army general who served as the seventh United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2009–2014) and the 34th Chief of Staff of the Army (1999–2003). Shinseki is a veteran of two tours of combat in the Vietnam War,in which he was awarded three Bronze Star Medals for valor and two Purple Hearts. He was the first Asian-American four-star general,and the first Asian-American Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Anthony Joseph Principi is the former United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was appointed by President George W. Bush on January 23,2001,and resigned on January 26,2005. He Chaired the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission,BRAC and is currently serving as a Consultant &Board member of several diverse Foundations &Corporations.
Richard Jeffrey Danzig is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 71st Secretary of the Navy under President Bill Clinton. He served as an advisor of the President Barack Obama during his presidential campaign and was later the chairman of the national security think-tank,the Center for a New American Security.
Gordon Hall Mansfield was an American military veteran who was Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs between 2004 and 2008.
Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private,all-male,military boarding school located in the town of Chatham,Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Christian values that focuses on a college and military preparatory program. The school serves boys from around the world for grade 7 through post-graduate (PG). Hargrave was named a National School of Character in 2016. Hargrave is accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and nationally by AdvancEd,and is a member of the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States and the National Association of Independent Schools. The school's campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs,in the United States government,is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,responsible for a nationwide system of health care services,benefits programs,and national cemeteries for America's veterans and their dependents. The deputy secretary is the second-highest-ranking officer in the Department and succeeds the Secretary in the event of his resignation,death,or otherwise inability to fulfill his duties.
John Collins Harvey Jr. is a former United States Navy four-star admiral who last served as the 31st Commander,United States Fleet Forces Command from July 24,2009 to September 14,2012. He previously served as Director,Navy Staff (N09B) from March 24,2008 to July 23,2009. Prior to that,he served as the 54th Chief of Naval Personnel and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (N1) from November 2005 to April 2008. He retired from the navy after more than 39 years of service.
Michael D. Lumpkin is a former American Naval Officer and businessman who served as the Special Envoy and Coordinator of the Global Engagement Center at the U.S. Department of State from January 2016 to January 2017. From 2013 until 2016,he was the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. During that time,he also served as the acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy,the third-highest civilian job at the United States Department of Defense.
Robert Lee Nabors II was the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from 2014 to 2016. He previously served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and several other senior roles in the Obama White House.
Barack Obama assumed office as President of the United States on January 20,2009,and his term ended on January 20,2017. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
Robert Alan McDonald served as the eighth United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He is the retired chairman,president,and CEO of Procter &Gamble. In 2014 he became Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
William Scott Gould is a former United States Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Gould is also an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
The Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014 is a bill that would give the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs the authority to remove or demote any individual from the Senior Executive Service upon determining that such individual's performance warrants removal or demotion. The bill was written in response to a scandal indicating that some VA hospitals were keeping secret waiting lists for care,the length of which may have led to the deaths of some veterans.
The Veterans Health Administration controversy of 2014 is a reported pattern of negligence in the treatment of United States military veterans. Critics charged that patients at the VHA hospitals had not met the target of getting an appointment within 14 days. In some hospitals,the staff falsified appointment records to appear to meet the 14-day target. Some patients died while they were on the waiting list. Defenders agreed that it was unacceptable to falsify data,but the 14-day target was unrealistic in understaffed facilities like Phoenix,and most private insurers did not meet a 14-day target either. By most measures,the VHA system provides "excellent care at low cost," wrote Paul Krugman,who believes that the attacks on the VHA system are motivated by conservatives who want to discredit a government program that works well. Conservative legislators have proposed privatizing the VHA,and legislative reforms that will make it easier for veterans to go to private doctors.
The Veteran Access to Care Act of 2014 is a bill that would allow United States veterans to receive their healthcare from non-VA facilities under certain conditions. The bill is a response to the Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014,in which it was discovered that there was systematic lying about the wait times veterans experienced waiting to be seen by doctors. By June 5,2014,Veterans Affairs internal investigations had identified a total of 35 veterans who had died while waiting for care in the Phoenix VHA system. Another audit determined that "more than 57,000 veterans waited at least 90 days to see a doctor,while another 63,000 over the last decade never received an initial appointment."
The Veterans' Access to Care through Choice,Accountability,and Transparency Act of 2014,also known as the Veterans Choice Act,is a United States public law that is intended to address the ongoing Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014. The law expanded the number of options veterans have for receiving care and granted the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs more power to fire senior executives. The Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014 began with the discovery that there was on-going systematic lying by the Veterans Health Administration about the wait times veterans experienced waiting to be seen by doctors. By June 5,2014,Veterans Affairs internal investigations had identified a total of 35 veterans who had died while waiting for care in the Phoenix VHA system. Another audit determined that "more than 57,000 veterans waited at least 90 days to see a doctor,while another 63,000 over the last decade never received an initial appointment."
Michael Linnington is the CEO of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) and a retired United States Army Lieutenant General. He has more than 35 years of military experience and was the first permanent Director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
Ventris C. Gibson is an American government official serving as the director of the United States Mint. She previously served as deputy director of the Mint from October 2021 until her confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
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