july 20 2 -- july 21 and july 22 when we visit alaska. a hearing on the maintenance of the veterans cemeteries and memorials in the u.s. and overseas. veterans affairs undersecretary testified, along with representatives from the american legion and the veterans of foreign wars. this veterans affairs subcommittee hearing is one hour and 15 minutes. >> good morning.

this hearing will come to order. today we are going to be discussing how our nation's nation vet -- how our honors veterans who have passed on. it is appropriate we are holding this hearing so close to memorial day, and yesterday's anniversary of d-day, and the 100th anniversary of the deadliest day of battle of bella woods, when general john j pershing ordered a drive theensive to germans out of bella woods during world war i. i recently had the privilege to travel to visit some of the most hallowed ground in the world, including that very battlefield and others. on june 6, 1918, u.s. marines under the command of general command --n led the

lead the attack against for german divisions of bella would. -- bella woods. important tos very me, not just because i am a marine, but one of the marines who fought at bella woods was born in jackson county, illinois, write your my hometown. he survived the battle of bella od but fell less than one month later while marines were advancing through the french countryside. my american legion post, when 27 inmurphree -- 127 murfreesboro, illinois, now bears the state of private paul -- now bears the name of private paul stout. , who spentut stout june 6, 1918, charging entrenched german forces with no

thought of regret. too many men are still there, but at the end of the day, marines had suffered more than 1000 casualties. of thethe bloodiest day battle, which went on for almost four weeks. eventually, the marines drove the germans out, but at a horrible cost. by the end of the battle of almost 10,000 americans were dead, wounded or missing in action. graves amon the of those brave men, who fought and died so far from home, was one of the most overwhelming experiences of my life. each headstone was a monument to a husband, father, son or a brother who did not make it home. it was unforgettable. it was also incredibly inspiring.

that visit reminded me of how much i owe to these fallen heroes, and i was very grateful i was able to honor them. every american should have that experience. thatl need to be reminded the freedom we enjoy is because of the brave men and women who serve in our armed forces. thatso need to ensure future generations understand our freedom will always depend on the service and sacrifice of our nation's veterans. the abmc are responsible for maintaining national cemeteries, to demonstrate our gratitude and inspire our children and grandchildren to follow the examples of patriotism and service embodied by those resting in these cemeteries. that is the only way the united states will continue to be a free country. this is why this hearing is so important. as chairman of this subcommittee, i don't hear many

complaints about the nca and taking care of our national cemeteries, but there is always more we can do. andcertainly i know the nca mc have ideas for improvements, and i am looking forward to hearing from our witnesses about ways we can better honor these extraordinary americans. so thank you again for being here today. rankingow yield to the member for any opening remarks she may have. >> thank you, mr. chairman. it is appropriate we are holding this hearing today, one day after the 74th anniversary of d-day, and i must note, my husband's birthday. it is very easy to remember. i've been reflecting on our duty as members of this committee, to

ensure the respectful and dignified memorialize asian in perpetuity -- memorialization in perpetuity, of america's veterans. i want to welcome secretary reeves to his new position leading the national cemetery association come and look forward to hearing his ideas to improve how the agency deals with veteran families. id i want to let you know, hear very good reports and we want to continue to ensure we are serving veterans and their families in a way will would all we would all a way want to. i want to publicly recognize the heroism of the national cemeteries workforce in florida and puerto rico, following the hurricanes last year. this committee was receiving daily updates on asset damage and operational status, and the very first day the reports were

that cemetery employees work reporting for duty within hours of the storm passing in each case. burials continued as scheduled within 36 hours, despite power outages and damage. it was heroic. it was heroic of these people, many of whom had homes that were destroyed or damaged or flooded, families were themselves in distress. i don't think they have ever properly got in the credit and thanks from congress and the american people that they deserve, for continuing to do their duty and ensure that we properly memorialize and care for those who have served this country. know how muchto we appreciate that. we recognize there is no amount of compensation that can provide and compensate for that sort of devotion to duty, and a wanted to make sure we recognize that today. i also want to welcome secretary

matz, and congratulation on the work the committee is doing all over the world to ensure that cemeteries and memorials honoring followed american servicemembers can continue to be as beautiful and hallowed places of remembrance that we would want them to be, at more and more to educate visitors who have no direct memory or knowledge of the battles that were fought nearby. this committee recently visited the american cemetery in normandy. i understand there is a new visitor's center and at the site is to be preserved, the commission has plans to install new pedestrian walks. having visited that cemetery with my children 15 years ago, i can tell you for them as young americans it was so remarkable, to see row after row after row

