[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12094-12095]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                DIGNIFIED INTERMENT OF OUR VETERANS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BILL SHUSTER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 21, 2015

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to shed light on an issue 
plaguing our nation's veterans, and to thank two of my constituents 
from Fayette County, Mr. Lanny Golden, a Vietnam Veteran, and Mr. Ron 
Metros, a member of Rolling Thunder's Pennsylvania Chapter 5, for 
working with me on legislation to return dignity and respect to our 
country's heroes.
   There are an estimated 47,000 unclaimed veteran remains that have 
been left to collect dust on funeral home shelves because the next of 
kin has not or could not be identified. Existing legislation directs 
the Veteran Affairs Administration, veteran service organizations, and 
funeral directors to work together in identifying veteran status for 
the deceased and making every effort to locate the next of kin. 
Unfortunately, there are a host of barriers that prevent effective 
collaboration among these stakeholders. For example, in my state of 
Pennsylvania, the Missing in America Project found nearly 100 unclaimed 
veterans within a couple years' time. Some of those veterans were 
sitting on shelves for more than 20 years awaiting burial.
   We can speculate regarding the reason for this disgrace but we 
cannot know for sure

[[Page 12095]]

without giving this issue the attention it deserves. That is why I have 
introduced H.R. 1338 ``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 
veteran remains. The intent of the study is to confirm the scope of 
this problem, uncover any barriers associated with claiming and 
interring veteran remains, and solicit recommendations from the 
Department of Veterans Affairs on potential program improvements. This 
is the first step in returning honor to our country's heroes.
   Again, I would like to thank Mr. Metros and Mr. Golden for their 
dedicated work in service to our country's veterans. When asked why he 
is so passionate about this issue, Mr. Golden, who served with the 
First Air Cavalry Division during the Vietnam War, simply replied that 
these are his Brothers in Arms and they deserve to be buried beside 
those that have walked the same path.
   I fully agree with Mr. Golden and would like to say thank you to all 
who have served this great nation. I will make every effort to ensure 
your final resting place be of dignity and honor. We will not forget 
you.




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