NCS has a strategic plan for addressing the demand for veterans’ burials up to fiscal year 2003, but the plan does not address longer term burial needs—that is, the demand for benefits during the expected peak years of veteran deaths, when pressure on the system will be greatest. Beyond the year 2003, NCS officials said they will continue using the basic strategies contained in the current 5-year plan. Five-Year Plan Has Multiple Strategies

According to its 5-year strategic plan (1998-2003), one of NCS’ primary goals is to ensure that burial in an open national or state veterans’ cemetery is an available option for all eligible veterans and their family members. First, NCS plans to build, when feasible, new national cemeteries. Third, NCS plans to encourage states to provide additional grave sites for veterans through participation in the State Cemetery Grants Program. For example, NCS’ strategic plan does not articulate how NCS will mitigate the effects of the increasing demand for burial services. Although NCS projects annual interments to increase about 42 percent from 73,000 in 1995 to 104,000 in 2010, peaking at 107,000 in 2008, its strategic plan does not indicate how the agency will begin to position itself to handle this increase in demand for burial benefits. We believe that, given the magnitude of the projected increase in demand for burial benefits, NCS’ strategic plan should discuss how its current strategies will be adjusted to address the demand during the peak years of veterans’ deaths. According to NCS’ Chief of Planning, NCS will encourage states to locate cemeteries in areas where it does not plan to operate and maintain national cemeteries. Since the State Cemetery Grants Program’s inception in 1978, fewer than half of the states have established veterans’ cemeteries, primarily because, according to NCS officials, states must provide up to half of the funds needed to establish, expand, or improve a cemetery as well as pay for all equipment and annual operating costs. While historical data imply that the majority of veterans and eligible dependents prefer a casket burial, NCS national data show that the demand for cremation at national cemeteries is increasing. Conclusion

designed to increase state participation by increasing the share of federal funding. Therefore, NCS needs to rely more on extending the service periods of its existing cemeteries. Columbaria can more efficiently utilize available cemetery land at a lower average interment cost than the other interment options and can also extend the service period of existing national cemeteries.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO discussed the National Cemetery System's (NCS) plans to accommodate the increasing demand for burial benefits and what it can do to extend the service period of existing cemeteries.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) NCS has adopted a 5-year strategic plan for fiscal years 1998 through 2003 with the goal of ensuring that burial in a national or state veterans' cemetery is an available option for all veterans and their eligible family members; (2) strategies outlined in NCS' plan include: (a) building new national cemeteries; (b) expanding existing cemeteries; and (c) encouraging states to provide additional burial sites through participation in the State Cemetery Grants Program; (3) however, it is unclear how NCS will address the veterans' burial demand during the peak years, when pressure on it will be greatest, since NCS' strategic plan does not indicate how it will begin to position itself to handle the increasing demand for burial benefits; (4) NCS officials stated that beyond 2003, NCS will continue using the basic strategies contained in its current 5-year plan; (5) for example, NCS plans to encourage states to establish veterans' cemeteries in areas where it does not plan to operate national cemeteries; (6) however, since the grant program's inception in 1978, fewer than half of the states have established veterans' cemeteries; (7) states have also shown limited interest in a legislative proposal designed to increase state participation by increasing the share of federal funding; (8) given the magnitude of the projected increase in demand for burial benefits, GAO continues to believe that it is important for NCS to articulate to Congress and other stakeholders how it plans to address the increasing demand; (9) as annual interments increase, cemeteries reach their burial capacity, thus increasing the importance of making the most efficient use of available cemetery space; (10) to identify feasible approaches to extending the service period of existing cemeteries, GAO analyzed the impact of adding burial sites to an acre of land in an existing cemetery; (11) GAO's analysis of three interment options showed that columbaria offered the most efficient option because they would involve the lowest average interment cost and would significantly extend a cemetery's service period; and (12) morever, while the majority of veterans and eligible family members prefer a casket burial, cremation is an acceptable interment option for many, and the demand for cremation, which varies by region, continues to increase.