STATEMENT
OF
THE RETIRED OFFICERS ASSOCIATION on H.R. 3423 Submitted to THE
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
U.S.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December
13, 2001 The
Retired Officers Association (TROA) is pleased to submit a statement
for the record concerning H.R. 3423, a bill to enact into law
eligibility of certain veterans and their dependents for burial in
Arlington National Cemetery. TROA
is the fourth largest military veterans’ organization representing
approximately 390,000 active duty, National Guard and Reserve, retired
and former officers and the surviving spouses of deceased members.
TROA
does not receive any grants or contracts from the federal government. H.R. 3423
TROA
is deeply appreciative of Chairman Christopher Smith (R-NJ-4), for
introducing this bill. H.R.
3423 would change existing law by eliminating the age requirement for
retired reservists who would otherwise be eligible for in-ground
burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
In addition, H.R. 3423 would allow in-ground burial of
reservists who die in the line of duty while on training duty. H.R.
3423 would change a Defense Department rule which would preclude an
American hero, Captain Charles Burlingame, USNR (Ret.), the pilot of
flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon on September 11th,
from receiving full burial rights at Arlington.
CAPT Burlingame
completed a full reserve career in the Navy, was qualified for
retirement from the Navy, and would have been eligible for interment
in Arlington National Cemetery, except for the fact that he had not
yet reached 60 years of age. Because
CAPT Burlingame was otherwise fully eligible for retirement
from the Naval Reserve, he should not be denied a separate plot in
Arlington National Cemetery. TROA
has long maintained that reservists who have served their country
honorably for a full service career and qualify for retirement (except
for not yet having attained age 60) should be authorized burial in
Arlington National Cemetery, and legislation should be enacted to that
effect. TROA
also supports the provision in the bill that would authorize burial in
Arlington National Cemetery for National Guard and Reserve
servicemembers who die while on orders to perform inactive duty
training. Reserve
component servicemembers have been asked to shoulder a greater and
greater share of the responsibility for defending the nation’s
security at home and abroad. With more than 52,000 National Guard and Reserve troops on
active duty to perform vital homeland defense missions – guarding
airports, nuclear facilities, and other potential targets of terror
across the country – their training for such vital missions becomes
more and more critical. In
today’s “total force” environment, the performance of duty –
not the technical distinction between active duty, active duty for
training, or inactive duty -- should determine eligibility for most
benefits, including eligibility for burial in Arlington Cemetery, if a
servicemember dies while in a duty status.
Similarly, completion of retirement-qualifying service should
be a deciding criterion, independent of attaining any specific age. Codifying
the Rules for Interment in Arlington National Cemetery
The
confusion and uncertainty over the eligibility of CAPT Burlingame for
burial in Arlington National Cemetery illustrates once again the
perennial problem over the rules governing interment in the nation’s
most hallowed ground.
TROA
continues to support the codification of all the rules governing
access to ANC. The
unfortunate situation concerning CAPT Burlingame’s eligibility for a
separate in-ground burial confirms that the rules are not well
understood, even at times within the defense establishment, and raises
again questions about who should “make the call” when the rules
come under scrutiny in the future. This
Committee is to be commended for taking on this issue in recent years.
Thanks to then Committee Chairman Bob Stump (R-AZ), present
Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ) and other members of the Committee at the
time, the House in 1998 passed
by unanimous vote and again by near-unanimous vote in 1999 legislation
to codify the rules for burial in Arlington National Cemetery.
As
passed by the House in the 106th Congress (1999), H.R. 70
would have established in law authorization for burial in ANC to: ·
members of the Armed Forces who die on active duty; ·
retired members of the Armed Forces, including Reservists who
served on active duty; ·
former members of the Armed Forces who have been awarded the
Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross, or Navy
Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, or Purple Heart; ·
former prisoners of war; ·
members of
the National Guard / Reserve who served on active duty and are
eligible for retirement, but who have not yet retired (emphasis
added); ·
the President or any former President; ·
the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child and at the discretion
of the Superintendent of Arlington, unmarried adult children of the
above categories. The
provision in the present legislation, H.R. 3423, would add to this
framework eligibility of National Guard and Reserve servicemembers who
die while in the performance of inactive duty. TROA
understands that during the time H.R. 70 was passed by near-unanimous
House vote, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC) was in
general agreement with the bill but desired additional flexibility to
accommodate worthy exceptions. As
we understand it, the SVAC would have endorsed the H.R. 70 provided
an amendment were inserted to authorize the Secretary of Defense to
have the authority to approve the burial of any veteran in ANC after
consultation with the Chairmen of the House and Senate Veterans
Affairs Committees; and, in addition, a provision to authorize the
President to approve the burial of any citizen who has made a
distinguished contribution to the United States.
Unfortunately, when House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees’ conferees
met to resolve their differences over codification of the rules over
Arlington interment and other veterans’ legislation, they were
unable to reach a compromise on codifying the rules. TROA
strongly recommends that the Committee take up the issue of the
overall codification of the rules governing Arlington National
Cemetery burial at the earliest opportunity.
The American people need to be reassured that the rules are
clearly defined, properly codified and available for all to see. TROA urges
passage of H.R. 3423 to
codify eligibility of “gray area” reserve servicemembers – those
who have completed reserve service requirements and are eligible to
retire,
except for not yet having attained age 60 – and National Guard and
Reserve servicemembers who die in the performance of inactive duty
training and their eligible dependents, for burial in Arlington
National Cemetery. TROA
also strongly recommends codification of all the rules governing
interment in the nation’s most hallowed final resting place for its
military heroes. CONCLUSION Back to Witness List |