WASHINGTON – Congressman Vern Buchanan announced today that he has introduced the Honoring Our Heroes with Dignity Act (H.R. 10301), which will require the Army to resume horse-drawn funeral services at Arlington National cemetery. This Army program, which is meant to honor our fallen service members, was suspended in 2023 due to the alleged maltreatment and deaths of horses used in these the funeral processions.
“Those who have selflessly served our country in uniform and are being laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery deserve a proper, honorable burial,” said Buchanan. “The Army had over a year and a half to make needed fixes to this program to ensure the continued health of the horses. I am hopeful that Congress includes this legislation in the final version of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act to immediately resume horse-drawn funeral processions for our fallen soldiers.”
This legislation will require the Secretary of the Army to resume these services at Arlington National Cemetery within 60 days of its enactment. It also requires the Secretary of the Army to submit a monthly report to Congress on funerals at Arlington National Cemetery that have been placed on hold as a result of the suspension of this important program.
Buchanan’s bill is a companion to language first introduced by Senator Tom Cotton, which was included in the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025.
“The families of American heroes should not have to wait indefinitely for their loved ones to be buried with the honors they earned and deserve. The Army’s Old Guard has provided caisson services honorably for years and is more than capable of doing so now. The Army should resume caisson services immediately,” said Sen. Cotton.
In 2022, two horses, Mickey and Tony, from the 3rd Infantry Regiment’s Caisson Platoon at Arlington National Cemetery passed away within days of each other from colon impaction. It was later reported that these horses potentially died due to poor living conditions, including limited-size fields full of manure, construction debris, low-quality hay and an infestation of parasites.
Following this incident, Buchanan led a letter to the Government Accountability Office alongside Rep. Earl Blumenauer calling for a report into the potential maltreatment and poor living conditions of the Caisson Platoon.
Buchanan, who co-chairs the Animal Protection Caucus in Congress, is a leading advocate for protecting endangered species and ending animal cruelty, introducing and co-sponsoring dozens of important animal measures. Most recently, he introduced the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act to permanently ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption and prohibit the export of live horses to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses to be sold overseas. In 2019, Buchanan’s legislation, the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, was signed into law, which banned extreme forms of animal cruelty and torture. The PACT Act was the nation’s first federal animal cruelty law.
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