and contemplating the young men who fell, who are now younger than my children are now, was striking and overwhelming. it's very different than what you read in textbooks. so preservingle, those sites, and the education aspect is part of what our nation needs to memorialize and to remember and to understand the consequences of war, and what our responsibilities are in the world. i look forward to hearing from you, secretary matz, about these plans and what is planned for next year's 75th commemoration of d-day. i would welcome our good friends from the vfw anti-american foreign legion. you always provide important feedback on what is happening on the ground. pass,not just the laws we and the regulations and the funding. it needs to work for people, and you help ensure that we understand whether our good

intentions are being realized for the families and veterans we are honored to serve. work with the subcommittee is greatly appreciated and greatly needed. i want you to know how much we appreciate your work on toxic exposure. where is mr. wiseman? i am sorry. we know you are moving on, moving on to be the virginia state vfw commander. please note our gratitude to you, because of your work on on toxicvocacy exposure. we are pleased to move forward on bluewater veterans. around thiss country, that has been a long, hard-fought battle and you helped get us nearer to the finish line. thank you for your work on that,

for vietnam veterans exposed to agent orange whose children were willwith spina bifida, also appreciate your hard work. >> thank you. >> again, i want to thank the chairman and the chairman for holding today's hearing. thank you all for the work you do. >> i'm feeling a little outnumbered here with all these marines. could be in the we willa marine, so have to army and to marines if that is ok with you, mr. chairman. fornt to thank you all having this hearing today. one of my priorities is an shorting our nations veterans receive a proper resting place. last month i and others on the committee were honored to visit

several overseas cemeteries and monuments for the great men and women who served in world war i and world war ii. most of our war i, fall heroes were buried on the battlefield. after the great war, our country realized some families may want to bring their loved ones home who perished in battle back to the united states, while others may want them buried overseas where they fell in service to our country. i the battle of bella woods, can't imagine going across that wheatfield, which is still a wheat field today, in machine gun fire that those men did. it is literally amazing area and also, to be at that cemetery, to walls of literally marbled names that they never found, that were missing, and that's really remarkable. , thelso, this battle

second infantry division which i was in, was stood up in 1917. american armyonly division that has ever been and camp by a marine, with june, north carolina, was named after general lejeune, who also commanded the second infantry division. and these marines were assigned to the second infantry division. so it was a lot of history for me that i had passed over in school and got deep into, and it is an amazing part of our history. most people in this country don't realize the ferocity of those battles. this was hand to hand combat, and you are looking at four and where looking at a very small piece of real estate. it wasn't they get all -- wasn't big at all. and since overseas cemeteries

are thousands of miles from american soil, the u.s. established the american battlefield commission in 1923 to ensure those grades are properly maintained. i can assure you, they are properly maintained. symbolse memorials are a of our nation's commitment to preserving democracy. i will never forget visiting these incredible monuments to the brave men who made the ultimate sacrifice for our great nation. one experience that resonates with me personally is a visit to the graves of three of my tennessee brothers, robert tester, glenn tester and james tester, who lost their lives during world war ii. perished inrothers three separate countries during the war, but at the request of their family they were buried side-by-side at the american cemetery. and these young men came from a family of nine children and grew up in new victory, tennessee, in

washington county where i live. seeing that they were laid to rest reminded me of the sacrifices made to secure the i'mre of our country, and forever grateful to their patriotism. as i looked over their headstones, and i have pictures of them, i remembered these men were more than just soldiers. the were meant that left comfort of their homes and tragically never returned. i couldn't help thinking about what their mother and other family members must have felt when they learned about the three deaths. i can't imagine how hard it must have been for their mother, to make the choice to have buried them so far from home, yet i can't help but think she made the right choice. the henri chapelle cemetery is beautiful and respectfully maintained. it is an appropriate resting place for the tester brothers and their comrades in arms.

i would certainly encourage any americans traveling abroad to plan a trip to one of these sites and be inspired other stories of those who are there now. i'd like to thank the ncaa and and the nbac. i yield back. i ask that all other members waive opening remarks. i want to welcome the witnesses. thank you for taking the time to be here. is randy witness reeves, undersecretary for veterans memorial affairs. also joining us is the honorable william metz junior, secretary of the american battle monuments commission.

