9t- legislatorslc a discussion on article 5 of the constitution. and later police conduct and civil rights. >> 1/2 of congress is still in session this week with the u.s. house having finished its business lastanq ñéñweek. the senate fresh from approving a $1.1t trillion spending bill iso;ue6dl wrapping up their work with the extension of the executive -- a3d4d(you can watch the senate life on cspan 2, of course see the housevw n onn9á this week on q & a author and town hall.coml")c÷ editor katie .kbfz;uj pavlich on what she pe( liberals and theirza izéw

rhetoric. >> as you say it goes back to ted kennedy? >> it goes back to where the ki,.t&háhp &hc% idea for$y this book&k came frok was the 2002 convention when they were showing this tribute video because he portraying him as a'cf women's rights champion when he leftíhcj a young woman to drown. p,9 his car. and if he had not gone back for nine hours and tried to save his÷gywg own behind, she would have probablyt @uñ xsúo÷auzá(vived. and you can't do an entire video=lt at aág.ç convention claiming to be preaching andj7pur'g about the war on women and glorify someone like that while not including that part of his life in a video about his women's rights record. >> sunday night at 8:00a" eastern and pacific on cspan's1dñçhk q&a and to mark ten years of q and a we'rerkhx marking each prlvy)6 at 5zcb coming up the house veterans

affairs subcommittee looks into military cemetery operations, to include additional burial facilities improveá z6s inçú gravef9é÷ accountability practice, from earlier this month this is about an hour 45 minutes./ sk 2k good afternoon 7óy6ñeveryone, this oversight hearing of the subcommittee of .xdisabilities and memorial affairs will now come to order. we are here today to examine the issues facing our military veterans cemeteries. our goal in this hearing is to !2$ó learn more about theq4 operations of the national cemetery administration, arlington national cemetery and the american battle monuments commission over the past year, as well as the organization's commentary on

issues that i will be highlight highlighting momentarily. i would also like to welcome mr. walters as he has;my>y stepped up to perform duties as acting undert÷n secretary of memorial affairs aft:

retirement or ultimately upon their death and it is the responsibility of these organizations to see thisg3atd commitment through. i would7-&u !4mdo >!mbthat today will be my last hearing as subcommittee chair and thatgçhzp i am extremely pleased that today'slih tremendous work of these "f organiz7j2sj your commitment -- your commitment tov;4yñ these -- theñmbeñ timeless honor of our nation's veterans and theçnc.yfvbx compassionate missions of nca, arlington national cemetery and abmc. i have been proud to work with all of u you over the recent years and i trust that you will continue to go above and beyond to care for our nation and our national and international shrines.ût that saidy today, the committee is interested in hearing from the national cemetery administration on several focused areas including continued efforts to provide burial access initiatives for

rural 1 veterans those planned for urban areas and other future outlets for burialf/ we will also hear about new regulation it was aimed to address an issue which was discussed at ac regarding requests for headstones anddñs markers made by those other than next of kin. i also look forward to hearing updates on arlington national cemetery, and i note for the record mr. hallerman has done ah1vcz tremendous jobqm;c< want to make sure that the standards that he putcb;ñ forward. and thank you mr. l00hallerman for!rf5 your%]vn truly tireless mission.76í 2014 is a significantá7f-÷ commemo0:': year form> nation and the monuments commission. we'll be hearing updates on the

far reachingn8vkh area of abmc which:] operates in 16 countries and many other locations. secretary cleveland, thank you continued services;+ for being here today abmc is a remarkable organization and we appreciate hearing from you. now iñbú3 formallys] welcome])cdñ our witnesses as noted these panelists play a significantaéf role in ensuring that we fulfill our responsibilities to all of those who have served for us. the questions and discussions that will occur&vq today, we workyñ collectively not only to meet the challenges, but also to exceed the standard. first mr. ronald walters acting secretary for memorial affairs is here on behalf of national cemetery administration,"] oversees 131 cemeteries nationwide, mr. walters is accompanied by mr. glen powers,

deputy under&9d secretary for fieldh(bnbxjn" programs. next we will have mr.pl@t÷ patrick hallerman, executive director of army national military centers, and will also testify on panel 1. in his role mr. hallerman is challenged1ldáñ wit$kksoverseeing arlington national cemetery and %p] commission is with us today.- secretary secretary secretary b]fzba1.qclelan will -- we will also hear from a amy miller whod&xñ is thet0&'ñ director in outreach and education in tragedy assistance program for survivors.

