How much research funding does the Department of Veterans Affairs receive?

VA had about $1.8 billion in R&D budget authority in fiscal year 2025.

VA Budget History: Federal Funding 1976–2026

The Department of Veterans Affairs runs its research the intramural way: through the Medical and Prosthetic Research program, embedded directly in VA hospitals. Because its studies happen inside the country's largest integrated health system, VA research has produced advances in prosthetics, rehabilitation, and mental health care that reach far beyond veterans.

One artifact to know about in this chart: the reported budget more than doubled in 1997, from $263 million to $588 million in current dollars. That jump reflects the series widening what it counts, not a sudden windfall. From there the real story is quiet, steady growth — to an inflation-adjusted peak of about $1.5 billion in 2017 dollars in 2024.

Fiscal year 2025 came in at about $1.8 billion in current dollars. The 2026 estimate of $1.9 billion — from the White House budget request — makes VA one of only two agencies in this series (with Homeland Security) whose 2026 request came in above its 2025 level. Congress has since enacted the FY 2026 budget, setting the Medical and Prosthetic Research appropriation at $945 million; the budget-cycle section below has the detail.

The current budget cycle: FY 2026 enacted, FY 2027 requested

What Congress enacted for fiscal year 2026 and what the White House has requested for FY 2027, account by account. Budget authority in millions of dollars.

Account	FY 2026 enacted	FY 2027 request	Change
Medical & Prosthetic Research	$945M	$922M	-2.4%

See the full appropriations tracker across every agency

Budget history

Veterans' research funding roughly doubled overnight in 1997 as reported coverage widened, then grew steadily to a real-terms peak in 2024.

The VA research and development (R&D) budget, every fiscal year on record.

Millions of constant 2017 dollars — adjusted for inflationFY 2026: budget-request estimate

Source: AAAS Historical R&D Data · as of 2025-10-23

1997 — Reported coverage widens. The reported total more than doubles — from $263 million to $588 million — as the series widens what it counts.
2024 — Real-terms peak. Veterans' research reaches its inflation-adjusted high, about $1.5 billion in 2017 dollars.

See the numbers behind this chart

VA research and development (R&D) budget by fiscal year. Dollar values in millions; source AAAS Historical R&D Data.
Fiscal year	Nominal dollars	Constant 2017 dollars	R&D share of GDP
1976	114	397	0.006%
1977	113	367	0.006%
1978	115	350	0.005%
1979	123	346	0.005%
1980	136	352	0.005%
1981	159	375	0.005%
1982	139	306	0.004%
1983	161	340	0.005%
1984	197	401	0.005%
1985	214	422	0.005%
1986	185	357	0.004%
1987	223	421	0.005%
1988	197	361	0.004%
1989	218	383	0.004%
1990	218	370	0.004%
1991	224	367	0.004%
1992	250	398	0.004%
1993	253	394	0.004%
1994	277	422	0.004%
1995	263	393	0.003%
1996	263	386	0.003%
1997	588	847	0.007%
1998	587	835	0.007%
1999	644	905	0.007%
2000	645	888	0.006%
2001	719	967	0.007%
2002	756	1,001	0.007%
2003	817	1,061	0.007%
2004	866	1,098	0.007%
2005	742	913	0.006%
2006	769	917	0.006%
2007	819	950	0.006%
2008	886	1,007	0.006%
2009	943	1,061	0.007%
2010	1,034	1,153	0.007%
2011	1,160	1,268	0.008%
2012	1,160	1,245	0.007%
2013	1,164	1,227	0.007%
2014	1,101	1,140	0.006%
2015	1,178	1,207	0.007%
2016	1,222	1,243	0.007%
2017	1,346	1,346	0.007%
2018	1,286	1,258	0.006%
2019	1,370	1,316	0.006%
2020	1,366	1,295	0.006%
2021	1,445	1,324	0.006%
2022	1,588	1,360	0.006%
2023	1,684	1,380	0.006%
2024	1,826	1,457	0.006%
2025	1,839	1,436	0.006%
2026est.	1,864	1,426	0.006%

Where the money goes

One program carries the budget: Medical and Prosthetic Research, run inside VA hospitals.

The major VA budget lines tracked by AAAS. These are appropriations accounts — they overlap the budget-history series but are not an exact decomposition of it.

Millions of constant 2017 dollars — adjusted for inflationFY 2026: budget-request estimateMedical and Prosthetic Research