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DEPARTMENT
OF THE ARMY COMPLETE
STATEMENT OF JOHN
C. METZLER SUPERINTENDENT ARLINGTON
NATIONAL CEMETERY BEFORE
THE
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS UNITED
STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON
PROPOSED
CHANGES IN BURIAL ELIGIBILITY MR.
CHAIRMAN AND DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE: INTRODUCTION
I
appreciate the opportunity to appear before this committee to discuss
proposed legislation regarding eligibility criteria for burial at
Arlington National Cemetery. The
Secretary of the Army is responsible for burial policy at Arlington
National Cemetery. I am
here to provide the Army’s comments on the proposed legislation and
answer any questions you may have. Arlington
National Cemetery is America’s most prominent National Cemetery and
serves as a shrine honoring the men and women who have served in the
Armed Forces. It is a
visible reflection of America’s appreciation for those individuals
whose acts and accomplishments reflect the highest service to the
country. FUNERALS
In
Fiscal Year 2001, there were 3,727 interments and 2,212 inurnments. In Fiscal Year 2002, we estimate there will be 3,800
interments and 2,500 inurnments.
Looking ahead to Fiscal Year 2003, we estimate there will be
3,925 interments and 2,700 inurnments. CEREMONIES AND VISITATION
Thousands
of visitors visit Arlington National Cemetery to participate in
ceremonial events and pay their respects to our fallen heroes. During Fiscal Year 2001, about 3,000 ceremonies were
conducted at this treasured National Cemetery.
The President of the United States attended ceremonies we
conducted commemorating Veterans Day and Memorial Day. PROPOSED LEGISLATION
As you know, the space that we
have available in Arlington Cemetery is limited and has required the
establishment of rules to regulate burial eligibility.
The rules governing burial eligibility in Arlington National
Cemetery are set forth in Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
The Army, as the executive agent for the Cemetery, strives to
implement these regulations fairly and consistent with the space
limitations we face.
The Army is troubled with the
proposed legislation contained in H.R. 3423, regarding the extension
of burial privileges in Arlington National Cemetery to certain current
and former reserve component members of the Armed Forces and their
dependents. The legislation expands eligibility for burial in Arlington
National Cemetery beyond that which can be supported by current space
constraints and will likely cause the denial of this privilege to
other eligible persons.
Under
current projections, the group of newly eligible reservists under the
proposed legislation would exceed 188,000, not to mention their
dependents, whose number I do not know.
While the long-term effect of such an expansion is not now
known, clearly the number of eligible veterans will be greatly
expanded at a time when we are already projecting that Arlington
National Cemetery will exhaust its current space by 2025. The
Army leadership was aware that Senators Warner and Stevens had
introduced legislation (Section 3135 of H. R. 3338) that narrowly
tailors expansion of the eligibility criteria to authorize individual
interment in Arlington National Cemetery for those retired members of
the Armed Forces reserves, not otherwise eligible, who died in the
September 11th terrorist attacks.
The Secretary was also sensitive to the fact that any
legislative proposal would likely not be enacted in time to
accommodate a request for burial on December 12th as an
exception to the burial policy. Thus,
to honor the intent of the proposed legislation and to spare the
family any further grief, the Secretary of the Army granted an
exception to allow the burial of retired Naval Reserve Captain Charles
F. Burlingame, III, in a separate grave in Arlington National
Cemetery. CONCLUSION
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my remarks. I will be pleased to respond to questions from the committee. Back to Witness List |