POLICY AND OPERATIONAL ISSUES FACING 

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY AND THE 

AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS 

COMMISSION

Hearing

before the

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

House of Representatives

Subcommittee on Disability Assistance 

and Memorial Affairs

one hundred ninth congress

Second session

March 30, 2006

Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

Serial No. 109-43

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Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

Steve Buyer, Indiana, Chairman

Michael Bilirakis, Florida Lane Evans, Illinois, Ranking

Terry Everett, Alabama Bob Filner, California

Cliff Stearns, Florida Luis V. Gutierrez, Illinois

dan burton, Indiana Corrine Brown, Florida

Jerry Moran, Kansas Vic Snyder, Arkansas

richard H. baker, Louisiana Michael H. Michaud, Maine

Henry E. Brown, Jr., South Carolina Stephanie Herseth, South 

Jeff Miller, Florida Dakota

John Boozman, Arkansas Ted Strickland, Ohio

Jeb Bradley, New Hampshire Darlene Hooley, Oregon

Ginny Brown-Waite, Florida Silvestre Reyes, Texas

Michael R. Turner, Ohio ShellEy Berkley, Nevada

John Campbell, California Tom Udall, New Mexico

 John T. Salazar, Colorado

JAMES M. LARIVIERE, Staff Director

Subcommittee on Disability Assistance

and Memorial Affairs

Jeff Miller, Florida, Chairman Shelley Berkley, Nevada, 

Jerry Moran, Kansas Ranking

Jeb Bradley, New Hampshire, Vice Chairman Tom Udall, New Mexico

Ginny Brown-Waite, Florida Lane Evans, Illinois

 

PAIGE MCMANUS, Subcommittee Staff Director

(II)
CONTENTS

March 30, 2006

 Page

Policy and Operational Issues Facing Arlington National 

Cemetery and the American Battle Monuments Commission ......................................................................................... 

OPENING STATEMENTS

Hon. Jeb Bradley ......................................................................... 

Hon. Steve Buyer .......................................................................

STATEMENTS FOR THE RECORD

 

Hon. Shelley Berkley, Ranking Democratic Member ..............

Hon. Tom Udall ..........................................................................

General Frederick M. Franks, Jr., Chairman, American Battle 

Monuments Commission .......................................................

Witnesses

Metzler, John C., Jr., Superintendent, Arlington National 

Cemetery ................................................................................

Prepared statement of Mr. Metzler ..........................................

Nicholson, John W., General, U.S. Army (Retired), Secretary

American Battle Monuments Commission ...........................

Prepared statement of General Nicholson ...............................

POST-HEARING QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD

Vice Chairman Bradley .............................................................

Hon. Shelley Berkley .................................................................

(III)

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Oversight HEARING on POLICY AND

OPERATIONAL ISSUES FACING ARLINGTON

NATIONAL CEMETERY AND THE AMERICAN 

BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION

Thursday, March 30, 2006

(1)

U.S. House of Representatives,

Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and

Memorial Affairs,

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs,

Washington, D.C.

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 1:33 p.m., in Room 334, 

Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Jeb Bradley presiding.

Present: Representatives Bradley and Buyer.

Mr. Bradley. Good afternoon everyone. This hearing will come to 

order. Chairman Miller had to return to Florida for a funeral, so I 

am assuming the chair today with the graces of our Chairman, who 

is here.

 We are meeting to receive testimony from representatives of Arlington National Cemetery and the American Battle Monuments 

Commission, ABMC. You may recall that last April the Subcommittee held an oversight hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 

National Cemetery Administration. This hearing is the second part of 

the Subcommittee’s cemetery oversight agenda. Arlington National 

Cemetery is the nation’s premier military cemetery. Arlington is the 

final resting place of war heroes, former presidents, Supreme Court 

justices, astronauts, and other individuals who have contributed to 

the armed services and our nation.

Last year, Arlington Cemetery conducted over 4,000 interments, 

and nearly 2,600 inurnments. In addition to welcoming millions of 

visitors annually, Arlington hosts many ceremonies which commemorate the service and sacrifice of men and women who served in the 

United States military.

The American Battle Monuments Commission, an independent 

agency of the executive branch, was established in 1923 to commemorate and memorialize the sacrifice of nearly 125,000 of the nation’s 

war dead and 94,000 servicemembers who are missing in action, or 
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lost, or buried at sea.

