[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 22185-22188]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     REQUIRING REPORTS ON MANAGEMENT OF ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 3860) to require reports on the management of Arlington 
National Cemetery.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 3860

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. REPORTS ON MANAGEMENT OF ARLINGTON NATIONAL 
                   CEMETERY.

       (a) Report on Gravesite Discrepancies.--Not later than one 
     year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
     Secretary of the Army shall submit to the committees of 
     Congress specified in subsection (c) a report setting forth 
     an accounting of the gravesites at Arlington National 
     Cemetery, Virginia. The accounting shall--
       (1) specify whether gravesite locations at Arlington 
     National Cemetery are correctly identified, labeled, and 
     occupied; and
       (2) set forth a plan of action, including the resources 
     required and a proposed schedule, to implement remedial 
     actions to address deficiencies identified pursuant to the 
     accounting.
       (b) GAO Review of Management and Oversight of Contracts.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
     United States shall submit to the committees of Congress 
     specified in subsection (c) a report on the management and 
     oversight of contracts at Arlington National Cemetery.
       (2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall 
     include the following:
       (A) The number, dollar amount, and duration of current 
     contracts at Arlington National Cemetery over the simplified 
     acquisition threshold.
       (B) The number, dollar amount, and duration of current 
     contracts for automation of burial operations at Arlington 
     National Cemetery, including contracts relating to the Total 
     Cemetery Management System (TCMS), the Geographic Information 
     System (GIS), the Interment Scheduling System (ISS), the 
     Interment Management System (IMS), and new or modified 
     versions of the Burial Operations Support System (BOSS) of 
     the Department of Veterans Affairs.
       (C) An assessment of the management and oversight by the 
     Executive Director of the Army National Cemeteries Program of 
     the contracts covered by subparagraphs (A) and (B), including 
     the use of and actions taken for that purpose by the Corps of 
     Engineers and the National Capital Region Contracting Center 
     of the Army Contracting Command.
       (D) An assessment of the actions taken by the Executive 
     Director of the Army National Cemeteries Program in response 
     to the findings and recommendations of the Inspector General 
     of the Army in the report entitled ``Report of Investigation 
     and Special Inspection of Arlington National Cemetery Final 
     Report (Case 10-04)'', dated June 9, 2010.
       (E) An assessment of the implementation of the following:
       (i) Army Directive 2010-04 on Enhancing the Operations and 
     Oversight of the Army National Cemeteries Program, dated June 
     10, 2010, including, without limitation, an evaluation of the 
     sufficiency of all contract management and oversight 
     procedures, current and planned information and technology 
     systems, applications, and contracts, current organizational 
     structure and manpower, and compliance with and execution of 
     all plans, reviews, studies, evaluations, and requirements 
     specified in the Army Directive.
       (ii) The recommendations and actions proposed by the Army 
     National Cemeteries Advisory Commission with respect to 
     Arlington National Cemetery.
       (F) An assessment of the adequacy of current practices at 
     Arlington National Cemetery to provide information, outreach, 
     and support to families of individuals buried at Arlington 
     National Cemetery regarding procedures to detect and correct 
     current errors in burials at Arlington National Cemetery.
       (G) An assessment of the feasibility and advisability of 
     transferring jurisdiction of Arlington National Cemetery and 
     the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National 
     Cemetery to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and an 
     assessment of the feasibility and advisability of the sharing 
     of jurisdiction of such facilities between the Department of 
     Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
       (3) Simplified acquisition threshold defined.--In this 
     subsection, the term ``simplified acquisition threshold'' has 
     the meaning provided that term in section 4 of the Office of 
     Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403).
       (c) Specified Committees of Congress.--The committees of 
     Congress specified in this subsection are--
       (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
     Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Committee 
     on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate; and
       (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
     Oversight and Government Reform, and the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives.
       (d) Reports on Implementation of Army Directive on Army 
     National Cemeteries Program.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Army shall submit to 
     the appropriate committees of Congress reports on execution 
     of and compliance with Army Directive 2010-04 on Enhancing 
     the Operations and Oversight of the Army National Cemeteries 
     Program, dated June 10, 2010. Each such report shall include, 
     for the preceding 270 days or year (as applicable), a 
     description and assessment of the following:
       (A) Execution of and compliance with every section of the 
     Army Directive for Arlington National Cemetery, including, 
     without limitation, an evaluation of the sufficiency of all 
     contract management and oversight procedures, current and 
     planned information and technology systems, applications, and 
     contracts, current organizational structure and manpower, and 
     compliance with and execution of all plans, reviews, studies, 
     evaluations, and requirements specified in the Army 
     Directive.
       (B) The adequacy of current practices at Arlington National 
     Cemetery to provide information, outreach, and support to 
     families of those individuals buried at Arlington National 
     Cemetery regarding procedures to detect and correct current 
     errors in burials at Arlington National Cemetery.
       (2) Period and frequency of submittal.--A report required 
     by paragraph (1) shall be submitted not later than 270 days 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every year 
     thereafter for the next 2 years.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on this legislation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the systemic and long-standing problems at Arlington 
National Cemetery have become well-known and are a national tragedy. 
Arlington National Cemetery is our most hallowed ground, the final 
resting place of many of our heroes. Every year, nearly 4 million 
people visit this cemetery. Because of the importance of Arlington to 
our national memory, the American people expect Arlington to be run 
reverently and meticulously, but as we all know now, this has not been 
the case.
  Following a yearlong series of investigative reports published on

