[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 154 (Wednesday, October 29, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H10054-H10058]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                NATIONAL CEMETERY EXPANSION ACT OF 2003

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 1516) to provide for 
the establishment by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of five 
additional cemeteries in the National Cemetery System.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Senate amendments:
       Page 2, line 8, strike out ``five'' and insert ``six.''
       Page 2, after line 18, insert: (6) The Sarasota County, 
     Florida, area.
       Page 3, line 17, strike out ``five'' and insert ``six''.
       Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to provide for the 
     establishment by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of 
     additional cemeteries in the National Cemetery 
     Administration.''

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the other body acted upon H.R. 1516 as 
amended in such a timely manner. Our action today will clear this 
measure for the President's signature. I am hopeful that we will have 
the opportunity to clear most, if not all, of our veterans measures 
which the House has acted upon before we adjourn next week.
  The VA adopted a goal, Mr. Speaker, of providing the option of burial 
in a national or State veterans cemetery to 90 percent of the veterans 
within 75 miles of their homes. H.R. 1516, as amended, would help the 
VA meet that goal in six additional locations. It reflects the findings 
of a recently-completed VA study which determined the areas in the 
country most in need of a new national cemetery.
  H.R. 1516, as amended, would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
to establish a new national cemetery not later than 4 years after the 
date of enactment in six areas determined to be most in need of such a 
cemetery. Those locations include the areas of southern Pennsylvania, 
which will serve 170,000 veterans; Birmingham, Alabama, which will 
serve 212,000 veterans; Jacksonville, Florida, which will serve 189,000 
veterans; Bakersfield, California, which will serve 184,000 veterans; 
Greenville/Columbia, South Carolina, which will serve 169,000 veterans; 
and, Sarasota County, Florida, which will serve 406,000 veterans.
  The Senate amendments to the House bill add the Sarasota County 
location to the other five. I want to thank especially the gentlewoman 
from Florida (Ms. Harris) for her timely intervention in ensuring that 
we included that in our legislation and adopted this Senate amendment 
to our house bill.
  All told, Mr. Speaker, more than 1.3 million veterans and their 
survivors will benefit from these additional cemeteries. The Secretary 
would be required to use the advanced planning funds to begin the work 
necessary for establishment of each cemetery.
  Additionally, in determining the specific cemetery locations, the 
bill would require that the Secretary solicit the advice and views of 
the State and local veterans organizations representatives and other 
individuals as the Secretary deems appropriate.
  I would especially like to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Gerlach) who is the prime sponsor of the bill and his staff for his 
work on the bill, as well as the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Harris) 
and her staff, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown), our very 
distinguished chairman of the subcommittee, and the gentleman from 
Maine (Mr. Michaud) who worked very hard in ensuring that this 
legislation was properly crafted and met the needs of our veterans. As 
always, I want to thank my good friend and colleague, the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Evans), and his staff for their good work on this 
bill as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

[[Page H10055]]

  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1516, the National 
Cemetery Expansion Act of 2003, as amended, by the Senate. I want to 
thank the chairman and ranking member of the full committee, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), and the ranking member, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), for their leadership on the 
committee. I also want to extend a personal thanks to the gentleman 
from South Carolina (Mr. Brown), the chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Benefits for his work in helping craft this legislation.
  H.R. 1516 provided for the authorization and establishment of six new 
national cemeteries in accordance with the VA's most current burial 
needs assessment report.

