Washington, D.C. –?U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) re-introduced legislation to authorize the creation of the Elko Veterans Cemetery. The Senators’ legislation would authorize the transfer of the land needed for use as a national cemetery. Last September, Senator Cortez Masto announced that she had secured a verbal agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to speed up the Elko Veterans’ Cemetery project.
“I’ve been working alongside Elko’s veterans and community leaders for years to help acquire the land needed to construct the burial ground, and it’s long overdue,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “I’ll continue to work with this Administration to prioritize a land transfer that will make it possible for our brave service men and women to be buried near their homes and loved ones, and I look forward to seeing this project completed.”
“Representing Nevada’s veterans in Congress is one of my greatest honors,” said Senator Rosen. “This new veterans cemetery will help honor the service of Northern Nevada’s veteran community, many of whom have given the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. I’m proud to help lead this legislation that will allow Nevada veterans to be honorably laid to rest in their own community.”
In 2013 the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) approved the construction of a veterans cemetery in Elko, Nevada. In order for the VA to acquire certain parcels of land needed to expand the cemetery, Congress must approve a land transfer from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the VA. The Elko National Cemetery Act would authorize the transfer of land and allow the VA to begin construction on this crucial burial option for Nevada’s rural veterans.
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