III 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 365 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 26 (legislative day, September 22), 2023 Mr. Tester (for himself and Mr. Moran ) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Honoring the 50th anniversary of the National Cemetery Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Whereas, in 1973, Congress passed the National Cemeteries Act of 1973 ( Public Law 93–43 ), creating an agency within the Veterans Administration to oversee the national cemetery system; Whereas, in 2023, the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) celebrates 50 years of upholding a sacred duty to inter, honor, and memorialize those who have served in the United States Armed Forces; Whereas the National Cemetery Administration operates and ensures perpetual care of 155 national cemeteries and 34 soldiers’ lots and monument sites that honor and serve as the final resting places for 4,000,000 veterans representing every era throughout the history of the United States; Whereas the National Cemetery Administration provides burial and memorial benefits for eligible veterans and family members, at no cost, including— (1) a gravesite or niche in any national cemetery with available space; (2) opening and closing of the grave and perpetual care; and (3) a government headstone, marker, or medallion, burial flag, and Presidential memorial certificate; Whereas the establishment of the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program (VCGP) has furthered the commitment of the United States to the proper burial and honoring of veterans by awarding more than $1,000,000,000 to assist States, Territories, and Tribal governments in establishing, expanding, and operating veterans’ cemeteries that complement and help expand burial access; Whereas, through the VCGP, the National Cemetery Administration has provided grant funding to 122 veterans’ cemeteries in 49 States, Tribal trust lands, and Territories including Guam, Saipan, and Puerto Rico; Whereas, in fiscal year 2022, the National Cemetery Administration processed more than 350,000 requests for headstones, markers, and medallions to honor veterans and their loved ones in national, State, Tribal, and private cemeteries, and issued more than 463,000 Presidential memorial certificates to the family members of veterans; Whereas the sacred landscapes in national cemeteries and grant-funded veterans’ cemeteries serve as places of solemn remembrance to convey the stories of generations of veterans encompassing the entirety of United States history, including 529 recipients of the Medal of Honor and those honored by nearly 1,370 military memorial monuments; Whereas the consistent commitment of the National Cemetery Administration to national shrine standards of care for 50 years has preserved the beauty of the sites that veterans and their families deserve, welcoming more than 1,700,000 visitors at national cemeteries in fiscal year 2022, and has immortalized those who lay at rest on those sacred grounds, ensuring that all visitors, past and present, are able to bear witness to the serene and historic shrines and leave with a sense of awe and gratitude for the sacrifices those heroes made for the United States; Whereas the National Cemetery Administration has been awarded a score of 97, the highest achieved score on record, in the reputable American Customer Satisfaction Index, leading all organizations, public or private, for the seventh consecutive time, a testament to the exemplary service of National Cemetery Administration team members to veterans and their families; Whereas the National Cemetery Administration established the Veterans Legacy Program (VLP), which has funded 35 programs that engage students and teachers in communities large and small to further educate themselves and their communities on the legacies and service of veterans by using the expansive resources within the Department of Veterans Affairs, resulting in the production of over 2,500 veteran biographies, 50 documentary videos, and over 100 lesson plans; and Whereas the National Cemetery Administration continues to memorialize the stories and sacrifices of veterans through the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM), a digital interactive platform created to preserve the memories of nearly 5,000,000 veterans laid to rest in cemeteries managed and funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense cemeteries, and National Park Service cemeteries: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1) applauds the National Cemetery Administration, on its 50th anniversary, having stood firm in its mission of ensuring proper final resting places adhering to national shrine standards that commemorate the extraordinary commitment of veterans and their families to the United States; (2) recognizes that the National Cemetery Administration has been a driving force in the preservation of, and passing down, the heroic heritage and stories of members of the United States Armed Forces of all backgrounds, from all corners of the United States, and in educating future generations on the importance of the service and sacrifice of veterans; and (3) commends the individuals who work for the National Cemetery Administration for their continued excellence ensuring that the veterans of the United States are forever honored and remembered in the hallowed grounds of the national cemeteries of the Department of Veterans Affairs.