House Veterans' Affairs Committee

Standing committee
Active United States House of Representatives 119th Congress
History
Formed	January 3, 1947
Leadership
Chair	Mike Bost (R) Since January 3, 2023
Ranking member	Mark Takano (D) Since January 3, 2023
Structure
Seats	26
Political parties	Majority (15)  Republican (15) Minority (11)  Democratic (11)
Jurisdiction
Oversight authority	Department of Veterans Affairs
Senate counterpart	Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee
Website
veterans.house.gov (Republican) democrats-veterans.house.gov (Democratic)

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ThestandingCommittee on Veterans' Affairs in theUnited States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends newbills or amendments concerning U.S. military veterans. Jurisdiction^[1] includes retiring and disabilitypensions,life insurance, education (including theG.I. Bill), vocational training,medical care, and homeloan guarantees. The committee oversees theDepartment of Veterans Affairs (VA), veterans'hospitals, and veterans'cemeteries, except cemeteries under theSecretary of the Interior.

The Veterans' Affairs Committee does not have legislative jurisdiction^[1] over the following issues:

• Tax status of veterans benefits and contributions to Veterans Service Organizations (Committee on Ways and Means);
• Military retiree issues, including COLA's and disability pay (Committee on Armed Services);
• CHAMPUS and Tri-Care (Committee on Armed Services);
• Survivor Benefit Program (Committee on Armed Services);
• Veterans Preference in Federal civil service hiring practice (Committee on Government Reform and Oversight);
• Congressional charters for veterans service organizations (Committee on Judiciary);
• Immigration issues relating to veterans (Committee on Judiciary); and
• Issues dealing withPrisoners of War (POWs) and service membersmissing in action (MIAs) (Committee on Armed Services)

The committee was created by Section 121(a) of theLegislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (Public Law79-601), which authorized a standing committee of 27 members.

Resolutions electing members:H.Res. 13 (Chair),H.Res. 14 (Ranking Member),H.Res. 31 (R),H.Res. 40 (D)

According to committee members' official online biographies, ten (Barrett, Bergman, Bost, Conaway, Hamadeh, Kiggans, Luttrell, Miller-Meeks, Self, and Van Orden) of the twenty-six members are veterans.

Chairs of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and its predecessors are listed below.^[5]

• Uriah Tracy (F), CT 1794–1796
• Dwight Foster (F), MA 1796–1800
• Nathaniel Macon (D), NC 1800–1801
• John Smith (F), CT 1801–1806
• David Holmes (NP), VA 1806–1809
• Richard Johnson (D), KY 1809–1810
• Erastus Root (D), NY 1810–1811
• Burwell Bassett (D), VA 1811–1812
• Thomas Gholson (D), VA 1812–1813
• Stevenson Archer (D), MD 1813–1814
• Bartlett Yancey (NP), NC 1814–1816
• Lewis Williams (NP), NC 1816–1828
• William McCoy (D), VA 1828–1829
• Elisha Whittlesey (NP), OH 1829–1838
• John Chambers (W), KY 1838–1839
• David Russell (W), NY 1839–1840
• Joshua Giddings (ASW), OH 1840–1843
• Joseph Vance (W), OH 1843–1846
• John R. J. Daniel (D), NC 1846–1847
• John A. Rockwell (W), CT 1847–1849
• John R. J. Daniel (D), NC 1849–1853
• Alfred Edgerton (D), OH 1853–1855
• Joshua Giddings (ASW), OH 1855–1857
• Samuel S. Marshall (D), IL 1857–1859
• Mason Tappan (R), NH 1859–1861
• Reuben Fenton (R), NY 1861-1863
• James Hale (R), PA 1863–1864
• Columbus Delano (R), OH 1864–1867
• John Bingham (R), OH 1867–1869
• William B. Washburn (R), MA 1869–1871
• Austin Blair (R), MI 1871–1873
• John B. Hawley (R), IL 1873–1875
• John M. Bright (D), TN 1875–1880

• Samuel D. Ingham (Je. D), PA 1813–1814
• John Chappell (SRWD), SC 1814–1816
• John Rhea (D), TN 1816–1823
• Peter Little (D), MD 1823–1826

