The standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new bills or amendments concerning U.S. military veterans. Jurisdiction includes retiring and disability pensions, life insurance, education (including the G.I. Bill), vocational training, medical care, and home loan guarantees. The committee oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), veterans' hospitals, and veterans' cemeteries, except cemeteries under the Secretary of the Interior.
The Veterans' Affairs Committee does not have legislative jurisdiction 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 with Prisoners of War (POWs) and service members missing in action (MIAs) (Committee on Armed Services) The committee was created by Section 121(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (Public Law 79-601), which authorized a standing committee of 27 members.
Members, 119th Congress MajorityMinorityMike Bost, Illinois, Chair Amata Coleman Radewagen, American Samoa, Vice Chair Jack Bergman, Michigan Nancy Mace, South Carolina Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa Greg Murphy, North Carolina Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin Morgan Luttrell, Texas Juan Ciscomani, Arizona Keith Self, Texas Jen Kiggans, Virginia Abraham Hamadeh, Arizona Kimberlyn King-Hinds, Northern Mariana Islands Tom Barrett, MichiganMark Takano, California, Ranking Member Julia Brownley, California Chris Pappas, New Hampshire Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Florida (until April 21, 2026) Morgan McGarvey, Kentucky Delia Ramirez, Illinois Nikki Budzinski, Illinois Tim Kennedy, New York Maxine Dexter, Oregon Herb Conaway, New Jersey, Vice Ranking Member Kelly Morrison, Minnesota Maggie Goodlander, New Hampshire (from June 9, 2026)
Resolutions electing members: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (R), (D), (Goodlander)
According to committee members' official online biographies, eleven (Barrett, Bergman, Bost, Conaway, Goodlander, Hamadeh, Kiggans, Luttrell, Miller-Meeks, Self, and Van Orden) of the twenty-seven members are veterans.
Subcommittees SubcommitteeChairRanking MemberDisability Assistance and Memorial AffairsMorgan Luttrell (R-TX)Morgan McGarvey (D-KY)Economic OpportunityDerrick Van Orden (R-WI)Chris Pappas (D-NH)HealthMariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA)Julia Brownley (D-CA)Oversight and InvestigationsJen Kiggans (R-VA)Delia Ramirez (D-IL)Technology ModernizationTom Barrett (R-MI)Nikki Budzinski (D-IL)
Leadership Chairs of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and its predecessors are listed below.
Committee on Claims (1794–1880) 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
Committee on Pensions and Revolutionary Claims (1813–1826) 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
Committee on Revolutionary Pensions (1825) NamePartyStateStartEndJacksonianPennsylvania1825
Committee on Military Pensions (1825–1831) NamePartyStateStartEndNational RepublicanRhode Island18251828JacksonianTennessee18281829National RepublicanMassachusetts18291830JacksonianVirginia18301831
Committee on Revolutionary Claims (1825–1974) 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
Committee on Invalid Pensions (1831–1946) 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
Committee on Revolutionary Pensions (1831–1880) 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
Committee on War Claims (1873–1946) 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
Committee on Pensions (1880–1946) NamePartyStateStartEndDemocraticOregon18801881RepublicanIllinois18811883DemocraticAlabama18831885DemocraticMichigan18851887DemocraticNew York18871889RepublicanNew York18891891DemocraticMissouri18911894DemocraticGeorgia18941895RepublicanNew Jersey18951911DemocraticAlabama19111914DemocraticOhio19141919RepublicanTennessee19191921RepublicanMinnesota19211930RepublicanIowa1930DemocraticSouth Carolina19311938DemocraticWashington19391942DemocraticNew York19431946
Committee on World War Veterans Legislation (1924–1946) NamePartyStateStartEndRepublicanSouth Dakota19241931DemocraticMississippi19311946
Committee on Veterans' Affairs (1947–present) + ChairsNamePartyStateStartEndRepublicanMassachusetts19471949DemocraticMississippi19491953RepublicanMassachusetts19531955DemocraticTexas19551973DemocraticSouth Carolina19731975DemocraticTexas19751981DemocraticMississippi19811995RepublicanArizona19952001RepublicanNew Jersey20012005RepublicanIndiana20052007DemocraticCalifornia20072011RepublicanCalifornia20112017RepublicanTennessee20172019DemocraticCalifornia20192023RepublicanIllinois2023present + Ranking membersNamePartyStateStartEndDemocraticMississippi19471949RepublicanMassachusetts19491953DemocraticTexas19531955RepublicanMassachusetts19551960RepublicanOhio19611965RepublicanIndiana19651969RepublicanCalifornia19691973RepublicanArkansas19731987RepublicanNew York19871989RepublicanArizona19891995DemocraticMississippi19951997DemocraticIllinois19972007RepublicanIndiana20072011DemocraticCalifornia20112012DemocraticMaine20122015DemocraticFlorida20152016ActingDemocraticCalifornia20162017DemocraticMinnesota20172019RepublicanTennessee20192021RepublicanIllinois20212023DemocraticCalifornia2023present
Past committee rosters 118th Congress MajorityMinorityMike Bost, Illinois, Chair Amata Coleman Radewagen, American Samoa Jack Bergman, Michigan Nancy Mace, South Carolina Matt Rosendale, Montana Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa Greg Murphy, North Carolina Scott Franklin, Florida Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin Morgan Luttrell, Texas Juan Ciscomani, Arizona Eli Crane, Arizona Keith Self, Texas Jen Kiggans, VirginiaMark Takano, California, Ranking Member Julia Brownley, California Mike Levin, California Chris Pappas, New Hampshire Frank J. Mrvan, Indiana Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Florida Chris Deluzio, Pennsylvania, Vice Ranking Member Morgan McGarvey, Kentucky Delia Ramirez, Illinois Greg Landsman, Ohio Nikki Budzinski, Illinois
Resolutions electing members: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (D), (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 SubcommitteeChairRanking MemberDisability Assistance and Memorial AffairsMorgan Luttrell (R-TX)Chris Pappas (D-NH)Economic OpportunityDerrick Van Orden (R-WI)Mike Levin (D-CA)HealthMariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA)Julia Brownley (D-CA)Oversight and InvestigationsJen Kiggans (R-VA)Frank J. Mrvan (D-IN)Technology ModernizationMatt Rosendale (R-MT) Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL)
117th Congress MajorityMinorityMark Takano, California, Chair Julia Brownley, California Conor Lamb, Pennsylvania Mike Levin, California, Vice Chair Chris Pappas, New Hampshire Elaine Luria, Virginia