complete, i also thank your member who was not on this committee but who has expressed ofdma epresentative stooifrs who's not here yet, be allowed to participate in this hearing no objections,4 so]mj/ñ =8t;#/ñ ordered. 2'k you all form y being with us today, and i now yield to the ranking member for her opening statement. >> thank you mr. chairman and thank you for having this hearing. i guess this is our grand finale. i suspect this will be the last time that our subcommittee during this session and i want to thank you for your leadership, and tell you what a pleasure it's been to work with you and your staff on this committee and then i think vålñ!ifwell served by yourik approach to these issues. >> i want to thank you for that also, because it'sd&bñ a two-way street. thank you for your commitment and your passion.

>> i also want9&0vç to+f"wx thank the speakers who are here.o=jq especially secretary cleland from4rdfv georgia, i know you share our feelings that our obligation to our veterans and maybe families is a solemn obligation that we need to uphold. theljy= national cemetery administration has grown

to be buried inmrjá aqv7 cemeteries that are close< !m to home and accessible for their families. -z this is especially true in the west. and the state with the largest veteran's population thp conserved by a national cemetery continues to be nevada, which is the home to over 'rh 230,000#tñ 83v veterans, aa in the las vegas area. so iní< total, there are 11 states with a combined veteran population of 1.8 million whon do not have an active national cemetery.4 and because most of those states are )lu0wz west, that's a lot of square miles that is covered that doesn't have that access.z0ñ r%jttó:?v-bañ áét$

these urban initiatives are great, but you have proposed them for los angeles which already has two national cemeteries and new york that's served by three. this is good but it's really a matter of convenience not a matter of necessity. those cities$láu mayóe not have perfect access,yj[z but certainly in a lot better shape k who's got to tryztñú four hours to bfhcalifornia bakersal field to&4ç get to a national cemetery. in and salt lake city,ísbq youwi? have to trave4mtvñ eight hours for burial and the closesteyá

for how to address that because as long as i'm:d7+ here i'm not going to let it go i'm going to keep bringing it upp=&j and keep workingvf>c with youyefn÷ it. a couple+#5%q of other issues i hopenñ& we can address. one is that last march i sentyñ6ms a letter to then( -- we need a policy on that rigxfr now it's rather capricious, it's case by case, and even if it works for national cemeteries the state %dí(cemeteries have t policies and9 doesn't seem to be fair to me to!ok our veterans and their families.mpand finally, something that's just o recently come to myt éx attention, is that veteran who is serve in theliá$ armed services÷ ;ç are at a disadvantage in another ó way. if you areñ ñethe spouse of5c!kñd veteran and you pass away, you can be buried in a +>q;veteran's cemetery, even if the veteran"çfw is still alive so the family g "uátjt together. unfortunately, current law

family member ofñjs anén# active duty service member who passes$:vcñ away simple -- because some of these things only make it fair for veterans and their families, allq: veterans and=xiw their families and rather in?a dealing with them in one way"tat nationalhzsxñl]]úz cemeteries, another in state and on akkiñ case-by-case basis, let's work together to create a policy. so i look forward to hearing all of your testimony, and especially alb ] from the monuments commission too how certain cut back and kim%resources will affect the service that you provide. thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you, gentle lady. advise the witnesses that your r(jeá t written statement will bejf:ñ entered into the record. we'rj first witness from the+][ [ca mr.

walters, you're now rkmq/-r-ed for five minutes for your testimony.'if %a÷ea >>v;ñññ chairman l member titus and distinguished members of the jhqsubcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to provide a review of the nationalc&!ñóevfp cemetery adminm'jpáion's operations and our plans for continuing to meet the needs of veterans and theirkykjñ#zxihlies. i'm accompanied today by lynne powers, deputy secretaryvnú for ó))a programs. i would also like to recognize÷ómy mc=x our shared commitment to honor and memorialize our z 8nation's svet trans isro"juáuh @r(t&háhp &hc% our continued partnership.? er(rpr)man under secretary mcdonald's leadership, 3phñ#1 q7bqó(t&háhp &hc% departmentzqlcz recently launched my va an ambitiousxyagx1-5ú effort to

