Federal programs to support veterans received about $120 billion in funding in 2012. That funding covers a wide array of services, including pensions, health care, education benefits, life insurance programs, compensation for injuries, and home loans. CBO analyzes the budgetary and broader impacts of those services and of proposals to change those services.
Veterans' Issues
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Costs of Military Pay and Benefits in the Defense BudgetNov 2012 - For fiscal year 2013, the Department of Defense has requested $150 billion for pay and benefits for current and retired military personnel--more than one-quarter of DoD’s total budget (excluding funding for military operations in Afghanistan).
The Veterans Health Administration's Treatment of PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury Among Recent Combat VeteransFeb 2012 - Through September 2011, about 740,000 veterans from overseas contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan had been treated by the VHA. That number is slightly more than half of all recent veterans eligible for care by VHA.
Potential Costs of Health Care for Veterans of Recent and Ongoing U.S. Military OperationsJul 2011 - Testimony before the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, United States Senate.
Potential Costs of Veterans' Health CareOct 2010 - CBO examines prospective demands on VA's health care system and the potential budgetary implications of meeting veterans' health care needs over the 2011–2020 period.
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Information about the Congressional Budget Office’s budgetary treatment of major medical facility leases of the Department of Veterans Affairs
cost estimateMarch 22, 2013H.R. 258, the Stolen Valor Act of 2013
cost estimateMarch 19, 2013H.R. 933, the Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013
cost estimateMarch 4, 2013Military Retirement—February 2013 Baseline
data or technical informationFebruary 5, 2013H.R. 235, the Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2013
cost estimateJanuary 31, 2013S. 3202, Dignified Burial and Other Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2012
cost estimateDecember 19, 2012S. 3313, Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act of 2012
cost estimateNovember 29, 2012Costs of Military Pay and Benefits in the Defense Budget
reportNovember 14, 2012
Use this menu to filter CBO's publications by topic. From January 2011 forward, all the agency's products are categorized by topic. Cost estimates released prior to the 112th Congress are not categorized by topic.