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Sen. Moran on Military Funeral Honors: ‘One service without deserved honors is one too many’

Moran introduces amendment making certain maximum resources are available for veterans to receive military funeral honors

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee – today spoke on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to support his amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2019. The amendment, which is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), would direct the National Guard Bureau to maintain a military funeral honors coordinator in every state to make certain all veterans can receive appropriate and deserved military funeral honors. For more information on amendment #2575, click here. In April, Sen. Moran led a letter to Director of the Army National Guard General Timothy Kadavy, urging him to support the Military Funeral Honors Program and allocate at least one coordinator to each state.

Click here to watch full remarks. Highlights can be found below:

Sen. Moran (1:28): “Unfortunately, an Army audit found that in 2014, 88 deserving veteran funerals did not receive those military honors as they should have. One service without deserved honors is one too many. Even more disappointing, we learned that the National Guard Bureau now has a plan to eliminate the military funeral honors coordinating position in eight states based upon a recommendation from that audit.”

Sen. Moran (1:57): “The National Guard Bureau is claiming marginal cost savings as the excuse to eliminate these coordinator positions. However, cost savings is an unacceptable justification, especially if losing these positions leads to more service members not receiving military honors as our final demonstration of response for their service. A coordinator position is a vital link between the military and the veteran's surviving family.“

Sen. Moran (2:42): “Common sense would tell you that if military honors are not being rendered when they should be, as this audit found, the NGB, the National Guard Bureau, should do everything possible to make certain to reverse that terrible outcome.”

Sen. Moran (3:30): “If passed, my amendment would ensure that each state maintains at least one military funeral honors coordinator which we hope will reduce the chances that these honors are not skipped in the future.”

Sen. Moran (3:45): “I urge my colleagues and the committee to support amendment 2575 for inclusion in the managers' package and allow this amendment to move swiftly in the Senate to help fulfill our promises to our veterans and to make sure they receive appropriate honors earned at the time of their passing.” 

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