Department of Veterans Affairs federal obligations

$741 billion across 1.24 million VA awards

The precise obligation total is $740,987,229,377.11. Spread over 1,237,615 awards, the implied mean is about $599,000 per award. That average mixes hospital-system contracts, community-care actions, construction, and smaller purchases. It is not a typical disability-compensation payment. USAspending stores award actions; compensation rolls live in other VA systems that this packet does not include.

Fiscal year 2026 is the latest year. The $740,987,229,377.11 sum is the indexed obligation book through that cap, not a one-year medical-care appropriation.

That mix is the research takeaway from the two packet facts together. 1,237,615 records mix hospital-system contracts, community care, construction, and smaller purchases. A later extract can change both the dollar total and the award count as health-system modifications continue to post inside the FY 2026 cap.

CGAC 036 as the awarding-agency key

SpendingVault’s VA hub is /agencies/036/, keyed to CGAC 036. Sub-offices may appear on individual USAspending rows, but this guide does not split $740,987,229,377.11 by administration. The 1,237,615 award count is a record count for that awarding-agency tag. A veteran receiving care is not an “award” in this table unless a corresponding award record exists in the file.

Obligations, outlays, and VA medical care

Readers often equate VA spending with hospital outlays. USAspending.gov reports obligations—commitments—on contracts and assistance. The $740,987,229,377.11 figure can include multi-year facility and IT commitments that disburse after FY 2026. It can also omit benefit payments that never appear as USAspending award rows. Cite the packet facts; do not treat the hub as a complete picture of every VA dollar.

Researchers sometimes treat an agency obligation total as cash already paid. For Department of Veterans Affairs, that reading is wrong. Disability-compensation rolls, a veteran headcount, or a medical-care appropriation for one year belong in other publications. The USAspending figure on this hub remains an obligation sum through FY 2026. Health-system modifications continue to post inside the FY 2026 cap.

Where VA obligations show up by state

The state table for CGAC 036 follows place-of-performance geography. A national contract coded to one state will inflate that cell even if work occurs in VA facilities elsewhere. Use the map to inspect how $740,987,229,377.11 is labeled, then read individual awards on the agency page if you need the underlying actions. The 1,237,615 count is the parent population for those geographic splits.

Place-of-performance is a coding field, not a complete economic-impact model. On this agency, a national community-care contract coded to one state can dwarf facility-coded rows elsewhere. Read the state table after the agency hub, not instead of it. Open CGAC 036 for the award list, then the state table as place-of-performance coding.

Using the all-agencies list with VA

On the all-agencies ranking, VA’s $740,987,229,377.11 and 1,237,615 awards are comparable only to other obligation totals from this extract through FY 2026. An agency with fewer awards and similar dollars has a different mix, not a better or worse veterans program. The hub offers no clinical or eligibility advice.

The all-agencies list is useful only inside this extract’s obligation definition and FY 2026 cap. 1,237,615 records mix hospital-system contracts, community care, construction, and smaller purchases. Ranking on dollars alone hides that mix. Open CGAC 036 for the award list, then the state table as place-of-performance coding.

What a VA researcher can and cannot take from this extract

The packet facts are $740,987,229,377.11, 1,237,615 awards, CGAC 036, and FY 2026. Those four items describe the USAspending award file. They do not describe wait times, enrollment, or individual veterans.

The implied mean near $599,000 is a quotient of the two totals. A typical disability payment is not in the packet and is not cited. Rank VA on the all-agencies list only against other obligation sums from this extract. CGAC 036 is the awarding-agency identifier on every row in this rollup, and the overlay path stays /agencies/036/. The award population is 1,237,615 records. Those rows still sum to the same obligation total through fiscal year 2026. Readers who need place-of-performance should open the state table from that hub; readers who need peer context should open the all-agencies list. Neither view converts obligations into outlays. CGAC 036 is the awarding-agency identifier on every row in this rollup, and the overlay path stays /agencies/036/. The award population is 1,237,615 records. Those rows still sum to the same obligation total through fiscal year 2026. Readers who need place-of-performance should open the state table from that hub; readers who need peer context should open the all-agencies list. Neither view converts obligations into outlays.

Questions

How much has the VA obligated on USAspending through FY 2026?

The Department of Veterans Affairs total in this extract is $740,987,229,377.11 across 1,237,615 awards tagged to CGAC 036. That sum is an obligation figure from USAspending.gov, not a count of benefit checks and not a single-year medical-care appropriation.

What does awarding-agency code 036 mean?

CGAC 036 is the USAspending awarding-agency identifier for the Department of Veterans Affairs. SpendingVault’s VA page is keyed to that code. The $740,987,229,377.11 obligation total and 1,237,615 award count roll up rows carrying 036 through FY 2026.

Does the VA award count equal the number of veterans served?

No. The 1,237,615 figure counts award records—contracts, grants, and other actions—not unique veterans. Dollar volume on those records is $740,987,229,377.11. Beneficiary statistics are published elsewhere and are not in this packet.

How do I see VA federal spending by state?

Open the state table from the CGAC 036 agency hub. It uses place-of-performance fields on the same USAspending obligation extract that sums to $740,987,229,377.11 through FY 2026. Geographic coding can differ from where veterans live.