Ted Poe: “During the hot days of last summer, the Veterans of Foreign Wars went to battle with the Veterans Administration in…”

“During the hot days of last summer, the Veterans of Foreign Wars went to battle with the Veterans Administration in Houston, Texas. The VFW claimed the Veterans Administration was censoring free speech and preventing the free exercise of religion at the National Cemetery in Houston. I appreciate the chairman, Mr. Culberson's, work on this project after the Veterans of Foreign Wars notified not only me, but notified him as well. The result is this: This cemetery, Mr. Chairman, is the second largest in the Nation; it's a place where four Medal of Honor recipients are buried. The VA said that the chapel at the cemetery would be closed, and it was closed. The Bible, the cross, and the Star of David were removed by the Veterans Administration and the chapel became a storage shed. The VFW members also said that the director of the cemetery censored the prayers and prohibited the religious ceremony during the burial of America's veterans. The VFW had to sue the Veterans Administration, and the Veterans Administration naturally denied the whole thing. But, recently, a Federal judge in Texas approved and agreed to an order requiring the chapel to be reopened, the Bible, the cross and the Star of David to be returned to their proper places, and said that the Veterans Administration must not interfere with free speech or the free exercise of religion at burials of America's war veterans. Mr.…”