Sanford Bishop: “I have great empathy for the concerns that the gentleman from Texas has raised in his discussions about the amendment on…”

“I have great empathy for the concerns that the gentleman from Texas has raised in his discussions about the amendment on hiring a national cemetery administration director, but I just want to address some of them because I don't think it's good policy, and I don't think it will make for the best management and operation of our national cemeteries. Employees of the National Cemetery Administration are proud to serve veterans and to serve veterans' families in their time of need, and they do it with dignity and compassion. While the National Cemetery Administration has one of the highest percentages of veteran employees of any Federal agency--79 percent of the employees and 80 percent of its cemetery directors are veterans--the desire and the passion to serve our Nation's veterans is not limited to just veterans. VA national cemeteries are nationally recognized for their commitment to excellence and top-rated customer satisfaction. Since 2001, the National Cemetery Administration has earned the American Customer Satisfaction Index's rating as a top-performing public or private organization in the country. This continues to be achieved by dedicated National Cemetery Administration employees, both veterans and nonveterans. Who says a nonveteran cannot be patriotic and support the United States of America? If such an amendment passes, who would it impact? Most of our nonveteran cemetery directors have family ties with veterans.…”