testifying on behalf of the american legion is mr. gerardo of th abila. also, is this our last time? >> for this committee, it is. >> thank you for your service, with the vfw is can wiseman -- is ken wiseman. written statement will be entered into the hearing record. undersecretary reeves graciously reworked his schedule so he could be here for most of the hearing, but due to a long-standing commitment he has to leave early to catch a plane and we will understand that.

principal deputy undersecretary walters will remain at the hearing and be available to answer questions. undersecretary reeves, you are recognized for five minutes. undersecretary reeves: thank you. honored to provide an update on the national cemetery administration. i appreciate being here with secretary matz, a strong partner of the v.a.. the monuments commission, the a mc, continues to do great work. i'm honored to be here with our partners from the american legion and vfw, who provide critical support to us and the veteran community. here also is ron walters, my principal deputy undersecretary. it is my greatest honor to be able to serve america's veterans as their families

undersecretary of memorial affairs at the national cemetery administration. over the past few months i have traveled across the nation and and i continue to be in all at the commitment and dedication of our nca professionals. i have directed when simple vision for nca, and that is to ensure that no veteran never dies. you died the first time when breath leaves you for the very last time, but you only truly the future, when no one tells her story or speaks your name. to ensuringmitted that our veterans don't suffer that second death. from this vision we have established three key priorities that align with the eye's core mission. these are preserving the legacy that ensures no veteran never

dies, providing access to the v.a. for our veterans, and partnering to serve veterans. i am pleased to note that in conversations with many members of congress, i have found you share these priorities. you are helping us ensure that no veteran never dies. to our legacyed program that supports partnerships between the eight and academic institutions to students torsity research veteran stories and reach k-12 students about the sacrifice of our previous generation. to complement legacy, v.a. is creating an interactive website that will allow veteran families to upload pictures and videos and stories to be shared with the public worried one day, visitors will use smartphones to scan a veteran headstone and learn this story. that is the future and the future is here now.

i have seen it tested, and it works. to ensure priority is nca continues to provide burial access to veterans and their families. nca can in use to open existing cemeteries while recognizing the need to provide burial options to rural and urban veterans. nca will establish seven rural national cemeteries and five urban national cemeteries over the next few years. we appreciate the support of congress by passing the black hills expansion act, signed may 25, which will allow nca to obtain land from the blm adjacent to our existing cemetery. benefits buried in state and tribal cemeteries.

cemeteries in 47 states, guam, and saipan. look for your assistance for these valuable programs. we want to provide reasonable burial access to 95% of eligible also working on what i call the hardest 5%, those that are hard to reach in areas, and those that have long distances to travel they may alsoat be honored.

i urge you to visit our national cemeteries anytime. me tok you for allowing being here today, and i look look forward to answering any questions. thank you for opportunity to discuss the mission, operations, the american battle commission. is so appropriate to our agency mission. that sentiment inspires the thoughts i want to share with this morning. since the agency's establishment not923, our purpose has changed. it is to commemorate the service

america'shievement of armed forces. first chairman set the tone for the commission when he wrote that -- and i quote, time does not dim the glory of their deeds. these simple but very powerful foundationn fact the of everything we do. when the president elected me to serve as secretary of the commission he presented me with an opportunity of a lifetime, one that i don't take for granted. preserving these national treasures as symbols of selfless beacons of freedom, this is not a job for me, folks, it is a reverent calling. a duty for this former infantryman.

on the 27th of may, 10, 12 days a podium in the oneican cemetery in france, of the cemeteries that i had an opportunity to visit recently. memorized there 2600der-to-shoulder are soldiers and nearly 500 marines who died during that campaign. then on sunday afternoon, three hours later, we were over at another american cemetery. i understand your visit did not one,t you to go to that but we want you to visit that one at sometime. cemetery where thanks, there are

thosewar dead buried in thetiful grounds and 241 on walls, most of whom who lost their lives on the nearby battlefields. the dead that cemetery is a soldier that rested in plot b, grave 15. probably best known for writing the poem "trees." wrote these poetic words taken from a poem. earth nothere is on worthier grave to hold the bodies of the brave than the pride wheren and they noblebly fought and noblebly died. in july 1918, his 42nd rainbow to breakwas attempting german defensive position just a

few kilometers from the cemetery. fighting thatof rainbow division lost 5500 men. one of those men was sergeant joyce kilmer. then on sunday evening of that stood at the a toument, which you were able visit, and we appreciate very much. we were there to dedicate a new thetors center, telling story that provided context for events that occurred there 100 years ago. 27th, threeay, may historic sites, in honor and commemoration, underscoring, in my view, the importance of this morning's themes are honoring memorizing our nation's veterans. what motivates a man to leave safety of his trench?