• Robert Allen (D), TN 1825–1827
• George Wolf (D), PA 1827–1829
• Henry Muhlenberg (JD), PA 1829–1838
• Robert Craig (D), VA 1838–1840
• Joseph Randolph (W), NJ 1840–1841
• Hiland Hall (W), VT 1841–1843
• Richard D. Davis (D), NY 1843–1845
• Joseph Johnson (D), VA 1845–1847
• Daniel P. King (W), MA 1847–1849
• Cullen Sawtelle (D), ME 1849–1851
• Moses Macdonald (D), ME 1851–1853
• Rufus Peckham (D), NY 1853–1855
• David Ritchie (R), PA 1855–1857
• Samuel S. Cox (D), OH 1857–1859
• George Briggs (AP), NY 1859–1861
• R. Holland Duell (R), NY 1861–1863
• Hiram Price (R), IA 1863–1865
• Kellian Whaley (R), WV 1865–1867
• Hamilton Ward (R), NY 1867–1869
• Sempronius H. Boyd (R), MO 1868–1871
• Alexander S. Wallace (R), SC 1871–1873

• Tristam Burges (NP), RI 1831–1835
• Jesse Miller (D), PA 1835–1836
• James M. H. Beale (D), VA 1836–1837
• William Taylor (D), NY 1837–1839
• Sherrod Williams (W), KY 1839–1841
• Calvary Morris (W), OH 1841–1843
• Jacob Brinkerhoff (D), OH 1843–1846
• Preston King (D), NY 1846–1847
• Henry Nes (I), PA 1848–1849
• Andrew S. Fulton (W), VA 1849–1850
• Shepherd Leffler (D), IA 1850–1852
• Isham G. Harris (D), TN 1852–1853
• Thomas A. Hendricks (D), IN 1853–1855
• Andrew Oliver (D), NY 1855–1857
• Joshua Jewett (D), KY 1857–1859
• Reuben Fenton (R), NY 1859–1861
• Alfred Ely (R), NY 1861–1863
• Kellian Whaley (R), WV 1863–1864
• Sidney Perham (R), ME 1864–1869
• John F. Benjamin (RR), MO 1869–1871
• Jesse H. Moore (R), IL 1871–1873
• Jeremiah M. Rusk (R), WI 1873–1875
• George A. Jenks (D), PA 1875–1877
• Americus V. Rice (D), OH 1877–1879
• Alexander H. Coffroth (D), PA 1879–1880
• Thomas M. Browne (R), IN 1880–1882
• Courtland C. Matson (D), IN 1883–1889
• Edmund N. Morrill (R), KS 1889–1891
• Augustus N. Martin (D) IN 1891–1895
• John Pickler (R), SD 1895–1896
• George W. Ray (R), NY 1896–1899
• Cyrus A. Sulloway (R), NH 1899–1911
• Isaac R. Sherwood (D), OH 1911–1919
• Charles Fuller (R), IL 1919–1925
• Richard N. Elliott (R), IN 1925–1926
• William I. Swoope (R), PA 1926–1927
• William T. Fitzgerald (R), OH 1927–1929
• John M. Nelson (R), WI 1929–1931
• Mell G. Underwood (D), OH 1931–1936
• John Lesinski (D), MI 1937–1945
• Augustine B. Kelley (D), PA 1946

• Henry Hubbard (D), NH 1831–1833
• Daniel Wardwell (R), NY 1833–1837
• William S. Morgan (D), VA 1837–1839
• John Taliaferro (W), VA 1839–1843
• George O. Rathbun (D), NY 1843–1844
• David L. Seymour (D), NY 1844–1845
• Richard Brodhead (D), PA 1845–1847
• William Cocke (D), TN 1847–1849
• Loren P. Waldo (D), CT 1849–1851
• John Millson (D), VA 1851–1853
• William M. Churchwell (D), TN 1853–1855
• Jacob Broom (AW), PA 1855–1856
• John Hickman (R), PA 1856–1860
• John F. Potter (R), WI 1860–1861
• Charles Van Wyck (R), NY 1861–1863
• DeWitt Littlejohn (R), NY 1863–1865
• Walter D. McIndoe (R), WI 1865–1867
• Benjamin F. Loan (Rad), MO 1867–1869
• John T. Deweese (D), NC 1969
• Charles W. Willard (R), VT 1869–1873
• Lazarus D. Shoemaker (R), PA 1873–1875
• Eppa Hunton (D), VA 1875–1877
• Levi A. Mackey (D), PA 1877–1879
• John Whiteaker (D), OR 1879–1880