reorganize the department to one that is centered around our customer, the veteran. defined and will7çm7,ujt)á nca] beuz the q)oi?ñ#future. consistent withdy) measures the success)lb" against t7haé ultimate outcome for the veteran, direct feedú ç back from our customers lets us know if we're achieving those outcomes. 1c reported in gñ2014,m5&nñ for the fifth consecutive tiñévb nca achievedm recorded for a public or private organization on the american customer satisfag6 thanks to oury!5ñ$l÷ employeepa score of 8ckñ96 wasehp the 68 point average for federal government agencies. ourñzdró1ñ employees are nca'sázh best assets and we value their feed back.. thalyear, i am5ì pleased to

report that nca úz@hincreaseded it'sha participation rate in va's8q all employee survey by 10%. < nca@ i@,p o the successful design of my this is especially true of nca's workforce, ekx:eu9ms74% of which are veterans, the highest percentage in the federal government.)@y/rvññáknf 6áá ioñxu employees are also more than willing to reach out to those ins need of a second chance, i am pleased to continue our effortsgq)yñ to end veteran homelessness. two years$ú÷ ago, nca established a cemetery caretaker4w:

are now employed full-time at nca, oura. third classt. ofa-gm:v&çç apprentices will convene this spring]! r(t&háhp &hc% thanks to the dedication of our entire workforce nca successfully metfhi $pñ increasing workload requirements in 2014 through our operation and maintenance program, we ma#x+e'ed over 3.4 million - ták performed]ir overgfáqx 125,000 [h

nca plans to eventually@ new qafcemeteries, which will provide new &j÷ or enhanced access to burial options.jf) over 2 million veterans. the newl!y?b6e facilities include 5 new national cemeteries two in florida, which jjs÷ will open this year, and onec8f2u each intfjgy

gravesite and headstone information and will serve as the basis for our ongoing gravesiteable n!e accountability ÷=6mç efforts. #cï11e weyd best share our rich histories of our nationalgjx cemeteries and our stories of our nation'st)áv heroes with the public through a variety of sources. mr. chairman, we look forward to committee, to care for th2 who have born the b#udñbattle. and we@v÷ of your< have done for our nation's] veterans. kty thank you again for this opportunity to be here today and i would be pleased to answer any questions that you may have.m >> thank you mr. walters and with that we'll now hears' from mr. hallw]k4oz for you are recognized for five minutes.7égñ >> chairman runnion, rankingvb

member titus and ranking members of the subcommittee.mcl sincew p÷ subcommittee a year ago, we continue to build upon ourm@fv tremendous progress.fr we are setting industry standards for best practices becoming better veterans whilelnöfuuju)r'g closely with organizations i am proud toäf testify about today. we have lef ran[>caa o' -- cutting edgel j technology that usesklá an internment system to provide real time mapping and a common operational picture of activities at the cemetery.ó+ our internment service system upon for identification for burial locationi it providesñ=&j access to'] digitized burral8 yal records and stores@7(,av6notographs of the the kas at the time and the unat

each electronic internment -- -÷úmudmkoz of !rx strictest chain ofkx-4 custody ofí any -- field operational status completevevc funeral procession routes while alsoocs gravesite and headstone p.=l esgps=3x locations which are accurate to with÷r systems in concert assure accountability and efficiency in our operations at arlington nationalu i? cemetery. to keep up with increasing requests fore4&b÷ burial at arlington cemetery we make every effort to make sure all ourã&4@ trained to thu highest standardsrf"@ñ when dealing with families andç treating each with respect and dignity. in october, we began the renovation ofqbñ ourbñ $hu táát center

restrooms to improve our zñ÷ visitors' 7cvpexperiencing. we are currently renovating the basement of the welcome center to provide work spaces for our staff. another one of our g fiscal year 2015 é?a¢#$z is the redesign and improvedgxw manner in,mógo cf1 o which we gather and escort funeral processions, we are 'vpz designing a new funeralmlñ possession that will make our funeral lineup muchoía5=i intuitive and easier to negotiate. i'm also pleased to inform they0fj ,q17[u! me and planning and plans that are wellgdf4ñpfm under way for the tombs[o this will pro-- in may 2014, we refurbished the display room wßéiku museum quality cases to properlyr@ protect itemskq!l gifted to the tomb of the unknown s/wq). we have recently completed an +);páq'sibility