                              {time}  1330

  The Senate amended this bill to include a sixth national cemetery to 
be located in Sarasota County, Florida.
  Adding this sixth national cemetery is necessary so that we may 
provide much-needed burial services to an area of the country with a 
high and increasing veterans population.
  I know how important burial in a veterans cemetery is to our national 
veterans. Many brave men and women who put on a uniform to protect us 
during World War II and the Korean War pass from us every day. The 
veterans of this Nation deserve nothing less than an honored and 
dignified final resting place.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1516 is a good bill, an important bill; and I urge 
all Members to support its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown).
  Mr. BROWN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 1516, as amended, and reiterate the comments of our chairman in 
commending the other body for acting so quickly.
  In December of 2001, the Logistics Management Institute recorded 
their finding on the current and future burial needs for veterans. 
Their findings were based on VA providing a burial option for 90 
percent of the veterans residing within a 75-mile service area of an 
open national or State cemetery.
  LMI concluded that 31 additional veterans cemeteries will be needed 
over the next 20 years in increments of 5 years. H.R. 1516, as amended, 
will require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a new 
national cemetery in the top six areas of need within 4 years of the 
date of enactment of this act.
  The six cemeteries identified in today's bill would serve over 1 
million veterans. Among the six is a new cemetery in the Greenville/
Columbia, South Carolina, area. Since I served for 16 years in the 
State House in Columbia, I understand firsthand how important this is 
to the veterans in that area. This cemetery would serve more than 
169,000 veterans and their survivors, and I am pleased it is included 
in this bill.
  I want to thank the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Benefits, 
the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud), as well as the chairman and 
ranking member of the full committee, the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans). Time and time 
again these folks showed their commitment to our veterans and their 
families.
  Mr. Speaker, with this bill we expand the opportunities for burial in 
the national veterans cemetery, which is no less than our final show of 
gratitude to our servicemembers. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
1516, as amended.
  Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Evans), the ranking member.
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1516, the 
National Cemetery Expansion Act of 2003, as amended by the Senate.
  We all know the men and women of the Greatest Generation who have 
served this country so grandly in World War II and Korea have reached 
their senior years. Approximately 1,500 veterans from all eras pass 
each day from this planet, and the rate is projected to increase in 
years to come. It is our responsibility to provide proper final resting 
places for all these heroes.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns).
  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I enthusiastically rise in support of H.R. 
1516, and I am especially pleased we are going to have a national 
cemetery finally in Jacksonville, Florida. This is in the northeast 
central Florida corridor where we have a high military presence. We had 
this area represented by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw) and, 
of course, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown) and 
recently by Representative John Mica. All four of us serve Jacksonville 
and north central Florida. All of us are very pleased that this 
cemetery is coming. I am proud that the Jacksonville cemetery has been 
the intent of my bill, H.R. 197, and others that I have offered during 
the last 6 years of Congress.
  I thought I would just briefly in the time I have also talk about 
Jacksonville, as why it is such a strategic place for a national VA 
cemetery. Even before the United States was even a country, there have 
been veterans fighting in Jacksonville, so it is altogether fitting to 
establish a national VA cemetery here. Its very name was initially, and 
is presently, chosen in honor of war heroes. It has a strategic 
location. It is prominent on the Atlantic Ocean. It has a port, and it 
has been in many conflicts since its founding.
  It was caught in the crossfires of war with Spain, France, the 
Revolutionary War, and the Seminole Indian War. It was occupied 
numerous times during the Civil War. And during World War I, 25 
steamers were launched from Jacksonville ports. In late February 1942, 
German spies made it on the shore of Ponte Vedra, but fortunately they 
were captured before they could blow up Florida's railroad lines and 
stop the shipment of war supplies.
  Mr. Speaker, during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, this port was active 
again. Jacksonville moved supplies and personnel more than any other 
port in the country. Nearby Blount Island has a command on the St. 
John's River in Jacksonville. It is the site of the Marine Corps' 
Maritime Prepositioning Ships, MPS. Employment of MPS assets during 
Desert Storm and Desert Shield, Restore Hope, Continued Hope in 
Somalia, and the present Operation Restore Freedom and Operation Iraqi 
Freedom decisively demonstrate the utility of these expeditionary 
forces.
  We have also the Mayport Naval Air Station with an aircraft carrier 
station there. We have the naval air station and depot there also.
  Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of veterans, a lot of military history 
and presence in Jacksonville; and I just want to remind my colleagues 
that it is a very, very good place, a resting place for our veterans.
  Of course, like others who will speak on behalf of their cemetery, 
the 2000 U.S. Census shows the revised projections forecasting a 
population of just under 200,000 by the year 2005. I think that 
demonstrates what we all know, that a lot of veterans are moving into 
Florida, a lot of them are moving into northeast Florida to retire. 
They deserve a resting place with dignity and beauty. I think this 
cemetery will add a lot to that promise.
  Mr. Speaker, I will conclude by also mentioning our Nation's second 
largest veteran population and number one in age in terms of just who 
they are. Nearly 325,000 veterans call home somewhere in this area of 
northeast central Florida. It is interesting, a number of current 
active duty and armed servicemembers are calling Florida and 
Jacksonville their home. So they might retire in Texas or California or 
somewhere in the United States, and they will come back to Florida.
  We have a close proximity to our veterans hospital in Alachua County 
and Duval County, which have sent a lot of Reservists and National 
Guard to Iraq. So this whole area, Mr. Speaker, is demonstrating the 
importance of this cemetery. Of course, the next closest proximity is 
in Marietta, Georgia, which is just north of Atlanta. So a new national 
VA cemetery in Jacksonville will answer this unmet need not only for 
northern Floridians but also for southern Georgians.

