expansion of the system. So for this reason, I heartily urge this committee to consider the needs of our veterans in New England.

The exact location of the cemetery is less important than the fact that we have one. The right to be buried in a national place of honor is a right which we grant to all veterans, and yet in the case of New England veterans, this right is being denied because of a lack of conveniently located facilities. We owe it to our veterans and their families to establish a new cemetery, appropriately located in our region so that their loved ones will be able to pay proper tribute to their memories.

Mr. Chairman, I wish to thank you again for this opportunity to offer testimony on this legislation which we all consider to be so very important.

STATEMENT OF HON. SILVIO O. CONTE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS

Mr. Chairman, ever since the Defense Department altered its policy with respect to burials at Arlington National Cemetery, many voices have been raised throughout the country in behalf of an expansion of our national cemetery program elsewhere. Various bills have been introduced in this body either to expand certain existing national cemeteries or to establish new ones in areas where there is no convenient facility at the present time.

In spite of our apparent awareness, little has been done to devise a national program for providing a consecrated resting place for all of those who rightfully deserve a place of honor alongside former comrades.

The standard response of Administration officials has been that government participation in the burial of veterans through the payment of cash burial allowances is fair and reasonably effective. I do not feel this is sufficient.

Money allowances can never be a substitute for the honored privilege of burial in a national cemetery.

Even in looking at costs however we find that under the present system, many veterans are eligible for a $250 burial allowance, plus an additional $255 allowance under Social Security. So the burial costs could be $505.

On the other hand, the cost to the government of a burial in a national cemetery, exclusive of the cost of the land involved, has been given as $56.46, plus $4.93 a year for perpetual care. The government also provides a headstone on request, whether in public or private cemeteries, costing from $22 to $34.

My own record in this area is a long and perhaps familiar one, dating back well before the change in policy at Arlington over a year ago.

I have introduced legislation in previous sessions of the Congress calling for the establishment of a national cemetery at Westfield, Massachusetts. I have re-introduced this same legislation during the present session, my bill being H. R. 403. The bill authorizes the Secretary of the Army to acquire, either by donation or purchase, sufficient land to establish a national cemetery in Westfield and the appropriation of sufficient funds to clear the land and make it suitable for such purpose. The proposed national cemetery would become the nation's 86th cemetery, but would be the first national cemetery in New England. The closest for many years have been at Elmira, New York, and Farmingdale, Long Island.

I have pointed out repeatedly that the travel distance and expense thus imposed on the veterans of New England is not only unreasonable in terms of funeral arrangements for the deceased and their dependents, but is a total and, in a sense, heartless inconvenience for surviving families who naturally wish to visit and honor the gravesites of their loved ones from time to time.

The situation has been a frustrating and needless one for many years, long before the changes took place at Arlington.

The situation has grown ever more urgent since a year ago February.

I respectfully submit that establishment of a national cemetery at Westfield, Massachusetts, on a site presently available should receive the immediate and favorable consideration of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES C. CORMAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

I appreciate this opportunity to appear before the Committee on Veterans' Affairs in support of my bills, H.R. 6009 and H.R. 12352, the former to provide for the establishment of a National Veterans' Cemetery System, and the latter to

provide that one of these cemeteries be located in Los Angeles County, California. I was pleased last October when the rules of the House were amended to transfer jurisdiction over military and national cemeteries from the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. It seems to me that the Veterans' Affairs Committee is the proper place for this legislation, and I am certain that since the changeover has been effected, the great need for the establishment of a national cemetery system will be given early attention. I believe that all veterans who have served this great country of ours are entitled to the secure knowledge that their government has made careful plans governing cemeteries. Every veteran who wants it, whether he risked his life in France in World War I, in Iwo Jima in World War II, in the Korean mountains, or below the DMZ in Vietnam, should have the right to burial in a national cemetery situated close to his home. We have been grossly negligent of our war dead, and we have been negligent in providing our veterans with the security that a national cemetery close to home would give them. We need now to compensate for this neglect as soon as possible.

