House Holds Hearing on Rep. Fossella's Legislation Aimed at Establishing Veterans Cemetery on Staten Island
Press Release
House Holds Hearing on Rep. Fossella's Legislation Aimed at Establishing Veterans Cemetery on Staten Island
Congressman Vito Fossella today urged the House of Representatives to pass legislation that could help make it easier to establish a veterans cemetery or veterans mausoleum on Staten Island.
Fossella testified in support of his legislation that would establish new, statutory criteria for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to consider when determining where to establish a national veterans cemetery during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
Fossella said, "Today's hearing is one more step forward in our efforts to establish a veterans cemetery on Staten Island. The criteria used by the VA does not take into account real-world factors like traffic congestion, the availability of public transportation or even population density. This puts areas like New York at a disadvantage when competing for limited resources to establish a national cemetery. Veterans in New York City and other urban areas should not be underserved simply because of where they have chosen to make their home. This bill would remove one more obstacle that stands in the way of establishing a veterans cemetery on Staten Island."
Fossella's bill would require the VA to consider the following factors when establishing a new veterans cemetery:
Number of veterans living in the area;
Average distance a resident must travel to reach the nearest national cemetery;
Average amount of time it takes a resident to travel to the nearest national cemetery;
Availability of public transportation to travel to national cemeteries;
Population density, and
Imposition of tolls.
The bill also would also require the VA to consider alternatives to a cemetery, such as mausoleums, in the event of insufficient acreage. Current considerations by the VA are not statutory and are based almost entirely on whether there is another cemetery within 75 miles.
Fossella said it could take up to two hours to drive the 90 miles between Staten Island and Calverton National Cemetery on Long Island.
Fossella said, "This legislation would force the VA to make a distinction between traveling 90 miles over the Belt Parkway and the Southern State Parkway to get from Staten Island and Calverton and driving the same distance in the middle of Kansas, Kentucky or Wyoming. It would also require the VA to consider alternatives like mausoleums to accommodate veterans in communities where available land is scarce."
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