[[Page H10056]]

  I appreciate the support of the chairman and subcommittee chairman. 
We are now providing a dignified, hallowed ground for our veterans. 
They deserve it.
  Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Hoeffel), a gentleman who has fought so diligently to 
make sure that the southeastern Pennsylvania cemetery was included in 
the bill.
  Mr. HOEFFEL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maine (Mr. 
Michaud) for yielding me time and for his leadership on the 
subcommittee that has brought this bill forward. I want to also thank 
the Chair of the subcommittee, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. 
Brown), and also the Chair and ranking member of the full committee, 
the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Evans).
  This bill, H.R. 1516, is very good legislation that will create new 
cemeteries across this country of ours, particularly in southeastern 
Pennsylvania where a tremendous need for a new veterans cemetery has 
been demonstrated throughout the years.
  In southeastern Pennsylvania, nearly 300,000 veterans live over 65 
miles from the closest veterans cemetery. And in that congested part of 
the State, the travel time to that open cemetery is long and arduous. 
And this veterans cemetery located somewhere in southeastern 
Pennsylvania will be a tremendous service to the families of veterans 
and a great way of honoring the service of those who have given so much 
to this country.
  Mr. Speaker, I really stood up to, in addition to indicating my 
support for the bill, my second purpose was to compliment the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gerlach) for the great job he did in breaking 
the logjam that existed over this issue.
  My predecessor, Jon Fox, and then I, introduced legislation in prior 
Congresses to establish a new veterans cemetery at Valley Forge 
National Historic Park, which is still a site that I would love to see 
chosen for this cemetery. But there are some legitimate objections to 
that park, and the dispute that we got into was sidetracking this 
proposal.
  The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gerlach) was able to figure out 
a way to break that logjam by creating a commission and giving the 
veterans commission some leeway to pick the appropriate site in 
consultation with veterans organizations back home. As we have moved 
forward, other areas of the country have decided this is also the right 
way to go, and so we have before us today a very sound bill that will 
establish new cemeteries. And that is what we are trying to do, not 
fight over locations and get hung up on various procedures, but to 
actually get the job done. So I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Gerlach). It was a pleasure to work with him. I was proud to be 
the leading Democratic co-sponsor of H.R. 1516 when the gentleman 
brought it forward.
  I have spoken with our former colleague, Mr. Jon Fox. He is thrilled 
with the progress on this; and, frankly, Senator Specter in the other 
body has greatly helped move this forward. So it has been a good 
bipartisan approach.
  Again, I thank the Chair, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), 
and the ranking member, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), for 
their great work. And we will be able to provide wonderful service now, 
hopefully in the next 4 years, in these new locations to create new 
veterans cemeteries to honor the veterans that have served this country 
and to remember the need to help their family members and their friends 
have the convenience of a veterans cemetery that is local to them and 
easy for them to get to to continue to honor these veterans for years 
to come.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Hoeffel) for his good work on this bill as well. This is a bipartisan 
bill, and he certainly did his part in making sure this legislation 
went forward, so I do want to thank him.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Gerlach), the prime sponsor of this bill, who has broken a logjam; 
and now we will soon have a bill signing in this important legislation, 
not just for Pennsylvania but for other regions as well; it will go 
forward to the President and will become law.
  Mr. GERLACH. Mr. Speaker, I first would like to thank the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the ranking member from Illinois (Mr. 
Evans) for their great work and their staffs' great work in bringing 
H.R. 1516 to the floor today. Special thanks to the lead Democrat 
sponsor of the legislation, the gentleman from Montgomery County, 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Hoeffel), for his persistence, not only in this 
session but in prior sessions to bring this to a conclusion today 
legislatively.
  I also would like to thank the Senator from Pennsylvania, Senator 
Specter, and his staff and ranking member, Senator Graham, for their 
work also over on the Senate in allowing us to move this forward.
  Most importantly, I would like to thank the veterans of southeastern 
Pennsylvania for their great service and sacrifice to our country over 
the years.
  This legislation was introduced last March to establish a new 
national veterans cemetery in southeastern Pennsylvania; and as that 
bill moved through the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I am very 
pleased to see that the additional sites were added for other areas of 
the country that likewise have the need to have veterans cemeteries for 
their veterans.
  The need for a cemetery in our area is well-documented and long 
overdue. The Philadelphia national cemetery is virtually closed with 
the exception of cremated remains to nearly 400,000 veterans that 
reside in the five counties and make up the metropolitan Philadelphia 
area.
  While cremation may be alternative to some, it is certainly not the 
preference to most; but unfortunately it is the only option for 
Philadelphia-area veterans currently if they want to have their remains 
reposed at a veterans cemetery close to home.
  The only other national cemetery in our region is the Indiantown Gap 
Cemetery, which is a long drive from Philadelphia and can be very 
difficult for widows, widowers, and other family members who want to 
visit the graves of their loved ones. I would note that more than 
290,000 area veterans live more than 65 miles from Indiantown Gap 
National Cemetery.
  The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has expressed his support for the 
establishment of a new cemetery in southeastern Pennsylvania after 
analyzing two factors not taken into account in the previous veterans 
affairs department study. First, the Beverly National Cemetery in 
nearby Burlington County, New Jersey, is filling up faster than 
expected and is only available to New Jersey veterans. Additionally, 
the department recently added Monroe County, Pennsylvania, to the 
greater Philadelphia service area, thereby increasing the number of the 
veterans in need to over 175,000, the statistical benchmark for the 
establishment of a new cemetery.

