In the News

Congress approves expansion of Arkansas Veterans Cemetery, headed to President’s desk

1/2/2020
Fox16

WASHINGTON (KNWA) — The Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock is slated to receive nearly 140 acres of land.

This comes as a result of language Senator John Boozman (R-AR) authored in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is one step away from becoming law.

NDAA, which invests in our military and authorizes $738 billion in critical national security funding, includes a provision to authorize the transfer of land from Camp Robinson to the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) to expand the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock.

The bill has been approved by both chambers of Congress and is expected to be signed into law by President Donald Trump.

The land conveyance will enable continuation of first burials beyond 2045, when the current cemetery is predicted to reach capacity.

Rather than building a new cemetery in central Arkansas, the land conveyance provides an expansion opportunity which will be a more cost-efficient alternative for ADVA.

The language included in NDAA was taken from legislation introduced in the Senate by Boozman with the support of Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR).

A companion bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman French Hill (AR-02) with the support of Arkansas’s House delegation.