howe do we ensure that we never courageous service and sacrifice? of our opening normandy american visitors center, we've recognized its to answer those questions by telling the stories of the men and women honored at these cemeteries and monuments, historical context for visitors now far removed from the events of the war years. one had to tell our first visitors the story. they were the mothers, the widows, brothers, sisters of the war dead. seek nor require context. they knew all too well the story. not tome to grieve, learn in the 1920's, 1930's. they came to say farewell.

three more are in development, andwith a common purpose, that is enrich the visitor's and understanding of the importance of these sacred educate our young children. an educational outreach program in the united states. throughing this partnerships with universities and organizations like the theonal history day and national world war ii museum in new orleans. folks, i invite you to visit our

wealth of view the stories and lesson plans that fordeveloped by teachers teachers. we've begun to partner with the administrationry on world war ii content, tying the stories of national theteries to those from overseas cemeteries. through all of this, we've not mission ofur core building monuments to commemorate service and sacrifice. we dedicated a monument in dartmouth, england, commemorating the ally build-up, training and actual launching of thed-day invasion from shores of england, and the commemorative bronze plaque in the royal naval college the amphibious headquarters in world war ii which oversaw the entire invasion force. later this year, we're going to memorial ands. national war memorial park in

new zealand and a monument in iceland commemorating u.s. primarily naval operations there theorld war ii is also in early stages of development. so these two commemorations will number oftotal memorials and monuments to 31. i will tell you we are able to this as a result of congress' 30 million one-time in 2016.tion believe me, i think we're good

stewards, putting all of that to good use. at the point did you hock ranger monument west of normandy, we are developing a site master plan to address the challenges posed by the dual need of visitors a positive and safe experience while thiscting the integrity of historic cultural landscape. the support of the ownership we assumed inthe cemetery outside paris january 2017. pioneers, 49ation of whom who are interred in a monument nextthe to two french aviators.

finally, i'm happy to report the restoration of the clark veterans segment in the haveppines, where we interred 8600 americans is progressing well. we're in the final stages of improvement in areas where the partially have been buried and unreadable really since the volcanic eruption in 1991. al of these programs have singular focus to honor theira's heroes for dedicated service and sacrifice.

served as an ambulance artilleryter as an officer. his poem, the young dead eloquentincludes this and timeless challenge. they say we were young, we have died. remember us. they say we leave you our death. them their meaning. many have given us their deaths. it is for us and our children for generations to come to give them meaning. now that is, and will remain the mission of the american battle monuments commission. before chairman, that concludes .y remarks,

traced mission can be back to president abraham lincoln. he signed legislation the president of the united states the power to purchase lands and establish national cemeteries to bury soldiers who died in service of their country. thank you for the opportunity to testify on this important document.

for interredible veterans of every war and conflict and family members. provide funding to establish improve cemeteries in the states. we provide headstones, markers, medallions. we've conducted over 171,000 and state in national cemeteries, provided more than 361 headstones and markers, 14,000 bronze medallions, and 670,000 presidential memorial certificates.

respect forng final their loved ones. it's well managed, understanding, and extremely which is quite contradetectivery. we maintain a professional staff dedicated to form late and recommend to our national committee through the veterans affairs and rehabilitation commission, policies, plans, and programs as we relate to the

national cemetery administration, and service members and their dependents. in response to issues and the american legion at our two resolutions national convention. this resolution was created seen a number of cases where a deceased veteran receive a grave marker due to damage simply because a relative did not make request. the american legion created a resolution allowing us to support the transfer of land from the bureau of land management to expand black hills in southcemetery dakota. two weeks ago, on may 25th, signednt trump legislation transferring 200

acres to expand the cemetery. the passing of this legislation the commitment and obligation we have to honor the served.f those who have awareerican legion is not of no access to a veteran buried in ae cemetery by n.c.a. it is our hope that v.a., n.c.a. closers committee take a look, identify, and take the necessary corrections between between veterans are authorized a headstone and marker in their private cemetery that are not, and ensuringng wait times, that they receive a honorable resting place they deserve. by the actions of the committee for you asthat it is