studyv:soñ and will hope us institute+d= projects tov vñb that our national shrine is accessible to all those who want to visit. the cemetery staff°z -- daily utility infrastructure. in 2011n1" we2p

completed both projects are expected to extend arlington's longevity through the mr. chairman 2a÷ejáájá dedicatedj@q support.m( with diligentd:zj efforts, establishedi/6p2[ procedures, repeatable processes, embedable institutionalized stan zards arlington cemetery jq will embed the trust with which the --zà÷ ;(ñ-ery burial service at arlington national cemetery will] .] continue to be conducted with the honor and dignity our serving members have earned and their families have been treated with compassion and respect. thank you and i lookmn(yf forward to answering any questiov have. that i'lll" recognize secretary cleland fors6g i >> thank you mr. chairman may i

say it's an honor to be with you again mr. chairman ands. members of the x we will miss you mr. chairman, we'll missiw(÷u>a we'll miss talking our mission and we'll miss as ms. typ!.2 r#zww#o3 uhp &hc% said, your fair even handed approach to these issues in a[ou÷ bipartisan way. it's rare in this town and i for one really appreci!-it. we'll miss you.3]4÷e!bxz÷ secondly p$s÷0h hmc ir/ñpji wanted to meet with over/w last few w÷ years i have really:62 gotten to know them. and i can tellg u(48÷ you thatfz /tsñ patrick2 2& hellernan is to the leader of the pack out there. i was talking to the secretary of the army about four years ago to head up an advisory3c committee on the arlington national cemetery, they have comelaaq light

years in four years, i can tell you that.k?%5ñ now they gotv;f good technology that can launch a satellite. it7 0ó psp-ing.íd [nñ transformation that the they have put together out there.&< z the d mr. chairmanú0g used to head that the head many many yem andjgñ we areçú25ájjt closely with &át secretary and met with secretarybbvdñ mcdonald and we're in agreement, particularly on some sensitive issue,4 ñ regarding the punch bowl -- we're working closely with all6#i of the people7vx at the l4fbtable, and i say in terms of arlington, that the american battle monuments commission hasmreú putjc charged/ aiaison officer there on site and he's doing a great job.

he spent 17 years in western europe andú$dz÷4í[ñhe's an #hvz benefit, ia one of our staff members is on theñ' advisoryp ñ cemeteries andb÷bñm>>aqqbmpu worksk]e his name ist;añ tom sol. i havei@0 have laboredám+'÷ in thea#%ñ vineyard of commission for a long time. hysm]+kñ our chief financial officer and mike connelly, ourz:x administrativevdk officer, we're just honored to be with him today. i would just say that last night i saw the movie based on the and it was a powerful testimony a1 t one z 1 kyk=xij yx8yky[ghúñ louie zaborini unbelievabóñmx unbelievable story but thec

amazing thing think that he was one of 16 million service members caught u up in world war ii,tyíñ it was worldwide con flag ration, thatz&yñajjñ expanded the work of the american battle commission, we now ry have 125,000 serviceu?&;w members buried in at least 14 different nations.é o%zçu we have 95,000 names)@up the missi6 world war ii on our tablets of the missing. you'll seeum%ñ aw1)rj business. i'mp (j this business as general peshing said and welike to quote at the americanocú battlep3:rç monuments commission that time will not(l6:u dim theat glory of their deeds. answer any questions, one issue that the congressstf gave the american national monuments

commission was clark cemetery. en route to vietnam in 1967, i went byx:rfy the old clark air base en route to vietnam, it isj("ng36tju closedéz the philippine government asked the american1!=ñ military toh[yñ½s leave a number of year÷fgpjy that leftçs:y clark airfield base cemetery which had#í[2 been around almost)# 100 years,enw with about );jd 8,000juéteinternments men wome ñ childrennt ÷ dependents, #]kyk÷ll ñunatte8g and so the congrdi mission tok( monuments commission, we n have taken that mission seriously, we're in it%by with both feet. we're doing an assessment of what it will take to bring that cemetery u8oui a 1 r(t&háhp &hc% standards.6ópñgsi l$o arlington of the ..pacific, it's75m-pr(t&háhp &hc% not going to bews8ú one of our top notch:qh &cemeteries, but we will maintain it with dignity, but

