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Rep. Calvert Sponsors Sense of Congress to Reverse Decision on 13-Fold Flag Ceremony

Press Release

Date: Oct. 31, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Religion Veterans


REP. CALVERT SPONSORS SENSE OF CONGRESS TO REVERSE DECISION ON 13-FOLD FLAG CEREMONY

WASHINGTON, DC. October 31, 2007 - Yesterday Congressman Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH) introduced legislation, H. Res. 783, that expresses the Sense of Congress that the Veteran's Affairs National Cemetery Administration employees, volunteers, and veterans' service organizations that perform funeral honors and memorial honor details should be permitted to recite the 13 steps to fold an American flag at any national cemetery if requested by the family of the deceased (attached).

"If a family member would like the 13-fold flag recitation at the funeral of their loved one, they should not be prevented by Washington bureaucrats," said Rep. Calvert.

The issue over the recitation, which includes references to Judaism and Christianity, was prompted by one complaint to the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California located in Congressman Calvert's district. The Press Enterprise (www.pe.com) reported that since the complaint, federal workers and volunteers have been instructed not to perform the recitation even if requested by the family. According to Veterans' Affairs, the decision to disallow the recitation was made to provide uniformity in the funeral ceremony.

Late last evening, the Department of Veterans' issued a press release stating:

* Volunteer honor guards are authorized to read the so-called "13-fold" flag recitation or any comparable script;

* Survivors of the deceased need to provide material and request it be read by the volunteer honor guards.

"This is certainly a step in the right direction but a press release is not policy," said Rep. Calvert. "The announcement does not address whether employees will be able to perform the recitation and in some instances volunteers are considered employees by the National Cemetery. We need to ensure that military families are not being denied their preferred service."

In addition to the Sense of Congress, a letter signed by 126 congressmen was sent to Acting Secretary of Veterans' Affairs Gordon Mansfield today requesting the Department reconsider the decision that prevents the recitation of the flag-folding ceremony at military funerals


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