well. thank you for the community to share the position of 2 million members of this organization. i look forward to any questions have.ght >> thank you, mr. avila. mr. wiseman, you're recognized five minutes. >> on behalf of veterans of the wars and its auxiliary, thank you for the opportunity to issuey on the important recognizes ouron veterans. it's a top priority for the v.f.w.. national cemetery administration and american battle monuments commission do a also ways tore are improve the memorial benefits to veterans. we appreciate this opportunity several areas. we hear from v.f.w. posts around the amazing work doing.mc is one in paris, france, reports that the care of cemeteries and have resulted in the

emotionally moving experiences a could have. we encourage you to support efforts by abmc to establish visitor centers, allowing visitors to properly honor and remember those buried in the cemeteries. the centers will allow for better use of staff so they can focus on other management their job. abmc management of the isetery in the philippines proud to report it. maintenance of the cemetery are superior and burials can continue that allows thereans to be buried with honor. the v.f.w. is very supportive of the veterans' legacy.

this is unacceptable. the v.f.w. calls for a review to ensure proper staffing is in place so that burials can be scheduled in a timely manner, and the under secretary has reached out to the v.f.w. on we appreciated his outreach. we support the passage of legislation that would transfer the naval cemetery to n.c.a. for management. the u.s. navy uses this cemetery as a final resting place for more than 800 veterans. this number are three medal of honor recipients. cooney,hem is james and emig great,

to the united states. private cooney was awarded the highest honor, the medal of honor that can be bestowed for his distinguished service in the face of the enemy. of headstonesos at the naval cemetery. unacceptable. the v.f.w. wants to see, and willing to work with the ensure that proper steps are taken. the mayor island naval cemetery the v.f.w.pair, and will not rest until it's fixed maintained. the lasting legacy who served our country is a testament to the cost of freedom. our nation remembers the service of veterans who are no

day,r with us on memorial we want to ensure that a daily reminder withstands the test of time. concludes my this testimony. i want to thank you and the ranking member for the kind the beginning of the hearing. your staff was key to all of the success that we have had so far water navy billed. i want to particularly thank caroline, chris and maria if help. they have represented you well, and i personally thank them. of my key projects next year is to find every blue water sailor and surviving spouse in the commonwealth of virginia. january 1st, the v.a. will get a whole lot of claims from virginia. back.d thank you for your questions. >> thank you. i'll start the questioning. i will yield myself five minutes for questions. secretary matz, in your testimony, we know that congress

passed legislation to take jurisdiction over the cemetery memorial outside of paris. this memorial and cemetery, which i had the opportunity to last month, includes a for 49esting place american aviators who helped train french pilots before we entered world war i. understand the site was in rough shape when we took it that but let me tell you it looks very good and obviously headed toward looking even better. you please describe work that you're doing there right now? >> yes, sir. took ownership in january of 2017. that we partnered with heretofore had been a french foundation, the french actually owned the cemetery and the land. partnership we got $1.7 million from the french

government, and from those and did a lot of restoration there, sir, 2015 through '16. cleaned and repaired the stone work. we did releveling. repointing. repaired plaster. of course, if you got down into vault, that was leaking. so we put a lot of money into that and upgraded that. also painting, metal work, etc. planned now -- and you say you went through have a project, as i mentioned very briefly in my comments -- to turn the old caretakers cottage into a visitors center. i will report that's going along very nicely. nextetion is anticipated memorial day. that should be a very nice dedication. we're also in process of looking at waterproofing and repaving

the memorial surface there at a $1 million. improving a disabled access ramp that we need there for folks. paths and curb stones. have our horticulturist in the paris office has been the grounds ton bring the grounds up to a standard, the woodland areas up to a standard. are the things we're looking at there. that's wonderful. it has an unbelievable potential. i know you'll do well with that. you, sir. >> under secretary, can you preserving the

legacy program? you, theairman, thank veterans legacy program itself is set up to have both an educational component that i discussed before and also what i my primeook at as mission. i'm the under secretary for memorial affairs. memorialize and remember those who have served our country so well. through a number of different partnerships, and also that wereps with ambc discussed earlier, we have year.d nine grants this the original program awarded three. got that many, you know, universities and others doing the research, and learning about those veterans, areg the lesson plans that used in middle schools, high schools and others, but the is theomponent compossibility that we're doing youru can walk up with smartphone, as i said, and be able to put that smartphone in

will of the headstone, it decipher the arrangement of the letters on the headstone, and pull up the information about that veteran a and their servic. cases, where we're able to, the service they provided, the things they did after service. when i said that the future is the, i've seen demonstration at the university of central florida, and i was headstone,k up to a access the database, and able to that veteran had done both before and after. to a littleing this bit of reality about what it's doing for students out there. i spoke to a graduate student at university of central florida. i asked, what does this program mean to you? at me with tears in his eyes, and he said i was able veteran back to life. thishe meant by that is world war i veteran, amp, who

