[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 23]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 32188]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            H.R. 3659, RESERVISTS BURIAL EQUITY ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 8, 2003

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing H.R. 
8659, the Reservists Burial Equity Act of 2003. I am pleased to have 
join me as sponsors of the bill Mr. Lane Evans, the Ranking Democrat of 
the Veterans' Affairs Committee; Mr. Henry Brown and Mr. Michael 
Michaud, the Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the 
Subcommittee on Benefits; as well as Mr. Jeff Miller; Ms. Julia Carson; 
Ms. Berkley; Mr. Sherrod Brown; and Mr. John Shimkus. This legislation 
would update the eligibility rules for burial of reservists at 
Arlington National Cemetery. Similar legislation passed the House in 
the 107th Congress.
  Current Army rules provide in-ground burial at Arlington National 
Cemetery to veterans who died on active duty, received one of the 
military services' highest awards for gallantry, were held as a 
prisoner of war, or retired from active duty military service. In 
addition, veterans who do not meet the current eligibility criteria but 
who served in a high Federal office are also eligible, as are the 
immediate family members of all veterans buried there.
  It is wholly inequitable that a reservist who serves our Nation for a 
minimum of 20 years is ineligible for in-ground burial at Arlington 
National Cemetery because he or she had the misfortune to die prior to 
age 60. The most glaring example of this policy was brought to light 
following the death of Captain Charles Burlingame III, the pilot of the 
American Airlines jet that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 
2001. Although he had retired from the Naval Reserves, he was only 51 
years old at the time of his death. As such, he was not automatically 
eligible for burial at Arlington. Subsequently, the Secretary of the 
Army granted a waiver and Capt. Burlingame was interred at Arlington in 
December 2001.
  Similarly, I see no reason why a reservist's eligibility for burial 
at Arlington should be based on whether that person was or was not in 
training status when he or she died in the line of duty. In today's 
military, there is often no practical difference.
  This bill would revise existing law by eliminating the requirement 
that retired reservists be in receipt of their retirement pay to be 
eligible for in-ground burial at Arlington. Reservists must be 60 years 
old to receive retirement pay; reservist retirees who fall into this 
category are often referred to as being in the ``grey zone.'' The bill 
would also make eligible for in-ground burial reservists who die in the 
line of duty during active or inactive training.
  Mr. Speaker, in recent years, reservists have been increasingly 
called upon to participate on active duty for extended periods to 
support the national defense. As the recent actions in Afghanistan and 
Iraq clearly demonstrate, reservists play a major role in the modern 
total force concept--we are unable to go to war without mobilizing 
reservists right from the start. Let's pass this bill and truly honor 
those men and women who put their civilian lives on hold to serve in 
our Armed Forces on behalf of the United States of America.

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