Your Funeral Guy Has reported that the Bereaved Consumers Protection Act has made it through the Energy and Commerce Committee and has been Marked up for consideration of a vote in the full House Of Representatives.

Your Funeral Guy Reports this in a snippet:

“The Bereaved  Consumers Bill of Rights Act, HR 3655  Land Mark Cemetery legislation has made it through the House Energy Commerce Committee by a vote of 15-12.

This is a significant step forward to ending Future Scandals like those that occurred at Burr Oak Cemetery, Eden Memorial Park, in 2009.

Amendments to the legislation where allowed for religious and non profit cemeteries.

This legislation  if Passed  by the United States House of Representatives will require that the large cemetery corporations like Service Corporation International and Stewart Enterprises will have to disclose Their prices to customers asking for cemetery and crematory services.

H. R. 3655, the “Bereaved Consumer’s Bill of Rights Act”

(ordered favorably reported to the House, amended, by voice vote)

• Text of H.R. 3655, amended

• Amendment, Rep.Rush
  (adopted, amended, by voice vote)
• Amendment to Rep. Rush’s Amendment (Second-Degree Amendment), Rep. Gingrey
  (adopted by division vote, 15-12)
• Amendment, Rep. Barton
  (defeated by voice vote)
• Amendment, Rep. Barton
  (defeated by voice vote)

via http://energycommerce.house.gov/

This is good news for the funeral and Cemetery Consumers  for the enactment of Funeral Rule 2.

via www.yourfuneralguy.com

Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act, HR 3655 by Bereaved Consumers Protection Act.

Rush Bill coming to avote in Committe in Congress

This is important legislation( Hr 3655) because it essentially keeps cemeteries honest requiring that they disclose prices in advance and  keep track of graves in a database.What essentially will happen is that cemeteries will be regulated by the rules that regulate.Funeral Homes on the FTC”s Funeral Rule! the legislation has been reffered to as Funeral Rule 2.

The  Rush bill is appropiate because it levels the playing field for cemeteries and funeral homes.

The Funeral Consumers Alliance and The National  Funeral Directors Association, organizations with quite different agenda’s support this bill.

Your Funeral Guy has issued a call for action on this vote.

The ICCFA and  State Cemetery Associations are calling for opposition to this bill!

At the last Committee Meeting Congressman Joe Barton Of Texas voiced his opposition to the bill. He may be muted this time because oh his comments on the BP Oil Spill.

If this bill would have been in place, The Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal, Eden Memorial Park Scandal, and the recent Arlington National Cemetery Scandal May not have taken place.

Funeral industry News posted  By Admin in the Bereaved Consumers Protection Act

“….. said Wednesday that officials were prepared to dig up graves, open caskets and take DNA samples from the deceased if it is necessary to sort out the record-keeping chaos at …..”

In July of 2009 this was the story of the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal outside of Chicago. In July of 2010 it may be the story of Arlington National Cemetery.

In July of 2009 words like these came from the Cook County Sheriff. In 2010 we are hearing them from the Secretary of the Army concerning Arlington National Cemetery!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE AMENDMENT.

The amendment would exempt NON PROFIT CEMETERIES from the FTC Funeral Rule 2, and direct the Federal Trade Commission to study state regulations of cemeteries.

This is not a death blow to the legislation, only a delay. The Republicans have stopped quick National Cemetery Reform. This situation allows for more Burr Oak Cemetery and Eden Memorial Park Scandals to happen across the USA.

Funeral Industry|Cemetery Industry | funeral Blog by Bereaved Consumers Protection Act.COM

From YourFuneralGuy:

The International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association issued a call to action for its members to have funeral service practitioners call their representatives to vote no on the proposed measure. The association’s email blast urged members to:

“Phone the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee “to express emphatic opposition to H.R. 3655.”

Phone your industry friends, colleagues and tell your employees and ask them to immediately call the two phone numbers listed above to express their emphatic opposition to H.R. 3655.

Phone your Congressman and tell him/her to contact the Energy & Commerce Committee to express opposition to H.R. 3655.”

via memorialbusinessjournal.wordpress.com

Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by BereavedConsumersProtectionAct.com

Clearly the ICCFA does not think the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal is all that serious of a disaster.

Funeral Rule 2 would bring changes to the Cemetery Industry

Texas Republican Representative Joe Barton op0ses HR 3655

The  Texas Republican Joe Barton is opposing the Bereaved Consumers Protection Act, AkA  Bereaved consumers Bill of Rights Act of 2009 From The Republican Committee Press Release His opposition is Stated To Be “Strong”

The Bill HR 3655 provides only basic Cemetery and third party regulation  By Setting up Funeral Rule2

“On the other bill, Mr. Chairman, H.R. 3655, I understand Subcommittee Chairman Rush’s strong personal interest in this. I understand you have a similar interest and I respect that, Mr. Chairman. I sincerely do. Having said that, my family is involved with a small volunteer cemetery association in Texas. I have family members who have been buried there for more than 70 years. The cemetery itself is more than 100 years old. There is absolutely no way on God’s green earth that that small cemetery should be subject to Federal Trade Commission regulation. It’s run entirely by volunteers. It’s run on a shoestring budget. The total expenses of the cemetery on an annual basis in a normal year are less than $3,000. It will require them to report things to the FTC, keep certain records and hire accountants they’d have to have just doesn’t make sense.

We know there have been some charlatan cemetery operators in the country, one obviously in Chairman Rush’s home state of Illinois. But in that case, once it came to the attention of the Illinois governor and Illinois legislature, prompt action was taken. There’s been a task force created that made recommendations. It is not one of that task force recommendations that there be a federal law on cemeteries.

“With all the problems facing this country, Mr. Chairman, all of the issues facing this committee, federalization of cemetery regulation has got to go down as one of least cost-effective, least desirable, least necessary bills, certainly in the last five or six years of this committee.

“I cannot tell you how strongly I oppose the cemetery bill and will continue to do so.via republicans.energycommerce.house.gov

Funeral Industry| Cemetery & Funeral Reform blog By Bereaved Consumers Protection Act.com

Full Congressional Committee hearing on the Bereaved Consumers Bill Of Rights Act in Congress May 5th 2010

Here is the way things are playing out. The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) and  the Funeral Consumers Alliance(FCA) are supporting the legislation. The International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA )is opposing the HR 3655.Your Funeral Guy is supporting it, ConnectingDirectors.com is refusing to take sides.

The basics of this law are that everyone follows the same rules, funeral home, cemeteries, cremation facilities and sellers of funeral goods and services. And there is one  place to file a complaint, The Federal Trade Commission.

This is not as the other legislation we have seen.  The Congress and the Obama Administration are not taking over death care. This is the most basic regulation to stop abuse. We Need no more Burr Oak Cemetery Scandals.

Funeral Industry, Funeral News, Bereaved Consumers Protection Act Blog.

Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral blog by Bereaved Consumers Protection Act

Congressman Bobby Rush

Early in March 2010, Congressman Rush spoke at the NFDA Advocacy Summit a meeting of Funeral Industry Lobbyists in Washington DC. Interestingly,  both the Funeral Consumers Alliance and the National Funeral Directors Association support the Funeral and Cemetery Reform  legislation, which will set up a second “Death Care” Industry Rule(AKA Funeral Rule 2) regulating Cemeteries and Third parties that sell Funeral Goods and Services to the public-READMORE

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