[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 1410-1411]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              STATE VETERANS CEMETERY FAIRNESS ACT OF 2005

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by completely embracing and 
endorsing the comments of the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) 
earlier today in support of H.R. 302, a continuation of a long fight 
for justice for our Filipino veterans. I say, as the representative 
from the district out of 435 in our entire country containing and 
holding the largest number of Filipino Americans, this is exactly what 
we must do to bring justice and conclusion to this sorry story in our 
history.
  But I rise here today to highlight another issue which goes as well 
to the very heart of our collective obligation to our Nation's 
veterans, whether they be members of our greatest generation, like 
Hawaii's own 100th Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, or those 
lost tragically in the deserts and streets of Iraq and Afghanistan, and 
that is our promise that our fallen be

[[Page 1411]]

buried with their comrades in our great national cemeteries, be they 
Arlington or my own National Cemetery of the Pacific.
  Despite this most elemental undertaking, increasing numbers of 
veterans are facing a dire situation. Currently, 11 States do not have 
a national cemetery operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and 
an additional six States, including Hawaii, have national cemeteries 
that no longer accept casket remains.
  To assist with this indefensible shortfall, a number of States, 
including Hawaii, have worked with the VA to construct and operate 
State veterans cemeteries. Established in 1978 to complement the VA's 
National Cemetery Administration, the State Cemetery Grants Program 
assists States in providing grave sites for veterans in those areas 
where VA's national cemeteries cannot fully satisfy their burial needs. 
On most of the neighbor islands of Hawaii, my district, we have State 
cemeteries operated under this program.
  Specifically, grants from the State Cemetery Grants Program may be 
used only for the purpose of establishing, expanding or improving 
veterans cemeteries that are owned and operated by a State or U.S. 
territory. Aid can be granted only to States or U.S. territories, not 
to private organizations, counties, cities or other government 
agencies.

                              {time}  1515

  VA can now provide up to 100 percent of the development cost for an 
approved project. For establishment of new cemeteries, VA can provide 
for operating equipment. VA cannot and does not provide for the 
acquisition of land so that the States are solely responsible for 
providing locations for such cemeteries.
  State cemeteries operated and established under the grant program 
must conform to the standards and guidelines pertaining to site 
selection, planning and construction set forth by VA. Cemeteries must 
be operated solely for the burial of service members who die on active 
duty, veterans and their eligible spouses and dependent children.
  Any cemetery assisted by a VA grant must be maintained and operated 
according to the operational standards and measures of the National 
Cemetery Administration. After construction, the administration, 
operation and maintenance of a State's veterans cemetery is solely the 
responsibility of the State government, and the National Cemetery 
Administration has no further financial obligation to the State for the 
burial of veterans, with one important exception, which is the nub of 
this speech.
  Currently, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is authorized to pay a 
plot or interment allowance up to $300 per burial to a State for 
expenses incurred by the State for the burial of eligible veterans in a 
cemetery owned and operated by the State if the burial is performed at 
no cost to the veteran's next of kin. This benefit is administered by 
the Veterans Benefit Administration, and the State must apply to VBA to 
receive it. A great program, a great supplement to the assistance by 
our States of the national obligations to our veterans.
  But despite the $300 currently provided to State governments for each 
veteran buried in a State veterans cemetery, the true cost is as much 
as $750 per burial and rising. Thus, even with the partial 
reimbursements provided by the VA, State governments with no available 
Federal cemeteries pay millions of dollars to fulfill our Federal 
commitment to provide a final resting place for our veterans.
  This shortfall is particularly painful during the current budget 
difficulties faced by many States across our Nation and has the 
inevitable result, as it has in Hawaii, of inexcusable shortfalls in 
available State veterans cemeteries, both in burial plot availability 
and especially in operation and maintenance of existing facilities. 
This is certainly again the case in Hawaii which operates several State 
veterans cemeteries through VBA assistance that are stretched way 
beyond their means. I could go down the list, but the one that comes to 
mind most quickly is the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery on my home 
island of Hawaii.
  The bill I introduce today proposes a simple modification in an 
otherwise solid Federal program, to raise the Federal reimbursement for 
veteran burials in State cemeteries where there is no Federal VA option 
from $300 to $750 per burial. The price, a minimal $5 million annually 
as priced last year by the CBO. This is fair and necessary and will 
enable us to fulfill this most basic obligation. I ask for my 
colleagues' support.
  Mahalo.

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