[[Page 22186]]

Salon.com, the Army prompted an investigation regarding reports of 
unmarked, misidentified, or misplaced graves. The Army investigation 
identified a culture of inaction and inactivity, a failure to act and a 
failure to come to grips with the problems at Arlington. Unfortunately, 
these problems have been going on for years.
  Recently, the Army opened a criminal investigation after eight urns 
of cremated remains were found in a grave marked ``unknown.'' Army 
Secretary John McHugh has taken many steps to correct the many failures 
at Arlington, and we applaud his efforts. The Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs has worked closely with our colleagues on the Armed Services 
Committee to get answers and find a way forward.
  I agree with our esteemed chairman of the House Armed Services 
Committee, Ike Skelton, who stated in a June hearing that, ``We must be 
prepared that a 100 percent survey of the cemetery and all of its 
operations, which I believe must now be undertaken, will yield a larger 
number of problems that must be addressed.''
  A comprehensive survey may find that the burial errors at Arlington 
may number in the thousands, but in order to provide a concrete 
solution to this problem, we must first fully understand the scope.
  The Senate has acted, passing S. 3860 on December 4 of this year. 
This measure requires reports to Congress on the management of 
Arlington National Cemetery, including grave site discrepancies, the 
management and oversight of contracts, and the implementation of recent 
Army directives. Passing S. 3860 is a first step but not the final 
answer.
  In the waning days of this Congress, we have the opportunity to send 
to the President this important measure. We will continue to work 
closely with our colleagues in Armed Services, with the administration, 
and with our Senate colleagues in the months ahead to fix what is wrong 
at Arlington and to ensure that the operation of this national shrine 
honors the men and women who lie at rest there.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in reluctant support of Senate bill 3860, as amended, which 
would require reports on the management of Arlington National Cemetery. 
The reason I say reluctant support is the Veterans' Affairs Committee 
itself, really we didn't take up the issues on Arlington, and we 
allowed the Senate and the House Armed Services Committee to do their 
work, but the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, we did not do ours. 
And so this is very unfortunate that we're proceeding with this bill in 
a lame duck session when we have not even held hearings ourselves on 
this issue. So I cannot speak from firsthand, other than my 
conversations with the Secretary of the Army myself, but the committee 
did not hold hearings on this piece of legislation at all.
  Since the founding of Arlington in June of 1864, the cemetery has 
been revered as the ``crown jewel'' of the national cemetery system. It 
is the final resting place of several American Presidents, Supreme 
Court justices, and over 300,000 veterans and their families. Like most 
Americans, I was deeply disturbed and appalled by revelations by the 
Department of Army Inspector General's report regarding the 
mismanagement and possible criminal behavior at Arlington.
  I do want to praise Secretary of the Army John McHugh for his swift 
action in response to this report, also for his following up on the 
recommendations of Secretary Geren's request for the investigation. So, 
once again, I extend my compliments to my good friend, the Secretary of 
the Army, John McHugh.

