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Office of Budget

Fiscal Year 2004 Performance and Accountability Report
Published November 15, 2004

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Objective 3.5

FY 2004 Obligation ($ in Millions) % of Total VA Resources
Strategic Goal 3: Honor and serve veterans in life and memorialize them in death for their sacrifices on behalf of the Nation. $23,293 33.3%
Objective Performance Results
3.5: Provide veterans and their families with timely and accurate symbolic expressions of remembrance. Increased the percent of graves in national cemeteries marked within 60 days of interment to 87 percent (goal was 78 percent) $65 0.1%

Performance

The amount of time it takes to mark the grave after an interment is extremely important to veterans and their families. This is the Department's primary measure used to gauge progress toward achievement of Objective 3.5. The headstone or marker is a lasting memorial that serves as a focal point not only for present-day survivors, but also for future generations. In addition, it may bring a sense of closure to the grieving process to see the grave marked. In FY 2004 VA marked 87 percent of the graves in national cemeteries within 60 days of the interment, a proportion well above both the performance goal as well as the FY 2003 performance level of 72 percent.

VA provides headstones and markers for the graves of eligible persons in national, state, other public, and private cemeteries. VA also provides memorial headstones and markers bearing the inscription "In Memory of" to memorialize eligible veterans whose remains were not recovered or identified, were buried at sea, donated to science, or cremated and scattered. In FY 2004, VA processed nearly 351,000 applications for headstones and markers for placement in national, state, other public, or private cemeteries.

Headstones and markers must be replaced when either the government or the contractor makes errors in the inscription, or if the headstone or marker is damaged during delivery or installation. When headstones and markers must be replaced, it further delays the final portion of the interment process, the placing of the headstone or marker at the gravesite. In FY 2004, 97 percent of headstones and markers were delivered undamaged and correctly inscribed. VA will continue to improve accuracy and operational processes in order to reduce the number of inaccurate or damaged headstones and markers delivered to the gravesite. VA also uses, to the maximum extent possible, automated operational processes to increase the efficiency of the headstone and marker ordering process. Other Federal and state veterans cemeteries ordered 91 percent of their headstones and markers online, and all individual headstone and marker orders are transmitted electronically to contractors.

In FY 2004 VA issued more than 435,000 Presidential Memorial Certificates (PMCs), bearing the President's signature, to convey to the family of the veteran the gratitude of the Nation for the veteran's service. To convey this gratitude, it is essential that the certificate be accurately inscribed. The accuracy rate for PMCs provided by VA is consistently 98 percent or better.

VA furnishes headstones and markers for national cemeteries administered by the Department of the Army, the Department of the Interior, and the American Battle Monuments Commission; contracts for all columbaria niche inscriptions at Arlington National Cemetery; and furnishes headstones and markers to state veterans cemeteries.

Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) Evaluation

During the development of the FY 2004 budget, the Administration conducted a PART evaluation of VA's burial program that relates to the accomplishment of Objective 3.5. Due to its clear mission and outcome goals, this program received a "Moderately Effective" rating.

The evaluation included findings that VA needed to adopt more performance measures to address all burial benefits and the National Shrine Commitment, and to strengthen methods to link performance, budget, and accountability. VA has addressed these findings by introducing two new burial claims measures and two new measures for the National Shrine Commitment in the President's FY 2005 budget. VA may add additional measures for the National Shrine Commitment in future budgets. During FY 2004, VA collected baseline data for the new measures. In addition, VA has established the Organizational Assessment and Improvement Program for the national cemeteries. The program will strengthen accountability at the national cemeteries by assessing cemetery performance against operational standards and measures. This program will strengthen the link between budget and performance by identifying improvement opportunities for prioritizing resources and by providing a scorecard for performance reporting at each of the national cemeteries.

Major Management Challenges

Neither VA's Office of Inspector General nor the Government Accountability Office identified any major management challenges related to Objective 3.5.

Program Evaluations

The Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act, Public Law 106-117, mandated that VA obtain an independent contractor to conduct a comprehensive study of veterans' burial benefits. An Assessment of Burial Benefits Administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, published in December 2000, assessed the adequacy and effectiveness of burial benefits administered under chapter 23 of title 38, United States Code, and evaluated options to better serve the burial needs of veterans and their families. VA and the Congress have used the information in this study to develop legislative initiatives to enhance services to veterans.

New Policies and Procedures

A new performance measure will help VA ensure timely and accurate symbolic expressions of remembrance are provided to veterans and their families. In FY 2004 (the baseline year), inscription data for 98 percent of headstones and markers ordered by national cemeteries were accurate and complete.

In FY 2004, VA contracted its headstone and marker application mail processing and document imaging functions. Anticipated benefits include improved customer service and timeliness, improved capability to track and measure performance, and improved operational efficiency.

The Veterans Education and Benefits Expansion Act of 2001, Public Law 107-103, as amended by the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2002, Public Law 107-330, allows VA to furnish an appropriate marker for the graves of eligible veterans buried in private cemeteries, whose deaths occur on or after September 11, 2001, regardless of whether the grave is already marked with a non-government marker. This authority expires on December 31, 2006. However, not later than February 1, 2006, VA shall report to Congress the rate of use of this benefit, assess the extent to which these markers are being delivered to cemeteries and placed on gravesites consistent with the provisions of law, and recommend an extension or repeal of the expiration date. Information contained in the study, An Assessment of Burial Benefits Administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, led to this change in the law.

Objective 3.5 - Key Performance Goal: Increase the percent of graves in national cemeteries marked within 60 days of interment to 78 percent in 2004.

Percent of Graves in National Cemeteries Marked Within 60 Days of Interment
2002 49%
2003 72%
2004 Actual 87%
2004 Plan 78%
2005 Plan 82%
Strategic Target 90%

Description, Importance, and Results

The amount of time it takes to mark the grave after an interment is extremely important to veterans and their families. The headstone or marker is a lasting memorial that serves as a focal point not only for present-day survivors but also for future generations. In addition, it may bring a sense of closure to the grieving process to see the grave marked. For FY 2004, VA exceeded by 9 percentage points the planned goal of marking 78 percent of graves in national cemeteries within 60 days of the interment.

Management and Policy Issues

To achieve this high level of performance, VA focused on reengineering business processes, such as ordering and setting headstones and markers, and provided monthly and fiscal year-to-date tracking reports on timeliness of marking graves that were accessible online by NCA employees. NCA also expanded a program for locally inscribing headstones and markers at national cemeteries in order to decrease the time it takes to mark graves after an interment. By performing inscriptions locally using blank headstones and markers stored at the cemetery, VA decreased the number of days between an interment and the subsequent marking of a grave by reducing headstone and marker manufacturing and shipping times. VA will continue to focus on business process reengineering, including improving accuracy and operational processes, in order to reduce delays in marking graves caused by inaccurate or damaged headstones and markers.

Two major external factors influence the timeliness of marking graves in national cemeteries. First, the national cemeteries are dependent upon contractors throughout the country for the manufacturing and shipping of headstones and markers. The performance of these contractors greatly affects the quality of service to veterans and their families. Second, extremes in weather, such as periods of excessive rain or snow, or extended periods of freezing temperatures that impact ground conditions, can cause delays in both the delivery and installation of headstones and markers.

Data Quality

Please refer to the Key Measures Data Table.