that's going to the take some money. so we'll be coming back to you(a6@cr in a couple of légbz÷ç years=#t for that. pm of yourr@y information and wr nknow vase and u how did that relationship of

collaboration begin? staerlt with mr.jd xtyly8u walters. zsyw.5s we obviously worked=c: ) yw very closely battle among92y you means commission. for ÷ymnstarters both have a representative onsory+zq#zrñm (ááá t (t their input on'z that committee which ranges over a variety of issues, we have found extremely helpful overóagq the yelñ with v4u÷arm) vz established a board that meets areas of mutual interest and to share best practices, for example, mr. t%'hallernan mentioned the useb:h of gis/gps te# it's somethingjéñ that the national cemetery administration is beginning to use and we can certainly learn%q!hl](ur(qj from

arlington's success in that regard. i would also submit that there are many things that nca has úy shared with ed withd wit r(t&háhp &hc% qs equally well in their favor. with abmc we are currently working on am3d construct an sberp tiff$8h center at the punch bowl in& ñ hawaii, in fact mr.n 'h powers was @ the)3do punch bowl to check on the progress of that. so we have many collaborative4i(dg efforts with xebabmc as+x well to share in the of our nation's?(eí%q)anss cemetery grounds. x e%rñ mr. 2 qhallernan? >> mr. chairman, in direct answer to the question of how did this all begano1eey in the efforts for communication and collaboration, ia-4+ñ worked with the former secretary steve morrow for 32 years with

came to arlington in 2010 during6x d difficult and challenging times, one of the first things i dide'k ip r(t&háhp &hc% was create a memorandum h[f of -- took advantage of training that was ) vongoing based on 33 years of experience, decades worth of experience.9 1w so thaterhsi relationship is this, andky and continue to share over the last couple&cñ of years. my/3bdç relatéab ip with pf>x:1s$ñabmc, former senator cleland is a member of our advisq!ñvisw $íh"x committee, he was also my old boss when we worked at the va,fo÷ so we have known each other for many= p years, both professionally and as veterans the relationship professionally and personally was there and reached out and sign+0a>ñ a memo with committee is aware of, what we have done wit`u'technology, what

we have done with>&zs standard operating procedures what we have done to train ourí g staff with citizenstivityg#ñ3 especially so the communication is+k in place, the mec place, the vehicles are there, we are working together as mr. +l$lsdá$táju$áyb-b÷g+&x: he's assigned as part ofk proactivetly g engaged at the same time sharing theirswfrq acts ofji"3n ek experience. so across the board here at this &háhp &hc% table and going forward into the future, actually the working relationship that's been/ o documented that's in place even2 when we're gone. thank you.lx9 >> secretary ôcleland, do you have anything to add? >> mr. chairman, thank you very much. actually the cooperation between these!& thing i'm most proud@ hasn't always been that way as you well know it's unusual for

a government agency to work with another governmentféz agency. and piped and everything 8=qzç lined up to where you are accountable to your congressional and oversight people./hak &háhp &hc% and youñ @ yourh they're in the same business. we are in the same business all of us we are in the business of honoring those who have served, particularly when they get killed in[jz> action,2fa particularly when they die and looking after their families. so that's the business we're in.e3fs i have made sure thatfo ñ patricktes÷ callahanrçacb and his associate, renee gates came over[4q to the 70oc,y anniversary of the!jñ normandy invasion, we were there, all of us,3a/ñ they were with thefq1< commission, and with us, with the president of the united

states,t&zjt then on that june 6 of this year, then the next day they went back for a professional tour. to look atícfcñ the cemeterythn at9) normandy, and especially the interpretive center that we$éañ have there, that we think#|ñ is world class, arlington is now looking themselves. so there is]xhóaiñ a massivnzñ change back and forth. ourio[ people have shared information for a number of years. in terms6bf< of the va, i met with secretary mcdonald, we have"3#6j memorial, where the va and the cemetery is unique, but therev the -- i was just therel veterans day,á&a the va's been out there in the last couple of days sop!zb we're working on this tushlt to experience at thñ +k punch bowl is somethingve ;ñ that future

generations can grab. so i'm proud$q@ tov? pp work with½&y these folks and they're the best in the business as far as i can tell. >> thank you for that my time's expired, but i just wantf1px to say one thing ng9@/m i think what you all did was unique.> okay.na$8 >> mr.;x)w walters i would just urbancbnru0rñ initiativeye program and ask $q you, maybe justification of why tu don't include urban areasn thaty kix people have a difficulty getting to have a state if you30! take publicji takes you two hours and you still have to"a walk six miles.