                              {time}  1830

  Secretary McHugh has installed a new management team that is reaching 
out to the National Cemetery Administration at the VA for their help in 
implementing the needed changes to defend Arlington's reputation and 
ensure that the cemetery operations are conducted in a way that honors 
our warriors who have given so much in the defense of our Nation.
  No family should ever have to wonder if their loved one is accounted 
for or buried in a proper location. They should assume that all has 
been done correctly. Our heroes and their families deserve the highest 
possible standards with regard to burial honors, and this bill seeks to 
prove this assurance.
  This bill, as amended, requires several reports on the new management 
team's progress to improve Arlington's IT systems, the contracting 
practices, organizational structure, and report on the feasibility of 
transferring the operation of Arlington from the Department of the Army 
to the VA's National Cemetery Administration. While additional reports 
will be beneficial, I believe it is important to first allow the Army 
to complete its ongoing investigations of these same issues. Different 
studies on overlapping issues can provide unique insights; however, 
providing these simultaneous investigations, performed by different 
agencies, might also create unnecessary hindrances to the ongoing 
studies.
  Also, with regard to the final provisions on the feasibility of 
transferring the operation of Arlington National Cemetery to the VA 
National Cemetery Administration, I want to offer my recommendation 
that Arlington National Cemetery remain under the jurisdiction of the 
United States Army. It is hasty to assume that we should immediately 
just transfer the jurisdiction. It is very important for us to define 
what, in fact, are the challenges and what are the problems. It is so 
much like an American: We hear a problem, and we want to run out and 
create a solution before we totally understand the scope of our 
challenge. So before we get the cart before the horse, let's not run 
out there and talk about, Let's immediately transfer.
  Now I can assure you that when the Department of Interior was not 
doing their job, what I believe, correctly, I made a suggestion that we 
should transfer those cemeteries from the Department of Interior to the 
VA. I don't have a problem. You can make that a holder out there. You 
get people to do what they believe are the right things to do, and 
maybe that is what Senator McCaskill was attempting to do here. So I 
have to respect her in setting a benchmark to do that, and maybe that 
is, in fact, what her goal here is, to make sure that everybody does 
what they are supposed to do.
  The VA does an excellent job of administering the National Cemetery 
Administration. However, ANC imposes a comprehensive array of issues 
and logistical arrangements that are completely unique and separate 
from those at the VA that they, in fact, handle. For example, in 
addition to coordinating approximately 25 military funerals per day, 
the Army's duties at Arlington, including the responsibility for the 
horse teams, for the caissons, and guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns, 
is truly unique. Certainly Arlington National Cemetery can benefit by 
emulating VA practices that are applicable, and such information 
sharing is, in fact, underway. But ultimately, Arlington National 
Cemetery, under the jurisdiction of the United States Army is where it 
should remain until we can achieve some answers.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FILNER. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  We had thought that the distinguished gentleman from Missouri, the 
chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Mr. Ike Skelton, would be 
here this evening. He is not. But I would like to say that this House, 
of course, honors his extraordinary service to his district, his State, 
the men and women of our armed services, and most importantly, of 
course, our Nation for 34 years. It has been a great experience to work 
with Ike Skelton closely, as chairman of the Veterans' Affairs 
Committee, and to work with him for those who serve in active duty and 
those who have served and are now veterans.
  President Truman, who is a hero to all of us and especially to Ike, 
stated that, ``It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care 
who gets the credit.'' Ike Skelton has personified this wonderful 
saying, working tirelessly for the good of our country.