The Commission administers, operates, and maintains 24 permanent American military cemeteries; 35 federal monuments, memorials, and markers; and 4 non-federal markers. If you have seen the 

movie “Saving Private Ryan,” then you have seen the ABMC cemetery at Normandy, France. However, there are 23 other cemeteries 

that are also awe-inspiring.

Since Ms. Berkley or Mr. Udall is not here for their opening remarks, I’m going to turn to the Chairman, Mr. Buyer, for any opening 

remarks that he may have, and then recognize Mr. Udall and Ms. 

Berkley when they arrive.

Mr. Buyer. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Metzler, and Brigadier General Nicholson, I just want to thank 

both of you. You are stewards of our honored and sacred dead, and 

the manner in which you hold the high standards of dignity on behalf 

of the country, I want to thank you for that.

Mr. Metzler, you’ve been pretty busy lately, and each time that I 

go over to Arlington, I also feel good about the reception that you give 

the visitors, but in particular the families. I have found it to be very 

orderly, and people really know that they are at a very sacred place, 

and they just want to follow the rules, and follow the order. What I 

have noticed is that you all handle that very, very well, and so I want 

to extend my complements to you.

 With that, I yield back.

Mr. Bradley. Since Mr. Udall and Ms. Berkley are not here, let us 

proceed directly to the panel. And with the forbearance of the minority, we will try to accommodate them when they arrive. Thank you.

 We have one panel this afternoon. Mr. John Metzler, Jr., is the 

Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery. Mr. Metzler served 

three years in the United States Army, including a tour in Vietnam 

where he was a helicopter crew chief. He was appointed Superintendent of Arlington in 1991, a post his father held from 1951 to 1972.

 We also welcome Brigadier General John Nicholson, Secretary of 

the American Battle Monuments Commission. General Nicholson, 

a graduate of West Point, had a distinguished career as an Airborne 

Ranger.

Prior to his appointment at ABMC, General Nicholson served as 

the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Gentlemen, welcome. We will hold our questions until each of you 

has testified. Obviously, your full statement will be submitted and 

printed in the official record.

Mr. Metzler, please begin.
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STATEMENT OF JOHN C. METZLER, JR., SUPERINTENDENT,

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, BRIGADIER GENERAL

JOHN W. NICHOLSON, U.S. ARMY, RETIRED, SECRETARY,

AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION

STATEMENT OF JOHN C. METZLER, JR.

 Mr. Metzler. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the other Committee.

Thank you for this opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee 

in support of the Department of the Army’s Cemetarial Operation 

Program at Arlington, and the Soldiers and Airmen’s Home National 

Cemeteries.

I am testifying today on behalf of the Secretary of the Army, who 

is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and oversight of these 

two national cemeteries.

Arlington National Cemetery is our nation’s premier military cemetery, and it is an honor for me to be here today to represent the 

cemetery. On behalf of the Department of the Army, I would like to 

express our appreciation for the support that Congress has provided 

to us over the years.

Arlington continues to be a very busy operation, with over 4000 

interments in fiscal year 2005, and more than 2500 inurements in the 

Columbarium during the same period.

It is important to proceed with the expansion projects for Arlington 

National Cemetery in a timely manner so that there will be no disruption for services for our deceased veterans and their families, and 

to relieve the significant crowding of our daily funeral services. Significant crowding is already occurring, due to the ever shrinking land 

availability at Arlington, and the increased number of funerals. This 

sometimes can compromise the dignity of the funerals by distracting 

the families at the ongoing services nearby, as well as the disruptions 

caused by the daily maintenance required to be performed at new 

grave sites.

At present, we are completing land development 90, phase one, 

which is developing the last 40 acres within the cemetery on the old 

South Fort Myer property, along Route 110. This project, when completed, will develop 26,000 new grave sites.

Phase two, which will start later this year, when completed will 

have a new boundary wall, and 5000 niches within this boundary 

wall for cremated remains.

Also this year, we will begin construction of our eighth building at 

the Columbarium complex.

Finally, I am happy to report to you that our visitation this year 

is in full operation. We expect over 4 million visitors to tour the 

grounds at Arlington National Cemetery. Thank you.
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[The statement of Mr. Metzler appears on p.11]

 Mr. Bradley. Mr. Nicholson, that buzzer means that the votes have 

begun but we have several minutes before we have to leave, so we will 

proceed as expeditiously as possible. General Nicholson.

