[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 44 (Wednesday, April 20, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 20, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
        EXTENDING ELIGIBILITY FOR BURIAL IN NATIONAL CEMETERIES

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate 
a message from the House of Representatives on a bill (H.R. 821) to 
amend title 38, United States Code, to extend eligibility for burial in 
national cemeteries to persons who have 20 years of service creditable 
for retired pay as members of a Reserve component of the Armed Forces.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the House of Representatives:

       Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of the 
     Senate to the bill (H.R. 821) entitled ``An Act to amend 
     title 38, United States Code, to extend eligibility for 
     burial in national cemeteries to persons who have 20 years of 
     service creditable for retired pay as members of a reserve 
     component of the Armed Forces'', with the following 
     amendments:
       In lieu of the matter inserted by said amendment, insert:

     SECTION 1. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN RESERVISTS AND DEPENDENTS 
                   FOR BURIAL IN NATIONAL CEMETERIES.

       (a) Reservists.--Section 2402 of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting after paragraph (6) the 
     following new paragraph (7):
       ``(7) Any person who at the time of death was entitled to 
     retired pay under chapter 67 of title 10 or would have been 
     entitled to retired pay under that chapter but for the fact 
     that the person was under 60 years of age.''.
       (b) Dependents.--Paragraph (5) of such section is amended 
     by inserting ``and paragraph (7)'' after ``paragraphs (1) 
     through (4)''.
       Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to amend title 38, 
     United States Code, to extend eligibility for burial in 
     national cemeteries to persons who have 20 years of service 
     creditable for retired pay as members of a reserve component 
     of the Armed Forces and to their dependents.''.

  Mr. HEFLIN. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate concur, en bloc, 
in the amendments of the House and the motion to reconsider, en bloc, 
be laid upon the table; that any statements relative to this item 
appear in the appropriate place in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, as chairman of the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs, I am delighted to support the final passage of H.R. 
821, a bill to extend eligibility for burial in national cemeteries to 
those who served 20 years in the National Guard or Reserve components 
of the Armed Forces, and to their families.
  Mr. President, this bill is derived from S. 1128, introduced by my 
good friend and colleague on the committee, Senator Akaka, who has been 
a longstanding advocate for reservists. The language of Senator Akaka's 
bill, with some minor changes, was incorporated into an original bill, 
S. 1620, which was reported by the committee on November 4, 1993. The 
Senate passed the text of S. 1620 on November 11, 1993, as a substitute 
amendment to H.R. 821. The compromise agreement that is before the 
Senate today is essentially the same bill that we passed last year, 
with only minor drafting and conforming changes.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a joint explanatory 
statement on H.R. 821, developed by the two Committees on Veterans' 
Affairs, be printed in the Record following my remarks. This joint 
statement, which describes the compromise agreement on H.R. 821, was 
previously inserted in the Record by the chairman of the House 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Representative G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery, 
during House debate on Monday, April 18.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 Joint Explanatory Statement of H.R. 821, a Bill To Extend Eligibility 
  for Burial in National Cemeteries to Reservists and Their Dependents

       This document explains the provisions and legislative 
     history of measures relating to eligibility for burial in 
     national cemeteries for individuals who have served 20 years 
     in a reserve component and for their dependents. These 
     provisions have been passed by the Senate and House of 
     Representatives, agreed upon by the Senate and House 
     Committees on Veterans' Affairs, and are offered as a 
     proposed House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 821.
       The measures referred to above are H.R. 821 as passed by 
     the House on August 2, 1993 (hereinafter referred to as the 
     ``House bill''), and the text of S. 1620 as reported (without 
     written report) as an original bill on November 4, 1993, and 
     as passed by the Senate on November 11, 1993, as a substitute 
     amendment to H.R. 821 (hereinafter referred to as the 
     ``Senate amendment''). The Senate amendment was derived from 
     S. 1128, which was introduced on July 17, 1993.
       The differences between the House bill and the Senate 
     amendment are noted below, except for clerical corrections, 
     conforming changes made necessary for the compromise 
     agreement, and minor drafting, technical, and clarifying 
     changes.
       Current law: Under current law, the only members of Reserve 
     components of the Armed Forces who are eligible for burial in 
     a national cemetery are those who:
       1. Die under honorable conditions while hospitalized or 
     undergoing treatment at the expense of the United States for 
     injury or disease contracted or incurred under honorable 
     conditions while such member is performing active duty for 
     training, inactive duty training, or traveling to and from 
     such duty;
       2. Are disabled or die from disease or injury incurred or 
     aggravated in line of duty during or enroute to or from 
     active duty for training; and
       3. Are disabled or die from injury (but not disease) 
     incurred or aggravated in line of duty during or enroute to 
     or from inactive duty training.
       House bill: The House bill would grant eligibility for 
     burial in a national cemetery to any person who at the time 
     of death was entitled to retirement pay for service in a 
     reserve component of the Armed Forces or would have been 
     entitled to retirement pay but for the fact that the person 
     was under 60 years old.
       Senate amendment: The Senate amendment is substantively 
     similar to the House bill, but adds a provision granting 
     eligibility for burial in national cemeteries to the spouses 
     and dependents of eligible reservists.
       Compromise agreement: The compromise agreement follows the 
     Senate amendment with some minor technical and conforming 
     changes.

