United States Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs

The Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in the United States government, is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, responsible for a nationwide system of health care services, benefits programs, and national cemeteries for America's veterans and their dependents.^[1] The Deputy Secretary is the second-highest ranking officer in the Department and succeeds the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the event of his resignation, death, or otherwise inability to fulfill his duties.^[2]

The Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.^[3] The position was created with the creation of the Department of Veterans Affairs in October 1988.^[4]

W. Scott Gould is currently Deputy Secretary.^[1]

Since the creation of the Department in 1989, the following people have served as Deputy Secretary:

Name	Portrait	Term of Office		President(s) served under
		Start	End
Anthony Joseph Principi #		March 17, 1989[5]	September 26, 1992[5]	George H. W. Bush
Hershel Wayne Gober #		February 4, 1993[6]	August 10, 2000[7]	Bill Clinton
Edward A. "Ned" Powell, Jr. (acting)		August 10, 2000[7]	January 20, 2001[8]
Leo S. Mackay, Jr.		May 24, 2001[9]	September 30, 2003[10]	George W. Bush
Gordon H. Mansfield #		January 22, 2004[11]	January 20, 2009
W. Scott Gould		April 9, 2009[12]	present	Barack Obama

References

^ Acted as Secretary during their tenure. See the list of Secretaries for dates.

1. ^ ^{a b} US Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Official Biography The Honorable W. Scott Gould. April 2009. Accessed 2009-04-14. (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5g1K10T8D) "W. Scott Gould was nominated by President Obama to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and subsequently confirmed by the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on April 2, 2009."
2. ^ "Memorandum for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs". http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030212-11.html. Retrieved 2007-09-24. 
3. ^ 38 U.S.C. § 304: Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Accessed 2007-09-24.
4. ^ "Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress)". http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d100:1:./temp/~bdwNCZ:@@@L&summ2=m&. Retrieved 2007-09-24. 
5. ^ ^{a b} White House. "Anthony Principi Secretary of Veterans Affairs 2001–2005". http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/principi-bio.html. Retrieved 2005-09-24. "Mr. Principi served as Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, VA's second-highest executive position, from March 17, 1989, to September 26, 1992, when he was named Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs by President George Bush." 
6. ^ US Department of Veterans Affairs. The Honorable Hershel W. Gober. July 2000. Accessed 2008-01-15. "He had served as Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs since being sworn in by President Clinton on February 4, 1993."
7. ^ ^{a b} US Department of Veterans Affairs. Ned Powell Named Acting VA Deputy Secretary. 2000-08-09. Accessed 2008-01-15. "President Clinton has appointed Edward A. (Ned) Powell, Jr., as the Acting Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)."
8. ^ Cahoon. Ben. Department of Veterans Affairs. WorldStatesmen.org. Accessed 2008-01-15.
9. ^ US Department of Veterans Affairs. Leo S. Mackay, Jr., Ph.D. at the Wayback Machine. January 2002. Accessed 2008-01-16. "Leo S. Mackay Jr., Ph.D., was nominated to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs on April 30, 2001, and was confirmed by the Senate on May 24."
10. ^ US Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Leo Mackay Steps Down as VA Deputy Secretary 2003-11-15. Accessed 2008-01-16. "Dr. Leo S. Mackay Jr. announced his resignation today as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), effective September 30."
11. ^ US Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Official Biography The Honorable Gordon H. Mansfield. November 2006. Accessed 2008-01-16. "Mr. Mansfield was nominated to serve as Deputy Secretary by President George W. Bush on November 3, 2003, and confirmed by the Senate on January 22, 2004."
12. ^ "Gould Sworn in as Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs" (Press release). Department of Veterans Affairs. 2009-04-09. http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1665. Retrieved 2009-04-26. "W. Scott Gould, a retired naval reservist and senior executive with experience in the Federal government and the private sector, has taken the oath of office as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)."  (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5gJqcWTVT)