Passage Represents Major Step Forward In Moving Legislation Through Congress And Into Law

The House Veterans Affairs Committee last week passed legislation authored by Congresswoman Martha McSally (R-AZ) that would restore the rights of the WASPs, who were pioneering female World War II pilots, to have their ashes inurned at Arlington National Cemetery, which is run by the U.S. Army.

“To be clear, this decision does not require legislation. The Army can restore the WASPs’ eligibility in Arlington right now. But they have refused, and in their shameful inaction, we are pressing forward,” said Rep. McSally. “There are only roughly 110 WASPs remaining alive. It is unconscionable that after decades of fighting for the recognition they earned, it is being stripped away from them in their final years. I will not stand for it. Restoring the WASPs’ rightful place in Arlington is something we owe to these pioneering women and future generations of Americans so they can see and know what the WASP did. I will continue to fight every day until this decision is reversed.”

Rep. McSally has led the fight in Congress to restore the WASPs’ eligibility in Arlington National Cemetery. Her legislation, H.R. 4336 the Women Airforce Service Pilots Arlington Inurnment (WASP AIR) Act, has garnered 141 bipartisan cosponsors in the House and the endorsement of half a dozen veterans, military, and women’s advocacy groups.

In addition to her bill, Rep. McSally has led a letter signed by over 50 bipartisan Members of Congress calling on the Acting Secretary of the Army to immediately reverse the Army’s decision. She also led a Special Order discussion last month on the House floor in support of the WASPs.

In 1942, General Henry “Hap” Arnold created the WASP unit with the intention of granting them full military status, though Congress never approved the plan. The program ran from 1942 to 1944. In 1977, Congress passed legislation retroactively granting active duty status to WASP pilots for the purposes of all laws administered by the VA. In 2009, Congress awarded the WASPs the Congressional Gold Medal.

Arlington National Cemetery approved in 2002 active duty designees, including WASP pilots, for military honors and inurnments. However, in March 2015, then-Secretary of the Army John McHugh reversed this decision.

(Image provide with Congresswoman McSally news release)

FMI: http://mcsally.house.gov