[[Page 22187]]

He has done more than he will ever get credit for, and this House will 
be a poorer place without his presence.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, yielding myself such time as I may consume, I 
do associate myself with the gentleman's comments regarding Chairman 
Skelton. Ike not only being a very dear friend, but I really appreciate 
him stepping forward with these hearings.
  With that, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia, 
Representative Bob Goodlatte.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank the 
gentleman from California for bringing this legislation forward, and I 
want to take the opportunity to commend the gentleman from Indiana for 
his leadership on the Veterans' Affairs Committee for a number of years 
now and for his service in the Congress. He came here at the same time 
I did, and I very much appreciate the great contributions he has made 
in those years.
  I rise in support of this legislation which requires a detailed 
report to Congress on the gravesite discrepancies at Arlington National 
Cemetery, including information concerning burial operations and errors 
in burials. It is sad that we are even having to consider such 
legislation today, but unfortunately, it has become very apparent that 
it is absolutely necessary.
  Recent news reports have revealed multiple instances of misplaced 
human remains at Arlington National Cemetery. These sickening stories 
are a national disgrace. Our Nation's veterans, in life and in death, 
deserve our utmost respect. They have engaged in one of the noblest 
forms of public service, defending this Nation. It is their tireless 
work that has made our country great, strong, and most importantly, 
free. These men and women have helped to liberate victims of 
oppression, spread democracy across the world, and preserve the 
freedoms our Nation was built upon. Our fallen heroes deserve our 
honor, our respect, and our appreciation. This critical legislation 
will go a long way in ensuring that it is always the case. It is a 
final ``thank you'' on behalf of a grateful Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, it is very important that we get to the bottom of this 
matter, we correct this problem as quickly as possible and restore the 
respect that people need to have in such an important facility which 
carries such historic significance and the sacred remains of great men 
and women who have served our country.
  Mr. BUYER. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I thank the gentleman, Mr. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, a classmate of 
mine, and I respect all he has been able to do on the Ag Committee.
  I will yield now 3 minutes to another Virginian, Congressman Robert 
J. Wittman.
  Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 3860, 
a bill that would ensure greater accountability for the operations at 
Arlington National Cemetery.
  I would first like to thank the gentleman from California, Chairman 
Filner, for his leadership on this issue and bringing this bill to the 
floor to make sure that this issue is put out there in the forefront, 
and to the gentleman from Indiana, Ranking Member Buyer, who has done 
the same, who is passionate about making sure that we are doing the 
right thing and making the right decisions. I think the ranking member 
points out some great things we ought to remember, and that is, let's 
make sure we do a proper examination. Let's not be hasty in reaching 
judgments. Let's make sure that we are thoughtful about this and make 
sure we are holding people accountable and not too quickly getting to a 
point of transference but really getting at the root of the problem. So 
I appreciate the ranking member for his thoughtfulness on that.
  Mr. Speaker, these are our Nation's heroes who have fought and have 
died to protect our country, and they deserve absolute dignity and 
honor. The mishandling of remains and gravesites at Arlington has 
demonstrated that there was a clear lack of accountability. After 
allegations of mismanagement surfaced in June, Army Secretary John 
McHugh rightly came forward to accept responsibility and immediately 
made changes to correct the system. And I want to applaud the Secretary 
for doing that. He has done great work in making sure that this issue 
gets addressed. I do believe that this legislation is necessary, 
though, as the next step to ensure accountability and to avoid these 
issues in the future.