My bill, to establish a National Veterans' Cemetery System, places new emphasis on the Nation's obligation to provide and maintain burial grounds for servicemen killed in action, and other deceased veterans. It also provides for appropriate headstones bearing the names of the deceased, as well as setting aside areas with markers designating members of the armed forces missing in action or known to be lost at sea.

Last year, President Johnson asked the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to form an Advisory Commission to evaluate veterans' programs and to see if the government is fully meeting its responsibilities to veterans. The Commission, composed of eleven distinguished Americans, held hearings in cities all across the country. Recognizing the very serious laxity in the area of providing every veteran with the right to burial in a national cemetery, the President asked the Commission to include in its recommendations proposals to assure this right. The Commission's report was presented to the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs on March 19. Among other recommendations, the Commission fully endorsed the provisions contained in the proposed legislation to establish a National Veterans' Cemetery System. Anything less than the enactment of this proposal would be a gross injustice to our servicemen.

In addition to the need for a national cemetery system is the need that cemeteries, created under the act, be placed at locations of convenience to surviving members and give families of deceased veterans the thoughtful privilege of being near enough to their dead to visit cemeteries. With this in mind, I wish to speak to my bill, H.R. 12352, to provide that a national cemetery be located in Los Angeles County, California.

I first directed my attention to a much-needed cemetery in Los Angeles County in 1964 when I introduced a measure to establish such a cemetery. As we examine the history of the national cemetery system, we find that most of them are located in Civil War battleground areas. There are more national cemeteries in the State of Virginia than there are west of the Mississippi River; there are only two in California and both are almost filled; there are none in the Los Angeles area. There are about 1.5 million veterans in Los Angeles County who are without a national cemetery, and about 55,000 of them reside in my Congressional District. I am deeply disturbed at the extent to which the situation has been allowed to deteriorate. The number of veterans is swelling as draft callups continue. We have run out of time in Los Angeles. Our California veterans have contributed greatly to our country, and it is disgraceful that there is no longer a proper burial facility for them in their native state. If there is to be a national policy that veterans in all sections of the Nation are to have reasonable access to a national cemetery, it seems inescapable to me that one must be located in Los Angeles County.

Mr. Chairman, I urge the Committee's consideration of both my bills. The need for them is urgent.

Thank you.

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Washington, D.C., April 3, 1968.

Re H.R. 12801.

Hon. OLIN E. TEAGUE,

Chairman, Veterans' Affairs Committee,
House of Representatives.

DEAR "TIGER": I am enclosing a copy of a letter which I received today from my constituent, Mrs. Stan Pawl of Brookfield, Wisconsin, expressing support for the aforementioned bill, which is pending before the Special Subcommittee on Cemeteries.

If you could make this letter part of the records on the hearings, it would be appreciated.

Thanking you in advance for your cooperation, I am,
Very sincerely yours,

GLENN R. DAVIS,
Member of Congress.

BROOKFIELD, Wis., March 31, 1968.

DEAR REPRESENTATIVE GLENN DAVIS: As a member of the Elm Grove Legion Aux. Post 449, I wish to express my desire for a National Cemetery in Wisconsin. I believe this is Bill H.R. 12801, I also was a SPAR during World War II and do realize many of our National Cemeteries are already full.

Also, Bill H.R. 10480 surely has my support to provide penalties to those persons who desecrate our flag of the United States. There are fewer things in our lives each year that demand the respect of years ago.

Sincerely,

(Mrs. Stan) MILLICENT PAWL.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOSHUA EILBERG, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 7226 AND H.R. 12822

Mr. Chairman, I speak in support of H.R. 7226 and H.R. 12822, which I introduced during the last session. H.R. 7226 would grant authority to the Secretary of the Army for acquiring land for establishment of National Cemeteries in Pennsylvania. One of the most historic of all veterans benefits is that our grateful nation provides the final resting place for those citizens who have given or risked their lives for her defense. Yet many national cemeteries have reached or are about to reach their capacity. If we are to continue this time-honored benefit, then we must provide more ground. But not only acquisition of space, but also its location is crucial to whether the benefit continues. If the land is not convenient to the veteran's community, then of course, the burial benefit no longer retains its value or significance to the veteran's family. I see no reason why the benefit should count for less to the families of our soldiers fallen in Vietnam or of other veterans, than it has to families of veterans interred before them.