juáhr(p' make that trip. so why wouldn't those kg:ylw of urban areas be considered for this initiative.> "c>#y@mc (ñ >> the purpose of thec initiative, at least as it is kñ)< defined now÷& is tomvhsaí provide data that shows that there are problems with time and distance barriers÷h5t those hl)÷ñw we have five very specific evaluate aqr÷] for thert placement 7ñof a column only cemetery.3hx÷ baqf%9jeuiu designedn()ñ to supplement the national cemeteries and to addressúqa÷ gaps in service that oura6g are telling us through formal surveys and other$1 other feedback.

>> would it make sense to look at expanding that to also include access to a state cemetery when there is no national -b eññ >> i think certainly itn"t=9(z makes sense to begin to. who use stateo$p cemeteries similar to the6 national i think f could then

cemetery. >> 5ñ no formula for the what determines the allocation

>> our access standard does in the take into account8fvx driving time and distance. it is mileage.@m(ñ my understanding is bou ! city is approximatelydwb&w 30 miles from las vegas, i'm not1 the driving1q wouldy i think the bottom 4&>ñline, ]ñ6 is we do not consider;icj burial in]5cgó a state inferior option to being buried in a national d#&/xá >> if you had the choice mr. a walters, woul+úc ñ burrey buried in a state

have on state cemeteries after you have provided(;(dñ the fundinging. because state cemeteries policies very -- douí,hj you go back and oversee these? or once you get the çexmoney, you'ruylecqj going to trust the c>[6 1 o veteranst4$n association to be sure that they keep the+pñ national standard? >> lno ma'am we have a fairly rigorous national compliance review program that we just revamped about a year or so ago, where weva6go to state thatfacilities and we?3 apply>>uxána2ñ the same scorecards that we do to our national cemeteries to the statesvp applicable. obviously there'sq1x some$ñ criterion that are only applicable to but weíñflñ do review the states, we havei2st scorecards for them wepnarñ givenkx them4sfi opportunities to submit corrective action plans l2p/!n those instances#/& shortcomings and wec;c=t work with

closure on problems. if ioatg may mention oãother thing about the acceptance of state cemeteries, we recently co customer satisfaction survey with those who use statezkf. cemeteries, who bury their loved ones in state :ecemeteries, we don't have the full results, but we were able to extractbxeltáát overall results that vk98% of?n respondents !ç believe that the appearance of thosetpv cemeteries the state stemdsp cemeteries were excellent. 95 agreed that the service provided at those statetsy"ñ4)kw facilities were4glsñ96d excellent and 98% said they would recommendyxásf theyv9su cemeteries to a f >> that's"asc like asking a person in an ice cream store who's eating ice crei you/wi1@ot asking other people

who have chosen not to use that facility what reasoncc what they think about it. so i just worry about state!s) cemeteries having different policies in different states. just like your homeless program, it's a great program, but it's only in national cemeteries, it's not in state cemeteries, so i just think we need to work together on trying to fix that.f za thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you.p chairman, you were:@z an all pro on the football field and a$"d (t&háhp &hc% champion for our veterans. i really appreciatey5&#zp#p÷ it, a tremendous 0m(jxadvocate. and first of all senator thank you for your service to our v opportunity to visit the clark cemetery in the philippines and i want to also yu÷ thank the ecz'pvfw and the other service organizations who have(kij

up to now, theyvu&kqa%b have done an outstanding az(pt(r', the private funding has come from our veterans over the years.é i hav( 'p uestion for mr. there's been a fewt1ft instances in the past where individuals have highlighted4dz concerns of the committee on specificél specific issues and any constituentss come to me as welt. for instance onem0 ñm realizedwyy7 aa raise where headstones appear to havãbeen rung over by construction vehicles. the committee hasáñy#wh:ke1ñ largely found an j/j÷ncaah+to be very responsive when contacted on these issues.9d[ in the last few years. my question is how do individuals, how do ouriçñ constituents who visitd+ñ national cemeteries raise concernsúqñ to nca and what receiving those complaints? questions? >> yes, thank you for the question.c

we have a variety ofa through which those who visit our cemeteries cantjzñnby voice +hz÷ concerns. beginnin/s:ez with complaint lcv that are maintain

