Tran, Correa Press VA to Build First-Ever Orange County Veteran Cemetery

Washington, DC - This week, U.S. Representatives Derek Tran (CA-45) and Lou Correa (CA-46) led a letterto the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) urging federal support for the construction of the Southern California Veterans Cemetery at Gypsum Canyon in Anaheim Hills, California-Orange County's first-ever Veterans cemetery.

You can read the full text of the letter HERE.

The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) submitted a pre-application to the National Cemetery Administration's Veterans Cemetery Grants Program. As of July 23, 2024, the Orange County Cemetery District (OCCD) received unanimous approval from the Anaheim City Council to develop and operate a public cemetery at Gypsum Canyon. This allows CalVet, OCCD, and the County to continue working together on land development and shared cost planning.

"We write to express our support for the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program Pre-application submitted by the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet)...After years of delay due to a lack of consensus on an appropriate location, the County of Orange, all 34 cities, a bipartisan majority of the County's state and federal delegation, public safety and labor organizations, and more than 100 local, state and national veterans' organizations are united in support of the Gypsum Canyon location." the members wrote.

Representative Tran haspreviously expressed supportfor the Gypsum Canyon Veterans Cemetery and continues to prioritize Veterans' issues in Congress. His first piece of legislation, the Protect Veteran Jobs Act, supports the livelihoods of the Veterans who were wrongfully removed from their civil service positions and allows them to continue giving back to their country as part of the federal workforce. Representative Tran also introduced the bipartisan Delivering Digitally to Our Veterans Actto allow Veterans the option for digital messaging related to the benefits delivered through the G.I. Bill, easing access to educational benefits for all Veterans.

On July 27, 2021, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved $20 million for site development for a veterans' cemetery at Gypsum Canyon, designating over 200 acres of county-owned land near the 91 Freeway and 241 Toll Road for a public cemetery and a separate veterans' cemetery. Combined state and local funding for the veterans' cemetery construction now totals $50 million, including $25 million from prior state budgets, and an additional $5 million allocated in the 2024 State Budget Act.

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Congressman Derek Tran represents California's 45th Congressional District. Serving his first term in Congress, Congressman Tran is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and House Small Business Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations Subcommittee. Congressman Tran is the son of Vietnamese refugees, a Veteran, and fought for consumers as an attorney before entering Congress.