A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ABOUT VETERANS ISSUES, ORGANIZATIONS, EVENTS AND OUR MILITARY HEROES
VOL. 9/ISSUE 7
THURSDAY • DECEMBER 24, 2020
35 CENTS
A history of the
Secretary of Veteran Affairs
STORY ON PAGE 7
President Ronald Reagan signed the Department of Veteran Affairs Act on Oct. 25, 1988. On March 15, 1989, the Veterans Administration transitioned to the cabinet-level Department of Veteran Affairs. Reagan’s successor, George H.W. Bush named the first Secretary of Veteran Affairs, Ed Derwinski. He was popular with veterans, but that eroded overnight in 1992 when Derwinski proposed opening VA facilities to non-veterans. Derwinski resigned in a bid to help Bush get reelected. Department of Veterans Affairs archival photo