                              {time}  1840

  S. 3860 would require the Secretary of the Army to submit a report to 
Congress accounting for all the gravesites at Arlington Cemetery within 
1 year. And folks, this is a significant effort. There are 320,000 of 
our heroes buried at Arlington. There may be up to 6,600 gravesites in 
question. We owe it to the families, we owe it to those servicemembers 
to make sure that this issue is addressed.
  This bill would require the Army to submit plans to remedy any errors 
found and make sure that those don't happen again in the future.
  Under the bill, the Comptroller General would be required to report 
to Congress on efforts to change the management and oversight structure 
at Arlington National Cemetery, including contract management.
  I am pleased that the legislation requires an assessment of the 
adequacy of current practices at Arlington, to provide information, 
outreach and support to the families of individuals buried at the 
cemetery as errors are detected and corrected. And we've seen some of 
those things happen here recently.
  I just heard the other day of a family who was told that the remains 
of their loved one were, indeed, known and that they were confirmed. 
Unfortunately, a week later they were called and told that that was not 
the case. We need to make sure we get this right, and we need to make 
sure we keep in mind the effects on families who have loved ones and 
our Nation's heroes that are buried there.
  The families deserve timely and accurate information about the 
location of their loved ones, and I want to make sure that that happens 
and happens in every case without ambiguity.
  Arlington is the last resting place of so many of our Nation's 
heroes, those service men and women who are called upon and gave the 
ultimate sacrifice to this country and, folks, they deserve nothing 
less.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  What I would like to comment on now, Mr. Speaker, really deals with a 
problem in the House rules that I think needs to be corrected as we go 
into the next session of Congress. So with regard to jurisdiction, 
lines of jurisdiction with regard to committees and how bills are 
assigned through the Parliamentarian, at the direction of the Speaker, 
I sent a letter to the Speaker dated December 9, 2010.
  This Senate bill that came to us, it appears that it invokes the 
jurisdiction also of the House Armed Services Committee. The Army 
personnel manage and operate Arlington National Cemetery, and the 
cemetery is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army. So 
Chairman Skelton properly moved out and held his hearings in the House 
Armed Services Committee relative to Arlington. So I can begin to 
understand why the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee then 
allowed the House Armed Services Committee to proceed.
  Then when the Senate conducts their hearings, and they did so, the 
Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee passed their bill, and immediately 
they sent it to us in a lame duck session.
  Now, you say, why wouldn't this bill also have either a joint 
referral or to the Armed Services Committee, or why did it only go to 
the House Veterans' Affairs Committee?
  Well, you go to the House rules. So even though I sent the letter to 
Madam Speaker Pelosi saying, please invoke jurisdiction of the House 
Armed Services Committee, the response obviously was ``no'' because 
here we now are on the House floor doing this bill by a committee who 
had never done hearings on the bill.

[[Page 22188]]

  The problem is in the House rules itself. When you turn to the House 
rules, I think this has got to be an error in the drafting of these 
rules. Rule X, 2 cites that cemeteries under the United States in which 
veterans of any war or conflict are or may be buried, whether in the 
United States, abroad, except cemeteries administered by the Secretary 
of the VA, it goes to the Veterans' Affairs Committee. This has to be 
corrected. So, hopefully, when you go into the next Congress, this rule 
gets corrected so that the cemeteries that are under the jurisdiction 
of the United States Army, such as the two, Old Soldiers Home and 
Arlington National Cemetery, that that legislation regarding that 
jurisdiction rests with the Armed Services Committee. The VA Committee, 
we have oversight; but with regard to this, it's a jurisdictional 
question, and it needs to be corrected.
  And that's why you have two individuals here managing a bill on the 
floor that really the House Armed Services Committee, Mr. Speaker, 
should also be here. But I want all the Members to know that's why this 
is happening.
  I suppose, yes, we can all be very upset with regard to the 
management and the markings of some of these graves; but those of us 
who have had the opportunity to go to Arlington and see the job in 
which the Old Guard perform, it is pretty extraordinary. I was last 
there on Monday of Thanksgiving week. I joined Lieutenant General John 
Kelly, his family and hundreds of his friends at the chapel at Fort 
Myer. We all left the chapel. We proceeded down the windy road, down 
the hill, led by the Army Band, a platoon of soldiers, horse-drawn 
caisson that carried the body of John's youngest son, Lieutenant Robert 
Kelly, killed in Afghanistan.
  The wind was crisp. The sky was blue. The oak and maple trees were 
clutching onto their red, yellow, gold and light-green leaves. Others 
were slowly drifting to the ground. The sun shined brightly upon them 
all.
  Each grave marker properly and perfectly aligned in columns, in rows 
and angles, each was offset by rich green grass signifying the etchings 
in our national book of remembrance. That's my firsthand account of 
having attended the funeral of Lieutenant Robert Kelly at his burial on 
Thanksgiving week. That has been replicated since that Monday of 
Thanksgiving week, and it has been no different than how the Old Guard 
pays their honor and respect to so many, and it goes back so far in 
time.
  That rich heritage is what causes each one of us to rise when we get 
so concerned with regard to mismanagement of such a sacred ground.
  With that, I'm going to ask all Members to support the legislation.

