[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 168 (Monday, November 16, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H8174-H8175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DIGNIFIED INTERMENT OF OUR VETERANS ACT OF 2015
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 1338) to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
to conduct a study on matters relating to the burial of unclaimed
remains of veterans in national cemeteries, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1338
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Dignified Interment of Our
Veterans Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS STUDY ON MATTERS
RELATING TO BURIAL OF UNCLAIMED REMAINS OF
VETERANS IN NATIONAL CEMETERIES.
(a) Study and Report Required.--Not later than one year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall--
(1) complete a study on matters relating to the interring
of unclaimed remains of veterans in national cemeteries under
the control of the National Cemetery Administration; and
(2) submit to Congress a report on the findings of the
Secretary with respect to the study required under paragraph
(1).
(b) Matters Studied.--The matters studied under subsection
(a)(1) shall include the following:
(1) Determining the scope of issues relating to unclaimed
remains of veterans, including an estimate of the number of
unclaimed remains of veterans.
(2) Assessing the effectiveness of the procedures of the
Department of Veterans Affairs for working with persons or
entities having custody of unclaimed remains to facilitate
interment of unclaimed remains of veterans in national
cemeteries under the control of the National Cemetery
Administration.
(3) Assessing State and local laws that affect the ability
of the Secretary to inter unclaimed remains of veterans in
national cemeteries under the control of the National
Cemetery Administration.
(4) Developing recommendations for such legislative or
administrative action as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(c) Methodology.--
(1) Number of unclaimed remains.--In estimating the number
of unclaimed remains of veterans under subsection (b)(1), the
Secretary may review such subset of applicable entities as
the Secretary considers appropriate, including a subset of
funeral homes and coroner offices that possess unclaimed
veterans remains.
(2) Assessment of state and local laws.--In assessing State
and local laws under subsection (b)(3), the Secretary may
assess such sample of applicable State and local laws as the
Secretary considers appropriate in lieu of reviewing all
applicable State and local laws.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON AWARDS AND BONUSES PAID TO SENIOR
EXECUTIVE EMPLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS.
Section 705 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and
Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-146; 38 U.S.C. 703
note) is amended by striking the period at the end and
inserting the following: ``, of which, during fiscal year
2016, not more than an aggregate amount of $2,000,000 may be
paid to employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs who
are members of the Senior Executive Service.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Miller) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
General Leave
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks or to add any extraneous material they may have on H.R. 1338,
as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I do urge all Members to support H.R. 1338, the
Dignified Interment of Our Veterans Act of 2015.
This very important bill, which was introduced by my good friend, Mr.
Shuster of Pennsylvania, would help ensure that deceased veterans are
treated with respect and with dignity.
H.R. 1338, as amended, would require that the Department of Veterans
Affairs conduct a study on the serious problem of unclaimed remains of
deceased veterans. VA will provide a dignified burial in national
cemeteries for those who die with no family to claim their remains or
who did not have enough money to cover burial expenses.
Unfortunately, the remains of deceased veterans may end up on the
shelf at a funeral home or the shelf of a coroner's office, and VA may
not be aware that the veteran's remains were not interred.
In 2013, Congress passed legislation in an attempt to ensure that all
deceased veterans are treated with the honor that they had earned. The
Dignified Burial and Other Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2012
directed VA to work with Veterans Service Organizations and assist
States, cities, and funeral directors to identify the unclaimed remains
of veterans and to arrange for their burials in one of our national
cemeteries.
Unfortunately, the law has not resolved this issue and too many
veterans may not be receiving a dignified burial. That is
unconscionable. The men and women who have served our Nation in uniform
have the right to expect that our Nation will make every effort to
treat them with honor and deference even after they pass away.
This study would determine the scope of the problem and identify any
obstacles associated with claiming or interring veteran remains.
Additionally, VA would also be required to make recommendations on
how we can better ensure that our Nation's heroes are properly laid to
rest.
I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1700
Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in support of my friend Mr. Shuster's Dignified Interment of
Our Veterans Act. This legislation will require the Department of
Veterans Affairs to conduct a study on the unclaimed remains of
veterans.
Our Nation continues to be challenged by local and privately owned
cemeteries that fail to identify and provide the VA with uninterred
veterans' remains. It is our intent that the VA look into this issue
and come up with some solutions to assist privately and locally owned
cemetery homes with the information and the support they need to
transfer those remains to the VA's National Cemetery Administration.
