History and Responsibilities
In addition to the maintenance and operation of national cemeteries, the Under Secretary is also responsible for their land acquisition, design, and construction. Other memorial programs overseen by the Under Secretary include the provision of headstones, markers, and Presidential Memorial Certificates---engraved paper certificates signed by the current president---to honor deceased veterans' service. The Under Secretary also administers federal grants to help states establish state veterans' cemeteries.
The position was created by the Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of 1998, which was signed by President Clinton on November 11, 1998. As a result of the Act, the organization led by a Director, the National Cemetery System, evolved from an agency into an administration led by an Under Secretary when it was renamed to the National Cemetery Administration. From April 1998 to early September 2000, a series of Acting Directors and Acting Under Secretaries headed the Administration. Two of these were Roger R. Rapp and Mike Walker, with the latter later being confirmed by the United States Senate. They were followed by Under Secretaries Robin Higgins and John W. Nicholson.
Read more about this topic: Under Secretary Of Veterans Affairs For Memorial Affairs
Famous quotes containing the words history and and/or history:
“The basic idea which runs right through modern history and modern liberalism is that the public has got to be marginalized. The general public are viewed as no more than ignorant and meddlesome outsiders, a bewildered herd.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“Bias, point of view, fury—are they ... so dangerous and must they be ironed out of history, the hills flattened and the contours leveled? The professors talk ... about passion and point of view in history as a Calvinist talks about sin in the bedroom.”
—Catherine Drinker Bowen (1897–1973)