                                   Committee on Veterans' Affairs,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                 Washington, DC, December 9, 2010.
     Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
     Speaker of the House, House of Representatives, H232, The 
         Capitol, Washington, DC.
       Dear Madam Speaker, in reviewing S. 3860, as amended, a 
     bill to require reports on the management of Arlington 
     National Cemetery, it appears that the bill invokes authority 
     under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Armed 
     Services.
       Army personnel manage and operate Arlington National 
     Cemetery and the cemetery is under the jurisdiction of the 
     United States Army. Accordingly, as the Ranking Member of the 
     Committee of jurisdiction, I request that an additional 
     referral be made to House Committee on Armed Services to 
     provide for its full consideration of this bill.
       It is important that the Committee on Armed Services be 
     permitted to weigh in on this legislation prior to further 
     consideration, as that Committee has legislative and 
     oversight jurisdiction over the Department of the Army, and 
     held a hearing on management issues at Arlington National 
     Cemetery on June 30, 2010.
       Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Steve Buyer,
                                        Ranking Republican Member.

  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 3860, A bill to 
require reports on the management of Arlington National Cemetery. This 
bill requires reports from the Department of the Army and the 
Government Accountability Office that will help restore the American 
people's faith in Arlington National Cemetery and, from this point 
forward, ensures that this sacred space continues to maintain the high 
level of service that is rightfully expected by the families of our 
servicemembers, both living and fallen.
  Mr. Speaker, I have personally seen the pain and sorrow caused by 
cemetery errors.
  As many of my colleagues are aware, Burr Oak cemetery, in my 
district, faced a similar situation like that which took place at 
Arlington.
  I understand the sorrow created by this confusion. I have seen the 
anguish that family members suffered. It is something that I think no 
family should have to endure--especially the family members and loved 
ones of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to our country.
  It is for this reason, Mr. Speaker, that I strongly support this 
legislation and encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I close with a reminder to my colleagues: the families 
of our fallen heroes have given so much. At the very least, we owe them 
the certainty that the gravesites they visit at Arlington National 
Cemetery are, indeed, the final resting place of their loved ones.
  Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 3860, 
important legislation to ensure proper oversight of Arlington National 
Cemetery. I'm proud to have sponsored companion legislation to this 
bill in the House to see that we fulfill our oversight duties and 
properly honor our fallen heroes.
  Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for 
Presidents, Senators, Representatives, Supreme Court Justices, 
Generals, Admirals and the countless soldiers, known and unknown, 
who've died in defense of freedom. It is home to memorials for Iowa 
heroes like the five Sullivan brothers who were lost at sea in 1942 
with the sinking of the USS Juneau, but who are honored with tombstones 
among all of their fallen brothers. Arlington National Cemetery is a 
national institution that symbolizes the service and sacrifice by our 
citizens that makes the United States great, but most recently, it's 
been a sign of government incompetence.
  The recent scandal of unmarked and inappropriately marked gravesites 
is an indignity to the Americans memorialized there, but it is also a 
stain on America. To date, Arlington Cemetery has spent over $5 million 
to computerize records to determine who is buried where, with nothing 
to show for it but continued problems in gravesite identification. The 
misuse of these funds disrespects our honored dead and is a breach in 
the trust of the American people.
  As the son of a World War II veteran, I have the deepest respect for 
our Nation's veterans and I want nothing but the best treatment for 
them in life and in death. We owe them more than they've been given. I 
had the honor of attending the burial service of Specialist Ross 
McGinnis of Knox, PA at Arlington Cemetery as one of my first acts in 
Congress. Specialist McGinnis was killed in action near Adhamiyah, Iraq 
on December 4, 2006 when he threw himself on top of a grenade thrown 
into his HMMWV, saving the lives of at least four other soldiers, 
including one of my constituents. For his actions that day, Spc. 
McGinnis was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
  My bill, and the bill we passed, asks for nothing more than the 
respect that our distinguished veterans like Spc. McGinnis deserve. I 
commend my colleagues for their support on this matter.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I urge 
unanimous support, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 3860.
  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. FILNER. 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.

                          ____________________