U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) recently led congressional efforts to prevent the U.S. National Guard from cutting the Military Funeral Honors (MFH) program and coordinator positions in eight states, highlighting the importance of military funeral honors for veterans.
In a bipartisan and bicameral letter to National Guard Lt. Gen. Timothy Kadavy dated April 13, lawmakers expressed disappointment in the decision to eliminate MFH coordinator positions in eight states and to consolidate those operations into offices in other states. The dozen members of Congress who signed the letter included U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS), Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), along with U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS).
“Providing professional military funeral honors to our veterans is a service tradition that demonstrates our nation’s gratitude to those who have faithfully defended and protected our country,” the letter states.
The letter states that a 2016 Army Auditing Agency (AAA) audit recommending elimination of the MFH positions “does not take into account the totality of coordinator responsibilities.” MFH coordinators are in charge of training service members to perform military funeral honors and providing immediate attention year-round to families that need assistance, among other family-related benefits, according to the letter.
The lawmakers continued that eliminating the positions “provides no tangible benefit” to the National Guard Bureau (NGB) and would negatively impact on its statutory requirements to provide military funeral honors to veterans.
“As you know, the 2016 AAA audit found that of the funerals sampled, the department failed to perform honors for 88 deserving veterans,” the letter continues. “One missed service is one too many and eliminating these coordinator positions will only increase the risk that additional veterans do not receive the honors they have earned.”
Earlier this year the NGB announced a plan to cut the MFH coordinator positions in Idaho, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Wyoming, South Dakota and West Virginia, according to the letter.
“We do not believe there is any justification that would validate the removal of these positions and urge you to resource each state with at least one MFH coordinator,” the members of Congress wrote.