This week, Florida Rep. Brian Mast (R) directed a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie, criticizing a “hypocritical policy” that limits the number of people that can attend a funeral for a veteran.
Under the policy, a cemetery that is managed by the VA has the authority to restrict the number of attendees for a veteran’s committal service to 10 people.
In the letter, Mast writes that “this policy does a great disservice to those in uniform who put their lives at stake to serve our great nation and deprives our fallen heroes.” He added, “if our country’s politicians can gather in large numbers to pay their respects, certainly our veterans deserve at least as much, if not more.”
In turn, the Florida lawmaker stressed that Wilkie should “reconsider this policy,” noting that “all fallen veterans’ family and friends should be able to attend committal services so that they can come together to honor the lives of their fallen loved ones.”
