[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 164 (Monday, November 18, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8081-S8082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        NATIONAL CEMETERIES ACT

  Mr. COATS. The bill I would like to talk about is S. 1471, the Alicia 
Dawn Koehl Respect for National Cemeteries Act, which hopefully will 
come before the Senate this week. I wish this legislation were not 
necessary. It should not be. Tragic events happened on May 30, 2012. 
Obviously, we wish that had never happened and wish there never had to 
be a bill named after Alicia Dawn Koehl. I regret that the Department 
of Veterans Affairs made a mistake that resulted in even more pain and 
heartbreak for this family who is already suffering from heartbreak 
from the loss of Alicia Dawn Koehl.
  These are the circumstances. On May 30, 2012, Michael LaShawn 
Anderson went on a shooting spree at an Indianapolis apartment complex, 
injuring three people and taking the life of Alicia Dawn Koehl, a 
devoted wife and loving mother of two children. As police were arriving 
at the scene, Anderson then killed himself.
  Shortly after the Koehl family faced the unimaginable--putting their 
mother and wife to rest--they discovered that the local Department of 
Veterans Affairs had made a very disturbing mistake. The VA erroneously 
granted the shooter a burial with military honors at Fort Custer 
National Cemetery in Augusta, MI, on June 6, 2012. Although Anderson 
was a U.S. veteran, his unthinkable act made him ineligible by law to 
be buried in a national cemetery. We passed a law prohibiting a veteran 
who has committed a federal or state capital crime, even though they 
have given service, from benefiting from the honors of a military 
cemetery burial.
  After learning that Anderson was given this distinct honor of being 
buried alongside our country's heroes in a national cemetery, the Koehl 
family requested that the VA disinter his remains. They contacted our 
staff, me, and for over a year, together, we worked and we have been 
working with the VA and the Koehl family to remove Anderson's remains 
from the Custer National Cemetery in Michigan.
  However, earlier this year the VA informed me personally that it 
could not exhume the remains of Anderson because the Department does 
not believe it has the legal authority to do so without the Congress 
passing legislation and signature by the President. In other words, the 
VA was not permitted under current law to bury Anderson at the national 
cemetery, but the Department's legal interpretation of the law says it 
does not have the legal authority to fix that mistake and exhume the 
remains of this ineligible veteran. Legislation had to be offered to 
right this wrong. The bill that is being presented here would grant 
both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense 
the authority to disinter ineligible veterans buried at national 
cemeteries who have committed a Federal or State capital crime. It 
would give the VA the authority it needs to exhume the remains of 
Michael Anderson.
  Last month I testified in support of this bill before the Senate 
Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing, and I was pleased to be joined by 
Alicia's father-in-law Frank and mother-in-law Carol, who traveled from 
Fort Wayne, IN, in support of this particular bill. I thank chairman 
Bernie Sanders and ranking member Richard Burr and members of the 
committee for immediately grasping the nature of this and being willing 
to do everything possible to help us move this legislation. It could 
not have been done without their support, and their efforts have been 
advanced and expedited by their commitment to support this and to have 
Senate action on the legislation as soon as possible.
  I am here today to urge my colleagues to support and pass this Alicia 
Dawn Koehl Respect for National Cemeteries Act. The victims and family 
members of this tragic shooting have suffered enough and should not be 
forced to wait much longer to have their requests met. As a veteran 
myself, I have the deepest respect for those who have worn the uniform 
to serve and defend our country. But no veteran who commits a capital 
crime should be given the honor of a military burial and being laid to 
rest next to our Nation's military heroes. That is the law today, and 
we need to make sure that law is followed. By passing this legislation, 
we can resolve an unacceptable mistake and help provide the family with 
a sense of peace and closure.
  My Indiana colleague, Congresswoman Susan Brooks, has introduced 
legislation in the House and is working to carry this across the finish 
line.

[[Page S8082]]

  I urge my colleagues to pass S. 1471, the Alicia Dawn Koehl Respect 
for National Cemeteries Act, and ensure that our fallen veterans can 
rest in peace next to loved ones and fellow servicemembers, not 
criminals who were guilty of such a horrendous crime.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. King). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________