>> do you rj to individuals? >> oh, yes, sir,

fact we added language referred to as a dignity clause toi our national shrine contracts where contractors$@a now have tob7" especially conscious of what[f they're doing at our gravesites to be sure they're honoring ,[ dignity of theç ÷ñ burials. >> thank you very much. i have one more question. thek the v÷s implementation of the dignified burial actwh6 of 2012. it's my understanding that a national funeralñ. ú director's association expressed concern with one of the details of the proposed rule us. under the previous rulesg funeral homes were able to-(fly apply+nfz directly to the/mzg$? reimbursement or other associated obenefits, and in their view this alied funeralqv homes to veteran with a timely14clt and dignified funeral. and this is what i am concerned about for the familyi(c and for

thefú[) ÷drans, without any concern compensated for their services. without a next of kin, underw4,pq would have to5 atw÷ the authorized ó&(representative, which would add

pild be happy for the record3÷w provide a response. i will say that0béq the intent of the directzbñ payment to the veteran wasf7e to do÷dk precisely what i thought you said oward the end of your comment which÷ make sure /

process and make it more inconvenient for the families, or if[b7ñ they don't have a next of kin, they can take care of it directly. so0n

walters, first of all,bp i want to thank you for the great job that you do and that your team does. paso, texas that i have the honor3q>:53 k han who is doing a i÷ñddibly responsive works well with our and is atent toif the veterans and theiry@3=ç families in el paso. i want to thankq uñl!l g thank you. and as you've been very ? us, toa k personally wooir able to talk on the phone dc about concerns before they become real problems and so+ i i you for that as well.ba i think is cemetery in el paso at ft. bliss is in manye=éñ ways remarkable. it's very clean, well o@hvkept,ñu a great staff and the response and i think you probably have thevq data to back it(f)'up in termsv?dxq of

that you serve, has been great. disconnect between the nca and el paso and ourz0de÷-, servicer offices it's one of the water/x9mñ wise5 ÷ system. it is deeply unpopular amongst those people whose opinion i care about the most, the veterans and theirkúúoiifamilies, the children:[ae÷ widowers the deden=v(1tcy sents of those that areç buried there. you have approached this.sú as an either or proposition. and your argument is when ft. bliss had that, it was%(@fwy4te9? suboptimal or you have water wise, doesn't"íwñ require a lot of management orf8 ñx6z efficient and in the opinion of some it's7m aesthetically 6m plea

talking about crushed rock and dirt on%- we're no4c landscape, althoughç there is somejoc and some trees.t.é8a%5 uá_q visiting a family memb%cóxí and3yfwsbw&0x it's 110e use to make these %=9m9ñ my understanding is only three

. factors tß-ñ.6sq1a include climate condition as well as the availability ofh"g/1r' the case of el paso, 1)4ãyou┌#gs kl@tcz the decision to zero skap/lf&k7zv that cemetery was based on ae 3 in (jk1999. indicate byct if el paso were yqç be maintained as5 a national tó )ine there was not< sufficient amount ofi so. ñzqñ thãn2v study9b recommendedtmñ zeroo(,@h skaping the entire cemetery.jt@

decision to make the investment to zero skapq$sñ the f;4iñcemetery. >> if i could interrupt you z you're ssgiving me the history. i'm asking for to2çp-rñr future. how are wehhd going tqhn÷ work @

what i'm asking for nowzez is how can we work together to do something.@h)=z perhaps we cannoték:o÷ turf the entire cemetery.% perhaps there's an imp =rent on the bliss today inv% el paso. but because i'm out of time and because it probably involves a longer conversation, i would just like to gain8 commitment that webéckúcj can work together to do /[!9that. >>1gó absolutely.añé willing to worku wñ with you and your staff. we have done so in th] ñ1my=q past. we will continue tokn>5óñ do that with you.+w= i think a good launching point p k very well be theg taking when they're examin soil condition;gi'q and perhapsí]iz coming up withúb8áv recommendations or 0vqwm we canh;2rrconsider. so absolutely, we're more than willing to work with you and your staff. >> great. thank you. >> sure. >> thank >> thank yofúoñ withiñ that i recognize mr. ñ stivers.