Arlington National Cemetery is running out of room and will be completely full in about 25 years -- unless additional restrictions are placed on who can be buried there, The New York Times is reporting.
Located in Arlington, Virginia, the cemetery is the final resting place for more than 420,000 veterans and their relatives, according to the newspaper. And about 7,000 more are added to the cemetery each year.
"We’re literally up against a wall," said Barbara Lewandrowski, a spokeswoman for the cemetery.
The cemetery has no room for expansion, And the Army is now looking at tightening the rules for who can be buried there, the newspaper said.
One proposal under consideration would permit burial for only services members killed in action or those awarded the Medal of Honor.
But that policy would exclude thousands who are currently eligible for burial.
"I don’t know if it’s fair to go back on a promise to an entire population of veterans," said John Towles, a legislative deputy director for Veterans of Foreign Wars.
"Let Arlington fill up with people who have served their country," he said. "We can create a new cemetery that, in time, will be just as special.
The Army has launched a national survey in an effort to make a formal recommendation in the fall.
"What does the nation want us to do?" Arlington’s executive director, Karen Durham-Aguilera, said "If the nation has the will to say we want to keep Arlington special and available, we have to make a change."
And, CBS News quoted her as saying: "Without a change, by 2041, we will run out of room."
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