OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Letter to Jose Cuisia, Ambassador of the Philippines - End Suspension of Burials at Clark Veterans Cemetery

Letter

Date: Dec. 1, 2014
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Foreign Affairs Veterans

December 1, 2014

Ambassador of the Philippines
Embassy of the Philippines
1600 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Dear Ambassador Cuisia,

As you know, Clark Veterans Cemetery in the Philippines is the final resting place for more than 8,300 U.S. service members and their dependents. I am gratified by the cooperation between our two governments to ensure American veterans and their family members buried there have the dignified final resting place they have earned. However, I am concerned by reports that burials at Clark Veterans Cemetery have been suspended, and I request your help in rectifying this situation as soon as possible.

As you may know, in January 2013, President Obama signed into law S. 3202, the Dignified Burial and Other Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-260). This law included a provision (Section 106) that I introduced along with Senator Mark Begich (D-AK) that requires the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to restore, operate, and maintain the Clark Veterans Cemetery. I am pleased that our two governments established a memorandum of understanding in 2013 related to the cemetery.

However, it has come to my attention that burials have been suspended at the cemetery by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). This suspension has placed significant financial and emotional burdens upon the families of veterans awaiting burial at Clark Veterans Cemetery. I am sure you would agree that when a family of a veteran is grieving the loss of their loved one, they should not have to cope with bureaucratic obstacles related to burial arrangements.

Consistent with the strong relationship between our two countries and the 2013 memorandum of understanding, I ask for your help in resolving this situation as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention this important issue, and for the continued friendship of the Filipino people. I look forward to your response.


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