VA Forms Team to Address Racial Disparities in Veterans' Benefits

The Department of Veterans Affairs has established a new equity team, the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Council (I*DEA), to address health and benefits inequities among veterans as a result of racial, sex or gender discrimination. The VA has also created a new equity assurance office in the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) that will work with the council to eliminate disparities in benefits decisions, including disability compensation and housing and education benefits. The I*DEA Council and equity assurance office will look specifically at inequities in providing benefits and establish policies to ensure that all veterans are treated fairly.