Legislating Accountability for Arlington's Graves

It really is sad that this Country has to have it's legislators pass a binding legislation for issues such as this, especially as in many cases those running are appointed, mostly based on political affiliation, and/or are contracted out to the private sector when they should stay in Government hands!

Legislation would hold Army accountable for Arlington's graves

December 5, 2010 - The Senate passed legislation Saturday that would require the Army to give a full accounting of every grave at Arlington National Cemetery and fix any errors found at one of the nation's most sacred military burial grounds.

The bill would also require the Secretary of the Army to report to Congress on its progress in reviewing and overhauling the management of the contracts at the cemetery, including those that were issued to computerize the cemetery's records. The secretary would also be required to take steps to communicate more effectively with the loved ones of service members who have been buried there.

The measure comes after the recent discovery of hundreds of mixups and lapses at the cemetery, including unmarked and improperly marked grave sites, and the Army's announcement of its first criminal investigation into the scandal. The failures occurred despite federal spending of $5 million to $8 million on multiple contracts to modernize the cemetery's antiquated record-keeping. {read rest}