Arlington National Cemetery recovered nearly $27 million from prior fiscal years
Recent media reports erroneously stated that Arlington Cemetery is missing $12 million. This is not the case – Arlington has in fact fully accounted for these funds. Arlington National Cemetery recovered $26,763,199.69 from prior fiscal years that was obligated but not disbursed. As part of the process of instituting new financial management controls and oversight, Arlington National Cemetery’s resource managers meticulously reviewed years of financial records and recovered funds that were sent to Department of Defense agencies that support the cemetery. On October 1, 2010, Arlington transitioned to the Army’s General Fund Enterprise Business System (GFEBS). GFEBS enables Arlington and the Army to have complete visibility of its financial transactions. The attached table reflects the recoveries that Arlington recouped after the reconciliation of prior year financial transactions. As stated at previous Congressional hearings, Arlington has worked diligently to modernize cemetery operations, address years of facility maintenance and repair backlogs, and address Information Technology system upgrades. The attached table provides a detailed breakdown to address the operational shortfalls identified above that would not have been possible without the recovery of these funds. Fiscal stewardship and transparency is paramount to all at Arlington. Since June 2010, the entire staff at the cemetery has worked diligently to restore the faith and confidence of the American Public and will continue to do so.