VA (Veterans Affairs) (White House Central Files: Subject Files)

This subject category contains material pertaining to veterans or their dependents. Frequent correspondents include: President Richard Nixon and White House staff members Richard Burress, James Cavanaugh, Kenneth Cole, Charles Colson, John Ehrlichman, John Evans, Robert Finch, Robert Odle, Melville Stephens, and Ronald Ziegler, Veterans Administrator Donald Johnson, Department of Defense Secretary Melvin Laird, Congressman Olin Teague, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Veterans Affairs, James F. Oats, Jr., Chairman of the National Committee, Jobs for Veterans Program, and Gordon Metcalf, Chairman of the National Alliance for Businessmen's JObs for Veterans Program.

The Executive file within this subject category includes the correspondence of the President, White House staff members and Administration officials with officials of veterans, patriotic and ethnic organizations, Members of Congress, and veterans and their families concerning veterans assistance programs including education, hospitalization and medical aid, housing, pensions, certificates, medals and burials. The General File contains the correspondence of the President, White House staff members and Administration officials with Members of Congress, veterans' organizations chapters, individual veterans and their families, and the general public. Many of the same correspondents and topics can be found in both files. Some of the files are divided alphabetically (A-Z) by name of correspondent.

Related materials may be found in the following subject categories:

FA 3 Federal Aid-Education

FA 7 Federal Aid-Revenue Sharing

FG 165 National Alliance of Businessmen

FG 233 Veterans Administration

FG 253 President's Committee on the Vietnam Veteran [Terminated]

FI 4/FG 233 Finance-Veterans' Housing Loans

HE 5 Health-Medicines-Drugs-Serums

HE 5-1 Health-Narcotics

LA 2 Labor Conditions-Employment-Unemployment

ND National Security-Defense - Servicemen and retired Personnel

PE Personnel - Veterans Employment Rights in the Federal Civil Service

VA VETERANS AFFAIRS

President Nixon's statements, speeches, ceremonial messages, proclamations, and meetings with top officials of veterans' organizations and Veterans Administrator Donald Johnson concerning veterans' issues are found in this file. There are also materials concerning veterans' legislation, government agency reports, and Administration programs for veterans such as the VIP (Very Important Patient) Program by Carmella La Spada of Vice President Agnew's Office and the Jobs for Veterans program.

VA 1 BONUS

This file includes proposed legislation and benefits for veterans, including: the definition of the Vietnam theater of operations for the awarding of the Vietnam Service Medal, income tax benefits for veterans and survivors, benefits for those members of the armed forces killed in Cambodia, and the Pennsylvania bonus law for veteran survivors of the Vietnam conflict.

VA 2 COMPENSATION - PENSION

Materials in this file concern the approval, disapproval, and increase or decrease of veterans' and dependents' disability, medical, vocational, and educational pensions or programs. The file includes information about the veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Philippine and Mexican border conflicts, World Wars I and II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and veterans of allied countries. Controversial issues such as a proposed Veterans Administration's re-rating of medical disabilities and the reduction of veterans' benefits with the rise of Social Security benefits are also found in the files.

VA 3 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

This file includes information about proposed and enacted legislation concerning veterans education and training, comparisons with the post-World War II GI Bill, veterans' training funds from Title X, Section 420 of the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1972, the termination of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the United States (CHAMPUS) support for the education of learning disabled children of military families, and problems of student veterans with delayed educational assistance checks.

VA 4 HOSPITALIZATION-REHABILITATION

Materials concerning legislation such as the Veterans Health Care Expansion Act of 1973, President Nixon's statement (April 20, 1970) and other issues, including drug rehabilitation, care of insane veterans, use of nursing homes for veterans, veterans' benefits for Allied army members, and a proposed decrease in funding for veterans' hospitals can be found in this file.

VA 4-1 VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HOSPITALS

Topics in this file include the construction, maintenance, and repair of veterans hospital facilities, Presidential visits and messages to veterans, and a meeting (April 20, 1970), with Veterans Administrator Donald Johnson concerning the Veterans Administration (VA) hospital system and how to improve it. Also of interest is a Life magazine article (May 22, 1970) about the Bronx, N.Y., Veterans Hospital, and a rebuttal by the Veterans Administration.

VA 5 HOUSING

This file contains information about housing problems encountered by veterans, such as appraisals, foreclosures, and defective housing.

VA 6 INSURANCE

A Presidential signing ceremony for H.R. 943, concerning mortgage protection life insurance for disabled veterans, with grants for specially adapted housing, and other proposed or enacted legislation concerning National Service Life Insurance, Servicemen's Group Life Insurance and definitions for beneficiaries of veterans' insurance programs can be found in this file.

VA 7 EMPLOYMENT

The Nixon Administration's efforts to improve Vietnam-era veterans' employment prospects is found in this file, which includes President Nixon's correspondence with governors, mayors, and private industry executives, directors to heads of government agencies, and a speech (January 28, 1974) concerning veterans employment. This file also contains agency evaluations and statistics for the Jobs for Veterans program and Project Transition.