STATEMENT OF GENERAL JOHN W. NICHOLSON

General Nicholson. Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee, 

thank you for inviting me to testify on behalf of the American Battle 

Monuments Commission. Our Commission Chairman, General Fred 

Franks, regrets he could not attend today’s session due to illness, but 

wishes to submit his testimony for the record.

I would like to make a few opening remarks to highlight the Commission’s mission, give you an opportunity to know what our scope of 

our operation, and to provide insight to the direction the Commission 

is headed.

As Secretary, it is my responsibility to direct the Commission’s operations to ensure that we, as a nation, continue to honor appropriately the service, achievements, and the sacrifices of America’s armed 

forces, where they fought. Since its creation in 1923, the Commission 

has served as a guardian of America’s overseas commemorative cemeteries and memorials. We are committed to preserving the future 

generations at 24 permanent memorial cemeteries, 25 monuments, 

memorials, and markers around the world that honor America’s war 

dead, missing in action, and those who fought at their side; and doing 

so in a manner befitting their achievements and sacrifices.

Our inspiration comes from words written more than 70 years ago 

by our first Chairman, General of the Armies, John J. Pershing, who 

promised that “time will not dim the glory of their deeds.” Remaining faithful to Pershing’s promise, and with a view to the future, we 

are focusing our energies and resources toward accomplishing four 

strategic goals.

Number one, to develop, operate, maintain, and improve the Commission’s facilities as the world’s best commemorative sites.

Two, to value and invest in each employee.

Three, to have the Commission’s commemorative sites recognized 

worldwide as inspirational and educational visitor destinations.

And four, to make the Commission’s business and resource management the best in government.

Contributing directly toward accomplishment of our third strategic 

goal is the work the Commission has done since 2002 to design and 

construct an interpretive center at the Normandy American Cemetery in France. This center will tell the story of the 9387 American 

soldiers buried in Normandy, and the 1557 missing in action memorialized there. Construction is progressing well, and we plan to open 
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the center by early summer, 2007.

As you travel abroad on Subcommittee business, we invite you to 

visit our commemorative sites, to see for yourselves the commitment 

our nation has made and continues to make toward maintaining our 

sacred trust to America’s war dead, and to their families. And we ask 

that you encourage your constituents to do likewise.

The Commission’s fiscal year 2007 appropriation request for 40.738 

million support our work toward accomplishing our strategic goals, 

and continues our commitment for worldwide mission and responsibilities. Our challenge is to sustain the high standards of excellence 

we have set in maintaining our commemorative sites, as shrines to 

America’s war dead. Concurrently, we plan to do a better job of telling the story of these uniquely splendid cemeteries and memorials. 

They inspire patriotism. They evoke gratitude. And they teach lessons of history to all who visit. 

 We are grateful for the support we receive from the House. The 

trust you place in us, and your understanding of our operational 

needs, ensures that we have sufficient resources, when we need them, 

to sustain our operations.

I would like to close by introducing the members of my staff accompanying me today. Brigadier General William Leszczynski, U.S. 

Army, retired, Executive Director and Chief Operations Officer; Guy 

Giancarlo, Director of Finance; Alan Gregory, Budget Officer; Tom 

Sole, Director of Engineering and Maintenance; and Mike Conley, 

Director of Public Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This concludes my opening statement. 

I will be pleased to respond to your questions.

[The statement of General Nicholson appears on p. 17]

[The statement of General Franks appears on p. 20]

 Mr. Bradley. Thank you very much, General. I am going to yield 

my time to the Chairman, Mr. Buyer.

 Mr. Buyer. Thank you very much, Chairman Bradley, for yielding. I just have a question, Mr. Metzler. Do you have any unfunded 

requirements right now with regard to the submission of the budget 

you just did for ‘07?

 Mr. Metzler. For ‘07? Oh-seven, sir, will be a challenging year for 

us to meet with the changes [inaudible] upon us, so we are working 

very diligently -- 

 Mr. Buyer. Can you hit your microphone for me, please?

 Mr. Metzler. Excuse me. Oh-seven will be a challenging year for 

us. The constraints that we are trying to work within will make it 

very challenging for us to continue to maintain the high standards at 

Arlington Cemetery. And right now, we are working to try to figure 

that out.
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 Mr. Buyer. All right, let me read between the lines then. I need 

for you to help me identify what the unfunded requirements are. You 

know what it takes to run your business out there, and obviously you 

have sent some submissions in, and they gave you a budget number. 

So tell me what the differential was.

 Mr. Metzler. Well, sir, if I could just go back for a little history 

here, if that is permitted.

