[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 108 (Tuesday, August 4, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO AUTHORIZE A NATIONAL VETERANS CEMETERY 
   TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN METROPOLITAN ATLANTA IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA

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                             HON. BOB BARR

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 4, 1998

  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce to my 
colleagues in the House of Representatives that I am introducing 
legislation authorizing a national veteran's cemetery to be constructed 
in the metropolitan Atlanta area in the State of Georgia.
  I urge my colleagues in the House to support this effort not just on 
behalf of the veterans in Georgia but veterans across our nation.
  Our nation has a sacred obligation to fulfill the promises we made to 
our veterans when they agreed to risk and, in many cases, give their 
lives to protect the freedoms we all enjoy. One of those promises was a 
military burial in a national cemetery.
  Speaker Gingrich is an original cosponsor to this important piece of 
legislation. The Speaker has been a dedicated advocate of the veterans 
in the state of Georgia and of this country. In addition, I want to 
thank the other Members of the Georgia delegation for their support of 
our efforts. Congressmen Collins, Kingston, Linder, Chambliss, Deal, 
Lewis, and Bishop realize the importance of the veterans in Georgia.
  Sadly, the access of many veterans in Georgia to military burial has 
been blocked due to the lack of a national cemetery near their homes 
and the homes of their loved ones. Georgia has no National Cemetery 
space available. None. This situation is inexcusable, and we must take 
immediate steps to remedy it.
  The legislation we are introducing today is an important first step 
in creating a new national veterans cemetery. Senators Cleland and 
Coverdell are introducing a companion measure in the United States 
Senate.
  Establishing a national cemetery in Georgia would give veterans and 
their families accessibility and the recognition they deserve.
  There are currently over 700,000 veterans living in Georgia. Some 
450,000 of these veterans live in the Atlanta metropolitan area. 
Atlanta is the largest metropolitan area in the United States without a 
useable national cemetery.
  Georgia currently has only one national cemetery located in Marietta. 
However, this resting area for so many veterans has been full since 
1970. The nearest national cemeteries accepting burials are in Alabama 
and Tennessee; neither of which are accessible to Georgia's 450,000 
veterans who live in the Atlanta Metropolitan area.
  Placing a national cemetery in the Atlanta area will alleviate the 
pressure on the cemeteries in Tennessee and Alabama.
  According to a National Cemetery System report, Atlanta, Georgia was 
listed as one of the ten geographic areas in the United States in which 
a need for a burial space for veterans is the greatest. The Atlanta 
area has had this designation now for two decades.
  This legislation is supported by Pete Wheeler, Commissioner of the 
Georgia Veteran's Association, and the Georgia Disabled American 
Veterans, the American Legion, and other veterans' groups. I ask all 
veterans groups to support this legislation because it is only 
appropriate for Georgia's heroes to be allowed to be laid to rest in 
their home state.
  This has been a long awaited process for Georgia veterans. These men 
and women deserve a proper resting place. The legislation we are 
introducing today is an important first step in creating a new national 
cemetery.

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