National Cemetery System And Hr 821 PDF Download

Excerpt from National Cemetery System and H. R. 821: Hearing Before the Subcommittee, Housing and Memorial Affairs of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session, June 10, 1993 The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 9:35 a.m., in room 334, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. George E. Sangmeister (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Sangmeister, Burton, Buyer. Opening Statement Of Chairman Sangmeister Mr. Sangmeister. The subcommittee will be in order. I'm pleased to welcome all of the witnesses to discuss the programs and operations of VA's National Cemetery System, Arlington National Cemetery and the American Battle Monuments Commission. Let me first extend a personal note of congratulations to Jerry W. Bowen, who is making his first appearance before the subcommittee in his position as the newly confirmed director of the National Cemetery System. We had a personal visit in my district about a week ago. It certainly was rewarding I would like to think, for both of us. Jerry, I look forward to working closely with you and your staff. The VA's National Cemetery System, as most of us know, consists of 114 national cemeteries, 59 of which are open to first family interments while 55 are closed except to eligible family members of those already buried. Over the next decade, we must focus our attention on identifying additional gravesites in our national cemeteries to meet the needs of an aging veteran population. Not only must we ensure that the honor of burial in our national shrines is available to veterans, but we must strive to ensure that all graves are perpetually maintained at the highest standards possible. In a 1987 report to Congress, required by Public Law 99-576, VA identified ten areas of the country most in need of a national cemetery based on veteran population not served by a national or state veterans cemetery. While only one of the ten, the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in California, has opened, I look forward to receiving updates on the status of the remaining nine sites. I also want to encourage VA to move expeditiously and release the second report to Congress as required by law. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.