• William Lawrence (R), OH 1873–1875
• John R. Eden (D), IL 1875–1879
• Edward S. Bragg (D), WI 1879–1881
• Leonidas C. Houk (R), TN 1881–1883
• George W. Geddes (D), OH 1883–1887
• William J. Stone (D), KY 1887–1889
• Ormsby B. Thomas (R), WI 1889–1891
• Frank E. Beltzhoover (D), PA 1891–1895
• Thaddeus M. Mahon (R), PA 1895–1907
• Kittredge Haskins (R), VT 1907–1909
• Charles B. Law (R), NY 1909–1911
• Thetus W. Sims (D), TN 1911–1913
• Alexander W. Gregg (D), TX 1913–1919
• Benjamin K. Focht (R), PA 1919–1921
• Bertrand Snell (R), NY 1921–1923
• James G. Strong (R), KS 1923–1930
• Miles C. Allgood (D), AL 1931–1934
• Wilburn Cartwright (D), OK 1935
• John H. Hoeppel (D), CA 1936
• Joseph A. Gavagan (D), NY 1937
• Alfred F. Beiter (D), NY 1938
• Reuben T. Wood (D), MO 1939–1941
• Joseph A. Gavagan (D), NY 1941–1944
• Edward J. Hart (D), NJ 1944
• Clair Engle (D), CA 1945–1946

Resolutions electing members:H.Res. 14 (Chair),H.Res. 15 (Ranking Member),H.Res. 79 (D),H.Res. 80 (R)

According to committee members' official online biographies, seven (Bergman, Brown, Ellzey, Luria, Miller-Meeks, Nehls and Sablan) of the thirty-one members are veterans.

Subcommittees

Resolutions electing members:H.Res. 9 (Chair),H.Res. 10 (Ranking Member),H.Res. 62 (D),H.Res. 63 (R),H.Res. 92 (D),H.Res. 111 (D),H.Res. 602 (R),H.Res. 902 (D),H.Res. 1197 (R)

According to committee members' official online biographies, ten (Banks, Bergman, Brown, Ellzey, Gallego, Lamb, Luria, Miller-Meeks, Nehls and Sablan) of the thirty-one members are veterans.

Subcommittees

Sources:H.Res. 24 (Chair),H.Res. 25 (Ranking Member),H.Res. 57 (D),H.Res. 68 (R),H.Res. 148 (D),H.Res. 712 (D)

According to committee members' official online biographies, thirteen (Banks, Bergman, Bost, Cisneros, Dunn, Lamb, Luria, Peterson, Roe, Rose, Sablan, Steube, Watkins) of the twenty-eight members are veterans.

Subcommittees

Sources:H.Res. 6 (Chair),H.Res. 45 (D),H.Res. 51 (R),H.Res. 52 (D),H.Res. 833 (D)

According to committee members' official online biographies, eleven (Banks, Bergman, Bost, Coffman, Dunn, Higgins, Lamb, Roe, Sablan, Walz, Wenstrup) of the twenty-five members are veterans.

Resolutions electing Republican members:H.Res. 6 (Chairs)
Resolutions electing Democratic members:H.Res. 7,H.Res. 30,H.Res. 40 andH.Res. 77

• United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
• United States Department of Veterans Affairs
• List of United States House of Representatives committees

Wikimedia Commons has media related toUnited States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

• House Committee on Veterans' Affairs (Archive)
• House Veterans' Affairs Committee. Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov.
• United States Department of Veterans' Affairs
• [1]House Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearings and Meetings Videos
• Active legislation passing through the Committee on Veterans' Affairs can be foundhere

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