H.R. 7226 provides, therefore, that the Secretary of the Army shall give special consideration to cemetery sites in the vicinity of Valley Forge Park and Brandywine Battlefield Park in eastern Pennsylvania; Indiantown Gap Military Reservation and Boalsburg Memorial Park in central Pennsylvania; and Bushy Run Battlefield Park located in southwestern Pennsylvania. These areas, I submit, would be adequately accessible to metropolitan areas.

Also the bill would provide that the Administrator of General Services is authorized and directed to transfer to the Secretary of the Army any surplus Federal land in Pennsylvania which the Secretary determines to be suitable for National Cemeteries. We would then be utilizing land which already belongs to the Government but which we use for no other purpose. Such utilization of course would not involve transfer of funds. H.R. 7226 also authorizes the Secretary to establish National Cemeteries on land already under his jurisdiction but which he no longer needs for military purposes.

Whereas H.R. 7226 confronts the serious problem of physical facilities, H.R. 12822 confronts an emotional problem which likewise cannot be ignored. In the same way that we must provide adequate and suitable space, we must protect the hallowed nature of that ground. I submit that it is our duty to safe-guard the burial right also by disallowing that right to those persons who have

notoriously worked to subvert the cause of liberty and democracy for which all other veterans have given or offered to give their lives. To allow burial in National Cemeteries of remains of persons who have turned their backs on their country or its ideals is an inexcusable injustice and psychological nightmare to the families of all other veterans who have sought only an honored resting place for their loved ones. H.R. 12822 provides that the Secretary of the Army shall prescribe regulations as may be necessary to prevent burial in any National Cemetery of the remains of any subversive person.

STATEMENT OF HON. MARTHA GRIFFITHS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 648

Mr. Chairman, once again, I would like to urge the establishment of a national cemetery at Fort Custer, Michigan. I have introduced legislation for this purpose in every Congress since the 85th; this year, my bill is H.R. 648.

In my mind, the value of an expanded system of national cemeteries is clear. Burying the defenders of a nation in ground dedicated to their memory by grateful citizens is an ancient and much-honored custom. Many millions of living American war veterans are eligible for interment in national cemeteries under existing law; they should not be denied the privilege of such burial simply because we have neglected to provide the means. Nor should we deny ourselves the honor of burying these men with the respect and affection they earned so dearly and so richly deserve.

Thousands of veterans live in Michigan; yet there are no national cemeteries in Michigan, Wisconsin, or Ohio-and no active national cemeteries in Indiana. The site at Fort Custer is most suitable for such a cemetery. I urge your approval of my bill.

STATEMENT OF HON. GILBERT GUDE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND

Mr. Chairman, the concern over the shortage of space in our national cemeteries and the administration of these cemeteries, resulted in the House adopted Resolution providing for these hearings today. I have long shared this concern and, therefore, last May, introduced a bill, H.R. 10438, to create an eleven man commission to study laws and regulations governing the use of national cemeteries. As you know, on February 10 of last year, the Department of the Army issued a rule which excluded veterans from burial in Arlington National Cemetery unless they are on active duty at the time of death. At that time, I asked the Secretary of the Army to rescind this restrictive order, because I felt that Arlington should be available to all veterans of past wars regardless of their active or inactive status at the time of death. I was aware then, as I am now, that the facilities at Arlington are not without limits, but I feel it is an injustice to our veterans to make what remaining space is available at the cemetery a matter of rank or preferential selection.

It is also my feeling that all veterans who have served this great country of ours are entitled to the secure knowledge that we have carefully drawn policies governing cemeteries for veterans and servicemen that are equitable and will remain so in the future. My bill would establish a commission composed of three members of the Senate, three members of the House of Representatives, and five members appointed by the President. The Presidential appointees would consist of at least four members representing national veterans organizations. The Commission would report to Congress and recommend legislation to establish an equitable policy and plan to govern national cemeteries that will justly serve our veterans and servicemen now and in the future.

