VA Press Room

Good morning, everyone. Carl Blake, thanks for that kind introduction. More importantly, thank you for your selfless service on behalf of your brothers- and sisters-in-arms.

The Journal of General Internal Medicine and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons published articles based on a systematic review of studies about VA health care, concluding VA health care is consistently as good as — or better than — non-VA health care.

Tod Lipka, thanks for that kind introduction and, more importantly, for your relentless work teaching any who doubt it that housing first works, that—as you’ve said—we solve homelessness by creating homes and helping people find belonging to a community.

Secretary McDonough discusses a wide range of topics and introduces newly confirmed Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs.

Today, Joshua Jacobs was confirmed as VA’s Under Secretary for Benefits — marking the first time since 2014 that VA has a confirmed Under Secretary for Benefits, Under Secretary for Health, and Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs. In this role, Jacobs will lead the Veterans Benefits Administration in the delivery of earned benefits to Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors

Today, VA announced that Veterans and their survivors have filed more than 500,000 claims for toxic exposure-related benefits under the PACT Act since President Biden signed it into law Aug. 10, 2022. To date, VA has awarded more than $1 billion in earned benefits to Veterans and survivors who filed PACT Act-related claims.

Between April 27 and May 29, the Department of Veterans Affairs will host a 20,000-mile march with more than 214,000 volunteers in honor of Veterans and service members.

While the President’s Budget details a plan to honor our country’s sacred obligation to care for America’s Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors, the proposal to cut a broad range of critical programs by 22% would threaten critical services for Veterans – both at VA and across the federal government.

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that future deployments of the new Electronic Health Record (EHR) will be halted while we prioritize improvements at the five sites that currently use the new EHR, as part of a larger program reset.

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs and National Institutes of Health began a joint, five-year study that aims to explain the chronic symptoms of Gulf War Illness. The study may lead to more definitive diagnostic criteria for Gulf War Illness, development of new diagnostic testing, and potential treatments.