whoed -- african american served, lost to history, and through his research he was able to tell his story and now that veteran will never die. >> thank you. my time has expired. you, mr. chairman. i want to thank you for your hard work joining us today, making yourselves available to help ensure we fulfill our duty honor and memorialize those country.served this under secretary reeves, i have three areas i hope to cover in less than five minutes i have. one is a question about forifying the criteria headstones in private cemeteries. ast's questions we often get members of congress. i think that would be helpful. wait times, which i know you're working on, but that by both mr. wiseman and mr. avila.

again, i know you have plans. your proposalse going forward, that's helpful and encourage, veterans watching or reading about this, about how important it is to bring the concerns forward. only way we can fix things, if we know about them. on mayor island. i'm familiar with that. site ine seeing the next week or two. mr. reeves, we talked about this, under secretary reefs, if you can talk about your proposal tothis point to begin address the sorry state of etc.r of the headstones, mr. bill richt is not with us the cosponsor of that bill, and i'd like you to address all three of those, if can. >> absolutely. first of all, i'll address the

weight times first if that's okay. thing i want to tell you, i called the call center myself this morning before i at what would normally be a peak time. i went into a call queue, and talking to a representative in less than five minutes. okay? i asked questions because i want to know what's going on in the field. i went to the call center. return to the call center later this month. we provided copies of our plan that we're working on. transparent.fully we provided it to our partners willour staffs, and provide it to anybody that would like to see what we're doing to issues that we've got there. first of all, one of the problems that we had that was showing, you know, peak -- you than peak call times, had to do with our phone system.

with our i.t. folks, getting good support from that. we've corrected some of that, corrected some of the issues. also to the issue that mr. wiseman specifically, the specific case, i'm going to be talking to that individual. it's six weeks, whether weeks, and my numbers be wrong, and i'm not assuming anything. talking to that individual myself. we only have one time to get it right. the one time we don't get it many.is one time too i'm going to correct that, i can assure you. we'll work with the committee staff to provide any further information that you need. i'll be very detailed in those responses and the information that i gave you.

okay? secondly, i'll go to mayor island, because that's more complicated. inst of all, i was california last week for some other events. because this means so much to went to mayor island myself. i'm going to tell you, mr. wiseman, thank you for the that you and v.f.w. have to bring the attention to this. my heart is broken. i got pictures too. and i don't like them. what i saw.et by but beyond that, now i have to look at what's really needs to be done. as soon as we found out about and this was in the news, national cemetery administration, reached out to city of vallejo, california, and reached out to the navy. navy been working with the to bring forth a grant that cemetery.rbish that i believe that should be

approved fairly quickly. navy.t speak for the i'm not going to speak for their process, but i believe it should be approved fairly quickly. there's a good chance of that. secondly, we've committed to tong whatever we need to do replace headstones or anything else there to bring that to a standard where those veterans members, andily others that are there, will be appropriately honored. i do realize that mayor island was transferred to the city of there'sin 1996, and been nothing to keep it in repair since that time as far as tell. i'm not here to cast aspersions anyone. rocks at i'm here to tell you that we -- what we need to focus on is what steps we can take immediately and those things we are doing that i've just described to make sure that those veterans that are there are appropriately honored. i will say one thing, and this is not anything other than the fact that i feel personally that

we need to be careful about every time someone -- because there was an mou between the navy and vallejo to keep this cemetery up. i would recommend that we be careful about immediately going to say we should take over something every time someone doesn't meet their obligation because, because that could set a precedent that mean we don't want to. that is a matter for the committee and for congress to consider. if i've answered that, then the headstones, i'm going to have to get a little information on the headstones. i think the question was the inscription for the spouse, right? is that correct? we can't provide inscription for a spouse or dependent on the headstone that is currently in a private cemetery, and that's based upon the statute. so, we are following the law.

suggest -- ask or if that's something congress might take up, that might be appropriate. we do have a legislative proposal that would allow us to do that, and i would like to be able to talk to your staffs and others and our vso partners to be able to get more information on that for you and more detailed information. ranking member esty: thank you very much. went over time. under secretary reeves: i'm sorry. ranking member esty: i think we need to start with getting mare island to an appropriate state where it should be, then we will continue to stay at the table and do our best to get it right. i want to thank you for your effort. under secretary reeves: thank you for that. in any case, we need to focus first on honoring our veterans.

