Ed Case: “as our troops come home from Iraq and we look forward to D-Day's 60th anniversary, we all feel a deep and renewed sense…”

“as our troops come home from Iraq and we look forward to D-Day's 60th anniversary, we all feel a deep and renewed sense of gratitude for our Nation's veterans. And as increasing numbers, like members of my own Hawaii's famed 100th Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, pass on, we must also remember that one of our basic promises to them is to be buried with their comrades in our great national cemeteries, from Arlington to my own National Cemetery of the Pacific. But increasing numbers of States, 17 at last count, have no Federal VA cemetery, or else those cemeteries are now full. These States must pick up an increasing burden, which is and should be the Federal Government's, and the reality is that, for these veterans, their final resting places are suffering. Today I introduced a simple bill to raise the Federal reimbursement for veteran burials in State cemeteries where there is no Federal VA option from $300 to $750. This is only fair, and I ask for my colleagues' support.”