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise in support of the House amendment to 
the Senate amendment to H.R 821, legislation that would extend 
eligibility for burial in the national cemetery system, which includes 
the 59 open national cemeteries operated by the Department of Veterans 
Affairs [VA] and the 40 State veterans cemeteries that conform to VA 
eligibility standards, to members of the National Guard and Reserve who 
have served a minimum of 20 years and are eligible for retirement pay 
and their dependents.
  Mr. President, the Senate approved H.R. 821 in substantially the same 
form late last year, but because certain technical conforming 
amendments were inadvertently left out of the Senate-passed bill, the 
House delayed final action on the measure. The measure we are 
considering today contains these minor technical corrections.
  H.R. 821 is derived from legislation I introduced last year, S. 1128, 
that was cosponsored by Senators Craig, Dashle, DeConcini, Dorgan, 
Ford, Hatch, Heflin, Inouye, Jeffords, Kerrey, Pressler, Robb, and 
Shelby. S. 1128, in turn, was based on original legislation I 
introduced in the 102d Congress, S. 2961, that called for providing 
headstones, burial flags, as well as the interment benefit to career 
reservists. Congress managed to approve the headstone and burial flag 
provisions of S. 2961 in 1992, but deferred consideration of the 
interment benefit until the current Congress.
  Mr. President, an estimated 235,000 reservists gallantly served in 
the Persian Gulf war. Their outstanding performance alongside active 
duty soldiers amply fulfilled the aim of our Total Force policy. The 
desert conflict foreshadowed the military's post-cold-war trend toward 
greater reliance on the Reserve component. Indeed, today's Guard and 
Reserve train to the same standards as their active duty counterparts 
and are increasingly undertaking missions for the active duty military. 
In effect, today's reservists are continuous members of the total 
force, indistinguishable in performance from the so-called regular 
military.
  H.R. 821 recognizes the growing importance of the Guard and Reserve 
by extending to the most dedicated among them, the career reservists 
who have devoted at least 20 years of their lives to our defense, the 
final and most basic right of burial in a national cemetery. H.R. 821 
also extends burial eligibility to their spouses and dependents.
  This legislation will not substantially affect VA's ability to 
provide burials benefits to other veterans. According to my best 
estimates, the bill will result in between 365 to 828 additional 
burials annually--approximately 1 percent or less of VA's current 
annual interment rate of nearly 70,000 for burials in national 
cemeteries operated by the Department. Even this figure is probably 
overstated, because a significant number of eligible reservists is 
likely to choose burial in State veterans cemeteries, which is also 
authorized under this measure.
  In addition, given that there are some 608,000 developed gravesites 
available at the 59 open national cemeteries and the 40 State veterans 
cemeteries which conform to VA eligibility criteria--with a potential 
of 2.7 million more spaces if undeveloped land is developed at these 
facilities--it is clear that this legislation will have a negligible 
effect on nonreservist veterans.
  This bill has the support of all the major veterans organizations as 
well as the Military Coalition, which represents 24 military advocacy 
organizations. According to the Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 821 
is expected to cost less than $500,000 a year, and thus has no pay-as-
you-go implications.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. The least we can do 
to recognize the contributions of career reservists, the backbone of 
the reserves, is to provide them with an honored resting place in our 
national cemetery system, alongside others who have worn the uniform.
  In closing, Mr. President, I would like to extend my appreciation to 
Chairman Rockefeller and the staff of the Veterans' Affairs Committee 
for their assistance in facilitating enactment of this measure. I would 
especially like to recognize the help of Pete Dougherty, a former 
committee staffer, in developing and promoting this legislation.

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