[20200820]IF11626_武装部队退休之家.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov August 20, 2020The Armed Forces Retirement HomeSince the late 1700s, Congress has established numerous federal programs to provide housing, housing assistance, and health care support to certain wounded, ill, or injured servicemembers, military retirees, and other veterans. Some of those programs included the establishment of military asylums for temporarily or permanently disabled servicemembers. Most military asylums have since closed or been transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or state agencies that separately or jointly administer a variety of residential social support programs. Congress also later established the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH) as the only federal military retirement community. In so doing, AFRH absorbed two previously existing military asylums, later converted to Department of Defense-affiliated retirement homes. AFRH now provides residential care to military retirees and certain other veterans. Background The Naval Home On February 26, 1811, Congress directed the establishment of Navy hospitals (2 Stat. 650). Then-Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton utilized that authority to establish an interim Navy h