Kirk Bill Demands VA Give Veterans Dignified, Timely Burial

Whistleblower Reports Veterans’ Remains Consistently Left in Hines VA Morgue for Over 30 Days

Respectful Interment for Passing Veterans Act Requires VA to Ensure Dignified, Timely Burial for Indigent Veterans and Those Without Next of Kin

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, this week introduced legislation to address whistleblower reports that indigent veterans’ remains are consistently left in the Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital Morgue for over 30 days. On numerous occasions, bodies of indigent veterans or veterans without next of kin, are left in the morgue without proper and timely post mortem care, allowing their bodies to badly decompose. Specifically, whistleblowers report that in the month of August, 2016, there were two veterans who had been left in the morgue for upwards of 45 days. Following the uncovering of this shameful practice, Senator Kirk authored the Respectful Interment for Passing Veterans Act.

“The graphic details of what happens to these veterans’ remains without timely post mortem care in the Hines VA Morgue is sickening and shameful,” said Senator Kirk. “Every hero who serves in the Armed Forces deserves a dignified final farewell from a grateful nation. Just as no service member is ever left behind on the battlefield, no veteran should ever be left behind in the morgue.”

According to VA policy, if a veteran dies at a VA facility and the remains are unclaimed, the VA facility must request funeral and burial services to be procured through a contract with a local funeral home. Whistleblowers informed Senator Kirk that the VA employee in charge of this process has no sense of urgency to approve the paperwork and let the remains of our nation’s heroes receive timely burials.  

In a letter to VA Secretary Robert McDonald, sent on September 1, Senator Kirk wrote:

“I ask for your immediate attention to correct this disgrace, demand that the two veterans who are currently in the morgue promptly receive a proper and respectful burial, and take appropriate disciplinary action against the person or persons responsible for letting this happen,” wrote Kirk. “I also ask that you launch a review of VA hospitals across the country to ensure that this mistreatment of our heroes’ remains is not happening elsewhere.”

Senator Kirk also asked the VA to confirm whether or not a service contract with an established funeral home would allow for timely transport of unclaimed or indigent veterans’ remains and information on the federal funds made available by the annual Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill for the seamless transfer of these veterans’ remains to local funeral homes.

Kirk’s legislation aims to prevent this situation from occurring in any VA hospital across the country and ensure all veterans receive the burial they deserve by establishing a concrete national protocol based on private industry practices and standards.

Senator Kirk’s Respectful Interment for Passing Veterans Act would require the VA to:

• Enter into one or more contracts between the VA and local funeral homes for the expeditious burial of unclaimed or indigent veterans who die at VA facilities.  
• Establish a nationwide VA policy within 180 days to ensure a “timely and respectful” burial of the remains of indigent veterans or those without next of kin.
• Ensure the new VA policy is based on best practices from the private sector while respecting a balance between identifying next of kin and the interest of a timely burial.
• Seek consultation on a new VA policy from funeral director(s), county coroner(s) or medical examiner(s), non-VA hospital representative(s), VAMC director(s), and VSO(s).
• Follow state and local practice until a nationwide policy is finalized.
• Provide an annual report to Congress on unclaimed and indigent remains of veterans who die in VA facilities – including date of birth, gender, date of death, date of transfer to funeral home, and date of burial.