I believe it is appropriate and fitting that our national veterans organizations have a strong voice in recommending policy in this area. I feel they are best qualified to speak for those who have fought so valiantly for our country. I hope this Committee will take favorable action on H.R. 10438 to assure that our national cemeteries system will be run on a fair and equitable basis for American veterans and servicemen.

STATEMENT OF HON. SEYMOUR HALPERN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK, ON THE NATIONAL CEMETERY PROBLEM AND VETERANS' BURIAL ALLOWANCE INCREASES

Mr. Chairman, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee, the crisis of our National Cemeteries is already upon us. Unless we act, and act now, those who fought to preserve our freedom and way of life face the probability that they will be denied an honored place of burial among their comrades.

For many years, the administration of National Cemeteries has been hobbled by haphazard last-minute improvisation, devoid of guidance or preparation from an overall planning program, and compromised by the fact that the Veterans Administration-which is in closest touch with veterans' interests-has no jurisdiction over National Cemeteries.

It is difficult for me to understand why the administration of cemeteries in which our veterans are buried should be so fragmented and uncoordinated. At present, the Department of the Army, and not the Veterans' Administration, has jurisdiction over our National Cemeteries. The Veterans' Administration controls 19 cemeteries, for the most part, potter's fields near VA hospitals for veterans who die there indigent or without relatives. The Interior Department-through the Park Service administers the Civil War National Park cemeteries, which are "inactive" in the sense that no further burials are contemplated. Lastly, the American Battle Monument Commission oversees our military cemeteries located in other countries. The result of this dispersal of responsibility is that the administration of our cemeteries is too unwieldly and unresponsive to the best interests of our veterans.

The situation as it now stands is clearly unacceptable. Planning is sadly deficient. Each time a National Cemetery becomes filled to capacity, we face either closing it, or resorting to hurried efforts to obtain more land.

We've seen what has happened at Arlington National Cemetery, where years of indifference toward planning have resulted in severe restrictions on veterans' burials. And this is not an isolated case. Many of our National Cemeteries are fast becoming filled. For several years now. New York veterans' groups have expressed their concern that gravesites in Pinelawn National Cemetery on Long Island will be exhausted by 1970 unless more land is purchased. That is only two years from now, and close enough to mean that positive action must be taken immediately. I can see this happening only if jurisdiction over national cemeteries is transferred to the VA. The VA is veteran-oriented; it knows veterans' needs. I have no question that, with the appropriate authority, the VA would act meaningfully to keep abreast of present requirements, and establish a comprehensive program encompassing all cemeteries here and abroad in which U.S. veterans are being—or will be buried, to provide for timely and orderly expansion and maintenance.

Legislation to implement this proposal has been introduced, including my own bill, H.R. 13457, and I deeply hope that this Subcommittee will act favorably to attain this objective.

I also would like to urge that prompt consideration be given to another bill I have introduced H.R. 13455, which would increase the veterans' burial allowance from $250 to $350. It seems obvious that the current allowance is no longer adequate by today's standards, and that this increase would go a long way toward easing the burden of funeral expenses upon the deceased veterans' families.

In both these problems-national cemeteries and burial allowances-our veterans deserve better than they now have, and we would be remiss in our duties to them if we failed to do our part I urge most sincerely that you, Mr. Chairman, and the distinguished members of this Subcommittee help put an end to these deficiencies.

STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES S. JOELSON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Mr. Chairman and Committee members, I wish to thank you for the privilege of presenting my statement to you. As you know, I have introduced two bills relating to National Veterans' Cemeteries. H.R. 3315 refers to the Beverly Cemetery in New Jersey and H.R. 3316 calls for the National Veterans' Cemetery system to be restructured. I urge the committee's consideration of both these measures and actively campaign for their adoption.