                              {time}  1345

  The Secretary also acknowledged that the Indiantown Gap National 
Cemetery in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, is at least 80 miles from 
Philadelphia, which contrasts with the Department's guidelines of 
having a veterans cemetery within 75 miles of a veteran's home.
  Consequently, the Secretary has expressed his support for a new 
cemetery in our area to honor those who would be laid to rest there. 
This legislation would provide for its establishment within a 4-year 
time period and allow for the input of local officials and veterans in 
determining its specific site.
  The importance of a veterans cemetery from our part of Pennsylvania 
has already been recognized for a long period of time. In 1862, the 
37th Congress created the National Cemetery of Philadelphia when they 
initially established what has become a large network of national 
cemeteries across the United States. Southeastern Pennsylvania veterans 
and the veterans living in the other areas included in the bill today 
should, like those in the past, have the opportunity to be buried close 
to home after providing the same level of heroic service and sacrifice 
to our Nation.
  I urge the support of the Members when we vote on this legislation 
and,

[[Page H10057]]

again, thank the chairman of the committee for his support.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), my good friend and colleague.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, first I wish to thank the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chair of the committee, and also the gentleman 
from South Carolina (Mr. Brown), the subcommittee chair, and also the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gerlach) for their leadership and the 
bipartisan support on both sides of the aisle for this much-needed 
legislation. I think that it is very appropriate that we follow the 
legislation that was just handled to take care of the medical concerns 
and need of our veterans by also taking care of their last wishes.
  Florida is so privileged to have two of the six new cemeteries that 
will be dedicated as national veterans cemeteries under this 
legislation, and what I was told by staff is that the basis of the 
designations is not done just by political power, but by actual need. 
And certainly Florida, whether it is south, central or northeast, is 
the recipient of so many of those men and women who served our Nation 
and have chosen to retire, to work and to live out their final days in 
our great State.
  So this is the very least that we can do. We have over 1,000 veterans 
dying across the land every day, World War II veterans and others, and 
again, many of them coming to Florida. As we adjust our medical needs 
and health care services to our veterans, it is also appropriate that 
we make this final adjustment that they have a decent burial place in 
our State where they have chosen to live, work and also to retire.
  I thank my colleagues for their leadership, and I urge the passage of 
this legislation.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 10 seconds.
  I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) for his contribution, 
and just remind him that his brother, Dan Mica, used to be on the House 
Committee on Veterans Affairs and never lost an opportunity to remind 
us how everyone, everybody ultimately moved to Florida from the 
northeast and everywhere else. So his point about need was very well-
taken.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Harris) who, again, worked very hard to ensure that the 
Sarasota provision was included in our bill.
  Ms. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise and urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1516, the 
National Cemetery Expansion Act of 2003, as amended by the Senate. On 
July 21, this House passed the original 1516 by unanimous consent. The 
bill directs the Secretary or Veterans Affairs to establish five 
additional cemeteries within the national cemetery system.
  Although the original version that we passed 3 months ago addresses 
the needs of hundreds of thousands of veterans across our Nation, that 
original version did not acknowledge the men and women of southwest 
Florida who comprise one of the Nation's largest population of 
veterans. Currently, Bay Pines National Cemetery in St. Petersburg, 
Florida, constitutes the closest national cemetery that serves 
southwest Florida's veterans. For many families, visiting this location 
involves a strenuous drive. Moreover, Bay Pines, which encompasses a 
mere 27.3 acres, accepts only cremated remains.
  I strongly believe that we should not impose this hardship of travel 
upon our veterans' families. Moreover, forcing a potentially 
objectionable method of entombment upon veterans, as a condition of 
receiving the final tribute they earned, is patently wrong.
  The Department of Veterans Affairs regards Bay Pines as an open 
cemetery for the 13th District's veterans until the year 2016. This 
designation means that the Department regards that cemetery as 
sufficient to serve their needs until that year. These brave men and 
women require a new national cemetery long before then.
  Thanks to the chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 
Senator Arlen Specter, and to our own extraordinary Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs chairman, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), 