Mr. Buyer. Sure.

Mr. Metzler. In fiscal year 2005, our budget was about $28 million. Fiscal year 2006, $32 million. And our submission for fiscal 

year 2007 was $26 million. Now, granted, the submission for ‘06 included the major construction projects that we are currently working 

toward.

The challenge we are going to have, sir, is the operation and maintenance of the cemetery; in other words, keeping everything that we 

have on track, and also to be able to continue to improve the infrastructure, to continue to bring new things to the cemetery as we develop and push the boundaries of the cemetery out at the same time.

Mr. Buyer. All right. To remove that challenge, what is your 

need?

Mr. Metzler. My need, sir, is a challenge to continue to work with 

the administration to get that dollar amount to our construction projects, as well as our O&M projects, as we continue to meet the increase 

in costs that we are seeing right now, with each contract year.

Mr. Buyer. All right, that is wonderful, but I want you to work 

with the legislative branch for a moment. So tell me what your needs 

are. I mean, if I can come in and work with the Chairman here, and 

propose working with the Armed Services Committee, and defense 

appropriators, and we are able to actually designate for Arlington, 

what am I supposed to designate?

Mr. Metzler. Well, sir, it would be -- if we could maintain a level 

that we had in ‘06, with a look at the increases proportionately for 

cost of living, that would keep our heads above water.

Mr. Buyer. All right, what does that mean, cost-of-living?

Mr. Metzler. Our ‘06 appropriations was about $32 million.

Mr. Buyer. Yes.

Mr. Metzler. And the increase that we would have across-theboard on different projects, I don’t know that I have a dollar amount 

or a percentage right now, but you seem to be seeing at least a five 

percent to a 10 percent increase on our current contracts that we let 

each year.

Mr. Buyer. All right. We would like to work with you. And whatever we can do to increase the level of funding for you, we are going 

to work to do that.

Mr. Metzler. Thank you, sir. I would look forward to working with 

your Committee.
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Mr. Buyer. I also want to thank you. You are coming back here 

next week to testify once again before this Subcommittee in reference to the demonstration bill that Mr. Rogers and Mr. Reyes have 

introduced.

Mr. Metzler. Yes, sir.

Mr. Buyer. I want to thank you for that. We are trying to block 

them at the pass. I think the last thing we want is for these demonstrators to show up on your doorstep. I know you have the procedures 

and all, and -- I just want you to know that as the Committee has put 

this together, working with Mr. Reyes, we have, because these are 

federal lands with exclusive jurisdiction, we have sought to examine 

proportionality with regard to what level should these individuals be 

cited. And so we became comfortable with a Class A misdemeanor 

with a $100,000 fine and one year in jail. The Class A misdemeanor 

at the federal level is a lot tougher than it is at the state level, but to 

you, Mr. Metzler, and to Brigadier General Nicholson, we have narrowly tailored this to apply to our national cemeteries, so that we can 

set the standards of dignity, and grant grieving families their rights 

and liberties, because they should not be infringed by someone else’s 

abnormal behavior.

I want to thank you for coming over, not only today. We will work 

on the budget numbers. Let me thank General Nicholson, if you can 

extend also to your Commission members, let me thank you for upholding the high standards that our sacred heroes deserve.

 With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

Mr. Bradley. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Before I close, I just want to make it clear to the minority, they 

may submit for the record opening statements or questions. There 

will be questions that the Subcommittee will be submitting to you for 

the record, and we will await your answers. I apologize for having to 

close this hearing so quickly, but we do have a vote.

I would just close by saying that we have a sacred honor, and a 

duty, to commemorate the men and women of the United States military. Whether it is in a VA national cemetery, or Arlington Cemetery, or an ABMC cemetery, the obligation remains the same. I 

appreciate your time, your candor, and your thoughts today on what 

your organizations need to maintain and operate your facilities in 

a manner that reflects the service and sacrifice of those interred in 

these facilities.

 With nothing further, the hearing is adjourned.

Minority Counsel. Excuse me, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Berkley and 

Mr. Udall do have statements for the record.

Mr. Bradley. Without objection, they will be entered. And if there 

are any questions they would like to submit, we are certainly happy 

to have them.

[The statements of Ms. Berkley and Mr. Udall appear on p. 9 and 
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p. 10 respectively]

Mr. Bradley. So seeing nothing else, the hearing is adjourned and 

I thank you again.

[Whereupon, at 1:53 p.m. the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
(9)

APPENDIX
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