>> mr. secretary, i would like to stay until 12:30. they will just have to go fast, sir. radewagen,en -- ms. you are recognized for five minutes. ms. radewagen: thank you for your testimony. honoring our fallen heroes is an important, sensitive issue, and i'm glad we can hold this hearing today to ensure that we get it right. i'd like to focus on services for our veterans and families in remote and rural areas. for example, my home district of american samoa is thousands of miles from the nearest veterans cemetery, and the families of these veterans do have options for honoring their fallen loved ones in the form of v.a.-issued grave markers. this is a very good program. however, i believe it is being underutilized and could benefit

from some improvements. american samoa is beautiful, but small, small enough that we don't have street addresses for mail to be delivered and we instead have to rely on po boxes. v.a.-issued grave markers cannot be delivered to po boxes and need to be delivered to a physical address. as you can see, this presents a problem for my district. fortunately, our local vso's and the good folks at our local v.a. clinic have established a workaround and will help facilitate the delivery by holding the marker at the clinic for pickup. however, this workaround process is not always immediately press -- a parent to my constituents. apparent to my constituents. i believe the initial confusion on the instructions for grave marker application regarding po boxes means that not all families are taking advantage of this service.

so, under secretary reeves, what improvements could the v.a. make to ensure that families in remote and rural areas who may not have access to a nearby burial option have the ability to honor their deceased loved ones either with a grave marker program or other initiatives? under secretary reeves: thank you very much for that question. i understand, having been briefed on this a little bit ago , that in the case of samoa, that, i believe, is a misinterpretation both on our part, and i'm going to take that for action, on what a po box actually means. in samoa, you can correct me if i'm wrong, a po box is in most cases of physical address. we are now delivering them based upon the fact that those are actual physical addresses. we are in the process of clarifying how we need to do that for our workforce also, so

that people won't go through that. because it says po box, we were interpreting that as what we would normally see as a po box, centrally located po box, like here in the mainland, but that is not really the case, i think, there. so, the reports i've gotten is that we have been successfully delivering them to po boxes because they are actually physical addresses. the biggest thing we have to do is make sure we clarify that both on the form and that we clarify that for our folks, so there is no misunderstanding. ms. radewagen: thank you, mr. chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. chairman bost: thank you. ms. esty had to leave. the marines are now in charge. mr. lamb, you are recognized for five minutes. mr. lamb: they are going to give us an army infantry division next, mr. chairman.

thank you for being here. thank you in particular for giving us some poetry this morning. i really enjoyed that. it reminded me of a story about the building of the world war ii memorial. washington, d.c. when that was being built, the man who was the overall manager of the construction site stayed in a trailer on the site where they were building the memorial, and he told a story afterward about getting a knock on the door of the trailer after hours one night. there was an older gentleman on the other side of the door who had driven across the country by himself for two days from kansas or someplace like that. and when he opened the door, the man just handed over his dog tags from world war ii and he told the construction manager, i just want you to throw those down in the ground underneath one of those big pillars that are going in the world war ii memorial. he didn't want anything else. he didn't want his name on a plaque. he didn't want a ceremony or

anything special. he just wanted to know those would be down there forever. i think that's consistent with some of the things that you gentleman had which is -- gentlemen said, which is we owe to veterans to let them know that we will never let their service be broken. that's what i took from your comments. just know that you have a partner here in that effort. with the passage of time, you placed the folks in the right place, which is that we need to tell the people of this generation and of future generations about these men and women who came before us and what they did to allow us to still stand on this ground today. so, with that, i'm interested in hearing a little bit more, mr. reeves, if you don't mind, about the educational program and the mobile app that you talked about. how widely in use is that right now? where are we going time wise with that? under secretary reeves: thank you very much for that question.

