I really do appreciate the testimony that was given this morning.

I've been listening to these stories for the last five or six years, many of them are very touching stories, they've served hard, and now they have earned rights and benefits in this country, and it's our duty as Members of this Committee to make sure that those benefits and services are there when they're needed.

We need to work with--between the VA to open up this line of communications, because that is not acceptable.

Okay. The Independent Budget also noted that between 2010 and 2011, that NCA's annual facilities conditional assessment, the FCA, reported a 10 percent decline, from 84 to 74 percent, in what is considered acceptable for NCA structures.

I want to recognize former Chairman Bob Filner's efforts to direct the NCA to change its requirements for establishing a national cemetery.

That is an issue that is important. We need to make sure that those families get reimbursed a sufficient amount.

Well, at one point I heard that families were having difficulty finding military honor guards for veterans' funerals in some instances. Has this situation been resolved yet?

One hundred fifty years ago, in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln created a National Veterans Cemetery System and dedicated it for the soldiers who shall die in the service of this country.

Ensuring a proper burial for our fallen heroes is a solemn obligation.

That might explain why it is hard to find volunteers if they are not reimbursed for their allowable expenses, such as travel and so on.

There is a growing public apprehension and alarm with potential negative impacts of hydraulic fracturing.