Posted: | May 11, 2021 01:12 PM |
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From: | Representative Wendi Thomas |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Increasing and Expanding Veterans’ Burial Benefits |
In the near future, I will be introducing legislation to increase the amount of the burial benefit provided to those who perform burial details (military honors) for deceased veterans at any one of our three national cemeteries. Currently, Section 705 of Title 51 (Military Affairs), provides for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) to pay $150 per day to various veterans’ groups that provide for these burial details. The $150/day amount was established over 20 years ago in 1998. To that end, I am proposing to increase this amount with inflation in mind by increasing it to $250/day. In addition, my proposal will allow for DMVA to utilize the services of the PA National Guard to perform these burial functions during times when veterans’ groups are not available to provide the services. The citizens of this Commonwealth and country truly are the beneficiaries of the great sacrifices our men and women have made wearing the uniform of the United States. Ensuring a proper military burial at our national cemeteries is one of the ways we can honor their service and sacrifice. Please join me in cosponsoring this very important and timely legislation to provide honor to our deceased veterans. |
Introduced as HB1421