and to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Gerlach), we have an opportunity to correct this oversight today.
  I respectfully urge my colleagues to accede to the amended version of 
H.R. 1516 that the Senate passed on October 17 which specifies the 
Department of Veterans Affairs shall establish a new national cemetery 
in the Sarasota, Florida, area. Upon the passage of H.R. 1516, 
approximately 406,000 veterans who live in my District finally have the 
opportunity to receive the internment, according to their wishes, in a 
place of honor, closer to their home.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), another friend 
and great advocate for this issue.
  Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time.
  I rise in support of House bill 1516 because it keeps a commitment, a 
sacred commitment to the men and women of our military. Our country has 
chosen to honor our veterans because of their sacrifice and because of 
their service. Our veterans did not serve to become heroes. They did 
not fight because they loved battle. Our veterans went to war because 
our country asked them to go to war. They fought to defend our freedom.
  Such supreme dedication demands supreme recognition, and that is what 
this bill does. In Florida, we have over 2 million veterans, but only 
four veterans cemeteries. One is completely full, one accepts only 
cremated remains, and two are over half a State away from my district 
in northeast Florida.
  This bill provides that a veterans cemetery will be built in 
northeast Florida. Our veterans want the cemetery. Our veterans need 
the cemetery, and most of all, our veterans deserve a cemetery.
  I urge the passage of this legislation.
  Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  In closing, I would like to urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I also want to once again thank the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the committee, for his working 
extremely hard with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), the 
ranking member, to make sure that we pass bipartisan legislation 
because veterans are from both political parties, and I think they 
deserve the very best, and I appreciate the excellent leadership from 
both the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman, and the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), the ranking member.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I, too, want to thank my friends and colleagues on the other side, 
the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud) and, of course, our 
distinguished chairman of the subcommittee who spoke earlier, and the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), the ranking member, just thank 
them for their good work on this, and the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Gerlach), of course the prime sponsor.
  I also want to thank Senator Specter who is the chairman of the 
Senate Veterans Committee with whom we worked on all of these issues, 
but he got this back very, very quickly in a way that actually improved 
it. So I want to thank him for that, and Senator Graham.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today I ask for support of 
H.R. 1516, which will establish national cemeteries in parts of the 
country where they are needed the most, in--Southeastern Pennsylvania; 
Birmingham, Alabama; Bakersfield, California; Greenville/Columbia, 
South Carolina; Sarasota County, Florida; and my own Jacksonville, 
Florida.
  Florida has the second largest population of veterans in the Nation--
totaling almost two million. There are more than 325,000 veterans in 
the Northeast Florida/Southeast Georgia area alone. One out of every 
ten deaths nationally is a resident of Florida at the time of 
interment. And, veterans' deaths are increasing each year as World War 
II and Korean War-era veterans advance in age. Soon, we will be unable 
to meet the burial needs of our veterans. Northeast Florida is in dire 
need of a new cemetery to accommodate veterans and their families. We 
owe it to our veterans to make certain that they have an appropriate 
final resting place.
  The nearest ``open'' cemetery serving Northeast Florida is in 
Bushnell, Florida, which is

[[Page H10058]]

150 miles from Jacksonville--a three-hour drive. Florida's two smaller 
national cemeteries in Pensacola and St. Augustine are closed due to 
full capacity. The situation for Jacksonville-area veterans is almost 
desperate.
  The National Cemetery Administration's intent is to make veterans' 
burial needs available in a state or national cemetery within 75 miles 
of the veteran's home. Veterans in the Jacksonville area are twice the 
distance from an open national cemetery than the National Cemetery 
Administration's goal. This is unacceptable. People need to be able to 
visit their loved one's final resting place without being burdened with 
a six-hour round trip from Jacksonville. We need to show veterans the 
respect that they have earned.
  I ask that my colleagues support this important legislation.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules 
and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill, H.R. 1516.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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