ith a relatively small number of people because it avoids the usual snooping and interminable paper shuffling associated with welfare programs. Indeed, the usual role of gum-shoeing for welfare cheaters is reversed. Congress deems all veterans deserving, and what investigative efforts the Veterans Administration staff conducts are more directed toward insuring veterans maximum benefits.
This paper will analyze the various welfare measures enacted for disabled veterans after 1930. A conclusion will address why the tradition of having a separate welfare system of benefits for disabled veterans is a tradition well-worth preserving in this country.
The veteran welfare measures that have been enacted since 1930, and in many cases previously, have been aligned with social welfare measures and are part of the overall welfare system. However, because of their special import to Congress and the federal government, the welfare measures that have been enacted for veterans are of a more generous nature, “Veterans’ programs constitute a major part of the total welfare system, providing millions with income support, medical care, education and training, and means for acquiring housing and life insurance. These programs parallel provisions for the general public in social security, public assistance, health care, and housing programs, but in more generous dimensions,” (Levitan, et.al., 1973: 27).
The Veterans Administration was created in 1930 to be the sole distributor of veterans benefits. Up until that time other departments of the government handled different areas of veterans benefits. The Department of the Interior paid pension, and an agency within it took care of administration at the National Homes for Disabled Soldiers. The Treasury Department was the body that took care of War Risk Insurance by creating the Veterans Bureau. By 1930 the Veterans Administration would replace the Veterans Bureau and its jurisdictio...