Letter to Hon. Mathew T. Quinn, Undersecretary, Memorial Affiars - Open Eligibility for State Veterans' Cemeteries

Letter

Dear Under Secretary Quinn:

As sponsors of the Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act, we write to urge the Department
of Veteran Affairs (VA) to implement reforms to the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program that
ensure all members of Reserve Components and the National Guard are eligible to be buried in
state veterans' cemeteries, so long as their service was terminated under honorable conditions.
We also request that the Department cease its existing practice of punishing state veterans'
cemeteries that bury the spouses, minor children or unmarried adult children of those service
members by conditioning federal grants on a cemetery's compliance with existing burial
eligibility criteria.

On July 30, 2021, the VA posted a Request for Information (RFI) on the Department's Eligibility
Considerations for the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program.1 On August 30, 2021, the
commenting period closed. Dozens of commentators, including leaders of state veterans'
cemeteries from across the country, indicated they support efforts to expand eligibility for burial
in a state veterans' cemetery to additional members of the National Guard and Reserve
Components. Leadership of the National Guard and state veterans' cemeteries in our states have
indicated that they strongly support this change in eligibility to ensure that those who served
receive the proper burial that they deserve. We have also heard from constituents who served in
the National Guard and Reserve Components and believe that existing restrictions on the
Department's grant program fail to acknowledge their contributions in service of our nation.

National Guardsmen and Reservists swear to defend this country just as their Active Duty
counterparts do, and we must make sure that they receive the respect and recognition that they
deserve. As you are reviewing the information gathered throughout the RFI process, we ask that
you consider reforms to expand the eligibility for the Department's Veterans Cemetery Grants
Program.