Order Code RS22897
June 13, 2008
Veterans Affairs: Historical Budget Authority,
Fiscal Years 1940 through 2007
Christine Scott
Specialist in Social Policy
Domestic Social Policy Division
Summary
Budget authority — the amount of money a federal department or agency can spend
or obligate to spend by law — for veterans’ benefits and services has increased
significantly since FY1940. In FY1940, the budget authority for veterans’ benefits and
services was $561.1 million, and in FY2007 the budget authority was $82. 0 billion, or
146 times the FY1940 budget authority. In constant 2007 dollars (i.e., inflation-
adjusted), the FY2007 budget authority is 9.9 times the FY1940 budget authority. The
increases over time have reflected the impact of increases in the number of veterans as
the result of wars and other conflicts, the aging of the veteran population, and changes
in benefits and services provided for veterans. This report provides information on the
historical budget authority of the Department of Veterans Affairs (formerly the Veterans
Administration) for FY1940 through FY2007. Budget authority is presented in both
current dollars and constant 2007 dollars (i.e., inflation-adjusted). This report will be
updated as additional information becomes available.
Introduction
Because of the annual budget and appropriation process in Congress and the current
conflicts involving U.S. servicemembers overseas, there is a strong interest in the levels
of spending by the federal government for veterans’ benefits and services1 among
members of Congress and the public. For this report, veterans’ benefits and services
include direct spending on veterans (such as disability compensation or health care) and
indirect spending (such as administration and construction of facilities). This report
provides information on the historical budget authority for veterans’ benefits and services
for FY1940 through FY2007. Budget authority is presented in both current dollars and
constant 2007 dollars (i.e., inflation-adjusted).
1 For information on FY2008 appropriations for veterans’ benefits and services, see CRS Report
RL34038, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2008
Appropriations, by Daniel H. Else, Christine Scott, and Sidath Viranga Panangala.

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CRS-2
Budget Authority for Veterans’ Programs FY1940 - FY2007
The budget authority2 for veterans’ benefits and services over the FY1940 - FY2007
period has generally shown a steady increase. As can be seen in Table 1 and Figure 1,
the FY2007 budget authority in current dollars was 146 times the FY1940 budget
authority, reflecting an average annual growth rate for the period of 7.7%.3 In constant
2007 dollars (i.e., inflation-adjusted), the FY2007 budget authority is 9.9 times the
FY1940 budget authority and reflects a 3.4% average annual growth rate over the period.4
World War II. A large number of Americans, 16.1 million,5 served in the military
in World War II (WWII, December 7, 1941, through December 31, 1946), making WWII
the largest conflict to date in terms of the number of servicemembers. Because the
servicemembers volunteered (or were drafted) for “the duration,” a large number of
servicemembers were released in a relatively short period of time at the end of the war.
Before the end of the war, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (P.L. 346 of the 78th
Congress), commonly known as the GI Bill, was signed into law in 1944, providing a
major change in benefits for veterans. The GI Bill introduced education and training
benefits that enabled millions of servicemembers who may have otherwise been unable
to attend college or training schools to receive a college education or specific job skills
training. In addition, the housing loan guarantee benefits provided by the GI Bill enabled
WWII veterans to purchase homes for their families.
As shown in Table 1, the combination of the large number of veterans being released
in a short period of time and the change in benefits resulted in the budget authority for
veterans increasing from $561.1 million before the war in FY1940 to a peak in the post-
war period in FY1947 of $8.4 billion.
In current dollars, the FY1947 budget authority was 14.9 times the pre-war budget
authority for veterans. In constant 2007 dollars, the FY1947 budget authority for veterans
was $80.8 billion, or 9.8 times the pre-war budget authority for veterans.
2 Budget authority is the amount of money the federal department or agency can spend or obligate
to spend by law. Budget authority has several forms, including appropriations; authority to
borrow; contract authority; and authority to spend from offsetting collections. For more
information see CRS Report 98-721, Introduction to the Federal Budget Process, by Robert
Keith.
3 The federal fiscal year changed between 1976 and 1977. For fiscal years 1940 through 1976,
the federal fiscal year was July through June. For fiscal years 1977 and later, the federal fiscal
year was October through September. The adjustment quarter in 1976 is not shown in the figures
used in this report.
4 For this report, constant dollar budget authority figures were calculated using the current dollar
budget authority data provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
5 For information on the number of military personnel serving in American war and military
operations, see CRS Report RL32492, American War and Military Operation Casualties: Lists
and Statistics, by Hannah Fischer, Kim Klarman, and Mari-Jana “M-J” Oboroceanu.

