ANC Update as of Jan 4, 2022.  New Law needed to stop unfair eligibility changes. 

The president recently signed the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and while the bill contains many MOAA-supported provisions designed to protect and expand your earned benefits, it does not contain language that would halt proposed eligibility changes at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC).

The FY 2019 NDAA required a plan to ensure ANC operations would continue “well into the future,” and DoD interpreted this as a directive to reduce eligibility. The draft rule change is pending as part of the federal rulemaking process; if enacted, the hardest hit will be Vietnam and Cold War-era veterans who have planned on this benefit for decades. It was not the original intent of the 2019 NDAA to end this benefit for elderly veterans. 

Legislation is still required for a halt to ANC eligibility changes. The joint DoD-VA report to designate the next national cemetery that will afford full military honors can set the foundation for language in the next NDAA.

While a halt to eligibility changes was not included in the most recent NDAA, it was proposed as a Senate amendment. This issue will require continued advocacy as the HASC report is pending.

For detailed information about EXISTING “rules” go to the Arlington Cemetery website https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/#!/ .   A comprehensive Fact Sheet is available along with Establishing Eligibility, and Eligibility for Internment

ANC Burial Rules as of May2020