I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6503 

To require reports on the management of Arlington National Cemetery. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 8, 2010 

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require reports on the management of Arlington National 

Cemetery. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. REPORTS ON MANAGEMENT OF ARLINGTON 

4 NATIONAL CEMETERY. 

5 (a) REPORT ON GRAVESITE DISCREPANCIES.—Not 

6 later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 

7 Act, the Secretary of the Army shall submit to the com8 mittees of Congress specified in subsection (c) a report 

9 setting forth an accounting of the gravesites at Arlington 

10 National Cemetery, Virginia. The accounting shall— 


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1 (1) specify whether gravesite locations at Ar2 lington National Cemetery are correctly identified, 

3 labeled, and occupied; and 

4 (2) set forth a plan of action, including the re5 sources required and a proposed schedule, to imple6 ment remedial actions to address deficiencies identi7 fied pursuant to the accounting. 

8 (b) GAO REVIEW OF MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT

9 OF CONTRACTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

12 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub13 mit to the committees of Congress specified in sub14 section (c) a report on the management and over15 sight of contracts at Arlington National Cemetery. 

16 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para17 graph (1) shall include the following: 

18 (A) The number, dollar amount, and dura19 tion of current contracts at Arlington National 

20 Cemetery over the simplified acquisition thresh21 old. 

22 (B) The number, dollar amount, and dura23 tion of current contracts for automation of bur24 ial operations at Arlington National Cemetery, 

25 including contracts relating to the Total CemeVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:52 Dec 09, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6503.IH H6503

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1 tery Management System (TCMS), the Geo2 graphic Information System (GIS), the Inter3 ment Scheduling System (ISS), the Interment 

4 Management System (IMS), and new or modi5 fied versions of the Burial Operations Support 

6 System (BOSS) of the Department of Veterans 

7 Affairs. 

8 (C) An assessment of the management and 

9 oversight by the Executive Director of the Army 

10 National Cemeteries Program of the contracts 

11 covered by subparagraphs (A) and (B), includ12 ing the use of and actions taken for that pur13 pose by the Corps of Engineers and the Na14 tional Capital Region Contracting Center of the 

15 Army Contracting Command. 

16 (D) An assessment of the actions taken by 

17 the Executive Director of the Army National 

18 Cemeteries Program in response to the findings 

19 and recommendations of the Inspector General 

20 of the Army in the report entitled ‘‘Report of 

21 Investigation and Special Inspection of Arling22 ton National Cemetery Final Report (Case 10– 

23 04)’’, dated June 9, 2010. 

24 (E) An assessment of the implementation 

25 of the following: 


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1 (i) Army Directive 2010–04 on En2 hancing the Operations and Oversight of 

3 the Army National Cemeteries Program, 

4 dated June 10, 2010, including, without 

5 limitation, an evaluation of the sufficiency 

6 of all contract management and oversight 

7 procedures, current and planned informa8 tion and technology systems, applications, 

9 and contracts, current organizational 

10 structure and manpower, and compliance 

11 with and execution of all plans, reviews, 

12 studies, evaluations, and requirements 

13 specified in the Army Directive. 

14 (ii) The recommendations and actions 

15 proposed by the Army National Cemeteries 

16 Advisory Commission with respect to Ar17 lington National Cemetery. 

18 (F) An assessment of the adequacy of cur19 rent practices at Arlington National Cemetery 

20 to provide information, outreach, and support 

21 to families of individuals buried at Arlington 

22 National Cemetery regarding procedures to de23 tect and correct current errors in burials at Ar24 lington National Cemetery. 


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1 (G) An assessment of the feasibility and 

2 advisability of transferring jurisdiction of Ar3 lington National Cemetery and the United 

4 States Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National 

5 Cemetery to the Department of Veterans Af6 fairs, and an assessment of the feasibility and 

7 advisability of the sharing of jurisdiction of 

8 such facilities between the Department of De9 fense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

10 (3) SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD DE11 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘simplified ac12 quisition threshold’’ has the meaning provided that 

13 term in section 4 of the Office of Federal Procure14 ment Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403). 

15 (c) SPECIFIED COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.—The 

16 committees of Congress specified in this subsection are— 

17 (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

18 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

19 Affairs, and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

20 the Senate; and 

21 (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

22 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 

23 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

24 House of Representatives. 


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1 (d) REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ARMY DIREC2 TIVE ON ARMY NATIONAL CEMETERIES PROGRAM.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Army 

4 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con5 gress reports on execution of and compliance with 

6 Army Directive 2010–04 on Enhancing the Oper7 ations and Oversight of the Army National Ceme8 teries Program, dated June 10, 2010. Each such re9 port shall include, for the preceding 270 days or 

10 year (as applicable), a description and assessment of 

11 the following: 

12 (A) Execution of and compliance with 

13 every section of the Army Directive for Arling14 ton National Cemetery, including, without limi15 tation, an evaluation of the sufficiency of all 

16 contract management and oversight procedures, 

17 current and planned information and tech18 nology systems, applications, and contracts, 

19 current organizational structure and manpower, 

20 and compliance with and execution of all plans, 

21 reviews, studies, evaluations, and requirements 

22 specified in the Army Directive. 

23 (B) The adequacy of current practices at 

24 Arlington National Cemetery to provide infor25 mation, outreach, and support to families of 


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1 those individuals buried at Arlington National 

2 Cemetery regarding procedures to detect and 

3 correct current errors in burials at Arlington 

4 National Cemetery. 

5 (2) PERIOD AND FREQUENCY OF SUBMITTAL.— 

6 A report required by paragraph (1) shall be sub7 mitted not later than 270 days after the date of the 

8 enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter for 

9 the next 2 years. 

Æ 


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