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CRS-3
The Vietnam Era. The Vietnam era (February 28, 1961 through May 7, 1975) was
significantly longer than WWII, with a total of 8.7 million Americans who served in the
military during the period. Until the end of 1972, a military draft was in place (the last
drafted servicemembers began service in 1973), and drafted servicemembers were
released through the period at the end of their military obligation. Also, while benefit
changes or expansions were made during the period, no new large benefit programs were
started during the period (unlike the WWII period). As a result of the regular release of
servicemembers from the military over the period and the relatively stable levels of
veterans’ benefits and services, the large peak in budget authority at the end of WWII was
not repeated at the end of the Vietnam era.
There was however a smaller peak in budget authority for the FY1975-FY1976
period that reflected an increase in the number of veterans at the end of the Vietnam
conflict. While the current dollar budget authority for FY1975 and FY1976 was 2.0 and
2.3 times the FY1947 budget authority, in constant 2007 dollars (after adjusting for
inflation) the budget authority for FY1975 and FY1976 was below that of FY1947. This
reflects in large part the differences between the two conflicts in terms of the timing for
release of servicemembers and veterans benefits and services (compared to the pre-
conflict period).
Current Conflicts. During the current conflicts, Operation Enduring Freedom
(OEF, which began October 2001) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF, which began
March 2003), there is no military draft in place. Servicemembers generally leave at the
end of their obligation, or at retirement. The somewhat steady increase in budget
authority for veterans’ benefits and administration each year since the late 1990s may
reflect the impact of the aging of the veteran population more than the impact of the
returning OEF/OIF veterans. In FY1999, of the 87,384 veterans who began receiving
disability compensation that year, 19.2% were over age 55. By FY2006, of the 162,805
veterans who began receiving disability compensation that year, 41.5% were over age 55.6
Over time, the increases in the budget authority for veterans’ benefits and services
have reflected the impact of increases in the number of veterans as the result of wars and
other conflicts, the aging of the veteran population, and changes in the benefits and
services provided for veterans. The most dramatic impact of the combination of an
increase in the number of veterans and changes in veterans’ benefits can be seen in the
period shortly after World War II.
6 Department of Veterans Affairs, Annual Benefits Report, various years, available at
[http://www.vba.va.gov/reports/index.htm].

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CRS-4
Table 1. Historical Budget Authority for the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) in Current and Constant (2007) Dollars,
FY1940-FY2007
(dollars in millions)
Fiscal
Current
Constant (2007) Fiscal
Current
Constant (2007)
Year
Dollars
Dollars
Year
Dollars
Dollars
1940 $561.1
$8,244.3 1974
$13,540.8 $59,634.2
1941 582.0
8,441.1 1975
16,304.0 64,640.6
1942 611.0
8,046.8 1976
19,300.0 71,459.4
1943 608.6
7,380.5 1977
18,572.9 63,935.2
1944 947.8 11,168.7 1978
18,515.0 59,543.3
1945 1,517.2
17,510.3 1979
19,901.4
58,012.9
1946 4,780.6
53,813.3 1980
20,551.8
52,745.4
1947 8,354.4
80,823.6 1981
22,455.2
51,876.1
1948 6,972.7
61,449.1 1982
24,205.4
52,076.7
1949 5,961.8
50,778.7 1983
24,607.0
51,145.6
1950 6,611.1
57,319.6 1984
25,634.4
51,178.6
1951 5,831.6
47,644.2 1985
26,387.0
50,808.2
1952 4,409.3
34,447.3 1986
26,230.4
49,296.9
1953 4,157.2
32,011.3 1987
26,605.4
48,611.4
1954 4,199.7
32,068.2 1988
28,242.0
49,558.4
1955 4,232.4
32,478.5 1989
29,344.9
49,155.4
1956 4,706.9
35,951.6 1990
29,778.1
47,510.5
1957 4,792.1
35,587.7 1991
32,525.0
49,401.2
1958 4,985.0
35,842.9 1992
33,157.6
48,888.4
1959 5,070.7
35,955.5 1993
35,154.7
50,306.9
1960 5,153.4
36,013.3 1994
36,780.1
51,286.4
1961 5,424.2
37,438.5 1995
37,466.1
50,816.6
1962 4,946.5
33,791.0 1996
38,634.9
50,976.6
1963 5,333.1
35,993.0 1997
40,054.4
51,476.8
1964 5,425.2
36,120.3 1998
41,686.6
52,713.8
1965 5,641.1
37,086.8 1999
43,137.8
53,521.7
1966 6,002.6
38,628.4 2000
44,818.9
53,895.1
1967 6,438.0
40,161.3 2001
48,665.2
56,694.2
1968 6,707.1
40,496.6 2002
53,495.0
61,400.7
1969 7,408.6
42,652.2 2003
59,673.1
66,920.7
1970 8,473.3
46,059.5 2004
63,824.8
69,952.9
1971 9,909.4
51,221.7 2005
69,436.4
73,681.3
1972 10,935.8
54,569.4
2006 73,736.8
75,466.0
1973 12,391.3
59,437.3
2007 82,013.8
82,013.8
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) using data provided by the
Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Budget, General Administration & Coordination Service.
Note: Budget authority shown in constant (2007) dollars was calculated using the Consumer Price Index
All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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CRS-5
Figure 1. Historical Budget Authority for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Current and
Constant (2007) Dollars, FY1940 - FY2007
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) using data provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Budget,
General Administration & Coordination Service.
Note: Budget authority shown in constant (2007) dollars was calculated using the Consumer Price Index All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by
Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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