This bill aims to enhance the transparency of the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) by requiring the public display of interment schedule availability. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must maintain a spreadsheet on the NCA's public website showing the most recent interment availability for each operational cemetery, which must be updated every 30 days after an initial 120-day implementation period. Within 60 days of enactment, the Secretary is directed to submit a proposed definition for "interment schedule availability" to Congress. This definition should generally mean the number of business days between establishing a case for a deceased individual and the first available interment, while also considering the family's preferred dates and times. Furthermore, a report on historical interment availability data covering the preceding five years must be submitted to Congress within one year of the bill's enactment. The legislation also mandates continued customer service surveying and congressional oversight. It expresses a Sense of Congress that the NCA should continue participating in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey, requiring the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs to notify Congress 30 days before any non-participation. Additionally, the Under Secretary must continue administering and publishing results from the NCA's own customer service surveys for veterans, families, and funeral homes, providing Congress with 30 days' notice before any changes to these surveys' methodology, participants, or scope.
This bill aims to enhance the transparency of the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) by requiring the public display of interment schedule availability. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must maintain a spreadsheet on the NCA's public website showing the most recent interment availability for each operational cemetery, which must be updated every 30 days after an initial 120-day implementation period. Within 60 days of enactment, the Secretary is directed to submit a proposed definition for "interment schedule availability" to Congress. This definition should generally mean the number of business days between establishing a case for a deceased individual and the first available interment, while also considering the family's preferred dates and times. Furthermore, a report on historical interment availability data covering the preceding five years must be submitted to Congress within one year of the bill's enactment. The legislation also mandates continued customer service surveying and congressional oversight. It expresses a Sense of Congress that the NCA should continue participating in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey, requiring the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs to notify Congress 30 days before any non-participation. Additionally, the Under Secretary must continue administering and publishing results from the NCA's own customer service surveys for veterans, families, and funeral homes, providing Congress with 30 days' notice before any changes to these surveys' methodology, participants, or scope.