where we are at right now is, as i said, we have nine institutions across the country right now that are doing that. each one of those institutions has multiple cemeteries that they are actually working with, and it's actually happening right now in our national cemeteries. what i will do is, for the sake of time, have my staff provide the full list, who is doing what, what the program in each area specifically entails, if that would be acceptable. mr. lamb: that would be great, thank you. under secretary reeves: what i would love to say is, as you memories of congress are back in your districts, if you have universities that have research and history components, encourage them to seek out and apply for these legacy grants, so that i can take that to more parts of the country. i will tell you that the timeline will move, as everything does with the amount of funding that is available for grants --

we have to be realistic about that. but my vision is that there will be at least one educational affiliate, meaning university or other affiliate, in every state by the time i'm done with this. mr. lamb: excellent. i'm from the 18th district of pennsylvania, which has the national cemetery of the alleghenies there. you had a chance to visit that one yet, mr. reeves? under secretary reeves: i have not been to the alleghenies yet. one of my senior colleagues at v.a. actually went and spoke there on memorial day. that's what we do is we ask our senior folks to go out to all of our cemeteries. and she came back raving about the beauty of the cemetery and the outpouring, mainly, of the community, for that program. i'm impressed with what they are doing there and i am impressed and glad that you mentioned that, because that's one of the highlighted places that i had.

mr. lamb: i'm thrilled to hear that. i'm running out of time. i'd like to personally invite you out there the next chance you get. i'd love to have you there and explore ways to expand the educational offerings. i think there are some infrastructural needs there as ewl -- well, with it being a newer cemetery that just came online. i yield back the balance of my time. under secretary reeves: i ask pleasing encourage the schools in your area to apply. chairman bost: if it's all right with the blessing of the committee, i have a couple more questions i'd like to ask. mr. avila, your testimony highlighted a new ncaa initiative, pre-need eligibility determination. in your experience, has this program successfully reduced delays and red tape for veterans and their families? mr. avila: the program started several years ago.

a veteran can file an application. it doesn't guarantee them a slot, but it eliminates the initial eligibility criteria that -- done, the biggest thing we see is that the veteran has that conversation with the family, which is a very important conversation to have. most of the calls we receive is when next of kin or spouse or family member saying my father or brother or sister is a veteran who passed away, what do we need to do. they never had the conversation. find this program extremely helpful. we think it does reduce the waiting period. like i said in my remarks, my testimony, it's not an emergency as far as the waiting. states what we've been hearing, the wait time is 32 to 45 minutes, and this is

for the scheduling, the verification. preneede able to do the eligibility determination and take out the first step, it will increase and expedite hwen -- when the veteran can be interned and buried. -- interred and buried. what is thet: status of the restoration in the philippines? mr. matz: we are making good headway. as i covered very quickly in my opening remarks, what i've done since we took it over, we are working very closely with the honorable reeves' agency. they are providing the headstones for us, so we are still doing that. we've done a lot of work in putting pass -- paths in, some security, etc. i have not been out there yet

myself. that's on my visit list in the next two months to get out and visit the pacific and our superintendent there, but i will tell you, sir, i've seen photos of it. it's coming along fine. and we've certainly got the dollars for it right now to do what we need to do. sisteryou know, its right there in manila, which is our largest cemetery of all 26, we are doing a lot of work there on irrigation systems and also putting a new visitor center there. and also we are doing irrigation systems there, too. chairman bost: it's good to hear. thank you. with that, i want to thank the witnesses again. i would recognize mr. lamb as the ranking member, if he wants to make any closing remarks? mr. lamb: no, thank you, mr. chairman, but thank you for recognizing me. chairman bost: i want to thank the witnesses again for being here today. as i said earlier, your

statements for today will be entered into the hearing record. i want to close out by saying this, thank you so much, both of you, for what you are doing. and when you say that we need to make sure that our veterans are -- that their history is not forgotten -- when wee were at american planters field, watching and hearing their memorial day services, that they take students from right there, that come in and take the names of those veterans and study their history and, on memorial day, students, not from this nation, from that nation, because of the liberation that they received by our american -- they actually study those histories and give testimony about that individual that they have studied that year for that memorial day.

what an amazing thing, and i think our children should do the same and understand what it is abroad,orth not only but in the united states with the cemeteries that are there. this stuck -- this is something i held onto. orn you leave the museum visitor center at arlington, one of your predecessors has a quote on the wall, general mark clark. and he was the chairman of the american battle monuments commission from 1969 to 1984. everis what he says, "if proof were needed that we fought for a cause and not for a conquest, it could be found in these cemeteries, here where our only conquest -- here is our only conquest. all we ask was enough soil in

which to bury our gallant dead. that is followed -- hallowed soi l." we need to make sure that ground, which we do hold with our most gallant men and women, is never, ever first taken, and i thank both of you for doing that -- ever forsaken, and i thank both of you for doing that. with that, with unanimous consent, all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks, including extend u.s. material. hearing no objections, this hearing is now adjourned. [gavel] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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