WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, respectively, today released the following statement regarding the positive news from Acting Secretary of the Army Patrick Murphy regarding their recent calls to restore inurnment eligibility at Arlington National Cemetery for the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots and other active duty designees:

“We are pleased that the Army will support legislation to make active-duty designees eligible for above-ground inurnment in Arlington National Cemetery, and we look forward to working with the Secretary of the Army to finalize the necessary legislation. The Women’s Air Force Service Pilots and Merchant Marines, among other active duty designee groups, served honorably, and Acting Secretary Murphy rightly recognizes their service and sacrifice to our country in his response.”

Click here for Acting Secretary Murphy’s full response to the February 10, 2016, letter signed by 24 senators, including Isakson and Blumenthal.

The committee hopes to include legislation to restore inurnment rights to active duty designees in a forthcoming omnibus bill.

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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 114th Congress. Isakson is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate VA Committee since he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations representing each branch of the military as well as more than 750,000 veterans.