STATEMENT OF RICHARD WEIDMAN DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA BEFORE THE HOUSE VETERANS AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT & INVESTIGATION REGARDING LONG-TERM CONSTRUCTION OF NEW CEMETERIES MAY 20, 1999 Mr. Chairman, and distinguished members of the subcommittee, Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) thanks you for this opportunity to express our views concerning the maintenance and future of our federal and states' veterans cemetery system. Burial in a veterans cemetery is a cherished privilege for veterans across this country, and is a lasting symbol of this nation's gratefulness to veterans for the sacrifices they have borne in its defense. VVA ardently believes that these cemeteries must be kept up to the highest standards, and that every veteran who so desires, will have a final resting place in a veterans cemetery.
The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs is the agency responsible for the operation of our national veterans cemeteries. As the veteran population is rapidly aging, the demands on NCA are in turn, rapidly increasing. Internments are projected to peak at 107,000 in the year 2008, according to NCA. Unfortunately, there is no strategic plan in place for beyond the year 2000. VVA believes this situation desperately needs to be fixed. At present, approximately a thousand veterans a week are dying, many of whom wish to be buried in a National Cemetery. Planning for this already heavy load to double in the next eight to nine years is a real challenge, and must be systematically addressed now.
While the majority of the deaths among veterans are World War II veterans, it is instructive to point out that over 1.2 million of the 9.3 million men and women who served during Vietnam have expired as of this time last year. Even if one subtracts those Vietnam veterans who were older, and who had prior service in World War II from that 1.2 million, there have still been more than 750,000 Vietnam veterans who have died since the Vietnam War. Some scientists have given VVA a rough estimate that half of Vietnam "in-country" veterans will be dead as early as 2008 to 2010. This troubled us enough that our President has written to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to try to prompt a more thorough mortality study and projections for Vietnam veterans.
Further exacerbating this problem of an increasing workload is the lack of burial space available to meet the high demand. There are 115 national cemeteries. 33 of these cemeteries are only open to cremated remains, 57 are open to internments, and 25 are closed to new internments. We applaud the efforts of NCA in scheduling the opening of 4 new national cemeteries. These national cemeteries are scheduled to open in Saratoga, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; and Dallas / Ft.Worth, Texas. These new national cemeteries will certainly alleviate some of the problem, however, many major population centers remain undeserved. The NCA must exercise foresight and closely examine the burial needs of veterans in several major population centers.
Again, NCA is facing a tough challenge in the years ahead. The veteran death rate will increase by 25% through the year 2005. During this time frame, internment is projected to increase by 40%. The NCA is doing a good job during this time of limited budgets and an increased workload. The NCA FTEE have decreased, as has every other area of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The need, however, to increase the staffing level of NCA is becoming more urgent every year. There is a very legitimate need for increased funding and personnel.VVA agrees with other major veteran service organizations that NCA needs to be funded at $106 million for FY 2000. This sum is needed in order to meet the higher costs for administrative expenses as the internments increase. To offset the reduction in employees since 1997, this amount would enable NCA to maintain current operations, to accomplish many of the needed deferred maintenance projects pending, and fund the restoration of 80 full-time employee equivalents (FTEEs). The bottom line is that NCA currently does not have the resources to adequately handle the huge job that is on the horizon.
A curtailed budget has served to force the NCA to "triage" its resources. Only those national cemeteries with immediate and urgent maintenance problems receive repairs while other crucial preventative maintenance and infrastructure projects are delayed. Long term operational and management demands are not being addressed. While the significant shortfall of funds appropriated versus funds that are actually needed for basic operation make it neccesary to allocate carefully and "juggle" the priorities in a ‘crisis management' mode of operation, VVA would maintain that a better job can possibly be done with existing resources. The NCA can do a better job only if they pay more attention to planning, particularly in the years leading up to 2008.
State run veteran cemeteries serve the burial needs of thousands of veterans. Over the last two decades the VA has provided over $57 million in grants to State veterans cemeteries for construction, expansion, and improvements. NCA is now solely administering the State Cemetery Grants Program, which provides financial assistance for the purchase of burial space by state veteran cemeteries. Under Pl-105-368, states are now permitted to receive 100% funding from the NCA to establish a state veteran cemetery. VVA urges Congress to appropriate $10 million for the funding of state veteran cemetery grant applications.
Arlington National Cemetery is hallowed ground to Americans of all backgrounds and all regions of this nation. With about 5,000 funerals per year, major memorial ceremonies, and 4 million visitors per year, Arlington National Cemetery is a very busy place that demands constant upkeep. Although, Arlington is administered by the Department of the Army and is funded as an independent agency, VVA is compelled to comment on this most sacred American shrine due to its importance to veterans. VVA urges Congress to ensure that Arlington remain open for internment until 2035 or later, and open for cremated remains for an undetermined period.
Due to its old age (Arlington was opened in 1864), Arlington's infrastructure is in need of modernization of basic infrastructure systems. We believe its $12 million budget needs to be augmented by $5 million in order to meet the needs of this national treasure.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my remarks. I will be glad to address any questions you or your colleagues may have for me.
VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA Funding Statement May 20, 1999 The national organization Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is a non-profit veterans membership organization registered as a 501(c)(19) with the Internal Revenue Service. VVA is also appropriately registered with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives in compliance with the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.
VVA is not currently in receipt of any federal grant or contract, other than the routine allocation of office space and associated resources in VA Regional Offices for outreach and direct services through its Veterans Benefits Program (Service Representatives). This is also true of the previous two fiscal years.
For Further Information, Contact: Director of Government Relations Vietnam Veterans of America. (202) 628-2700, extension 127
E-mail us at govtrelations@vva.org