Our Nation's veterans have earned a proper and honorable burial for
their
[[Page H8175]]
service. This legislation will help the VA to help our veterans. I urge
all of my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Everett, Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), the original
sponsor of this particular piece of legislation.
Mr. SHUSTER. I thank the chairman for working with me on this piece
of legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to shed light on the issue plaguing our
Nation's veterans. Specifically, there are an estimated 47,000 cremated
veterans' remains that are waiting to be interred because it was not
possible to identify the next of kin.
Existing legislation directs the Veterans Health Administration,
Veterans Service Organizations, and funeral directors to work together
in the claiming and interring of deceased veterans. Unfortunately,
numerous barriers prevent the effective collaboration among these
stakeholders. As it stands today, these barriers are not fully
understood, which is preventing an effective solution to the problem
from being found.
For instance, the Missing in America Project, a nonprofit service
organization that was established to locate and bury unclaimed
veterans' remains, identified 100 veterans who were awaiting burial
within the State of Pennsylvania over the last couple of years. Some of
those veterans waited more than 20 years for a dignified, military
burial. We can speculate regarding the reason for this disgrace, but we
cannot know for sure without giving this issue the attention it
deserves.
That is why I have introduced H.R. 1338, the Dignified Interment of
Our Veterans Act of 2015. My bill requires the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs to conduct a study on matters relating to the claiming and
interring of unclaimed veterans' remains. The intent of the study is to
confirm the scope of this problem, to uncover any barriers associated
with claiming and interring veterans' remains, and to solicit
recommendations from the Department of Veterans Affairs on potential
solutions.
I would like to thank two of my constituents, Mr. Ron Metros and Mr.
Lanny Golden, for working with me on this legislation.
When asked why he is so passionate about this issue, Mr. Golden, a
Vietnam veteran, simply replied that his brothers in arms deserve to be
buried alongside those who have walked the same path.
I fully agree with Mr. Golden, and I would like to say ``thank you''
to all of those who have served this great Nation.
I would also like to take this time to thank my colleagues Chairman
Miller and Ranking Member Brown for working with me. Of course, I thank
the Veterans' Affairs Committee and the 98 bipartisan cosponsors of the
House for their support.
Also a special thanks to two people without whom I could not have
done this. They are my military fellows. One is U.S. Marine Corps
Sergeant Anna Lloyd. She helped start the process. We then finished up
with Air Force Major Cheri Guikema. Both of them provided an invaluable
service in putting this bill forward, and I can't thank them enough for
their help and also for their continued service to the United States
military.
Now, more than ever, we need to stand together and show or veterans
we care. None of our heroes should be forgotten, and this is a step
forward in reaching that important goal.
Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for
time. I urge my colleagues to support the passing of H.R. 1338, as
amended.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the Chair will note that
the time previously controlled by the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Miller) will now be controlled by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Costello).
There was no objection.
Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce).
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this
legislation, the Dignified Interment of Our Veterans Act of 2015.
In May of last year, reports emerged that the bodies of 52 veterans
had remained unburied for over a year at the Los Angeles County
Mortuary, located just outside of my district. Similar instances were
discovered in 13 other States, demonstrating just how widespread this
is. Stories of unburied veterans' bodies are deeply unsettling and the
result of gaps in burial procedure policies at the VA. It has to be
addressed. Our service men and women have made immense personal
sacrifices on behalf of our Nation, and it is unacceptable for their
remains to be treated with such a blatant lack of respect and dignity.
Like the gentleman from Pennsylvania and many of my colleagues in the
House and Senate, I introduced legislation in an effort to solve this
issue. The Dignified Interment of Our Veterans Act directs the
Department of Veterans Affairs to study the burial of veterans'
unclaimed remains in national cemeteries and to report the findings of
such studies to Congress. This legislation is an important step toward
acknowledging and, ultimately, solving the problem.
Last week, the Senate passed by unanimous consent the 21st Century
Veterans Benefits Delivery Act, which incorporated the House
legislation, and I am happy to see that the companion legislation is
now being voted on in the House of Representatives, bringing it one
step closer to the President's signature.
We made a commitment to take care of our veterans in both life and
death, and it is crucial that we follow through on it. I encourage my
colleagues in the House of Representatives to vote in support of the
Dignified Interment of Our Veterans Act.
I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his work on this issue
and the gentleman from Florida for his continued efforts as the House
Veterans' Affairs Committee chairman.
Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to
support H.R. 1338, as amended.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1338, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. 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, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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