Congressman Bobby Rush did a good job summarizing National Cemetery Reform this week in a hearing in Congress. The reform comes in response to the horrific Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal that occurred in July 2009.

The Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act provides comprehensive National Cemetery Regulation for the first time in US History.

Here is part of the Congressman’s opening statement : At the hearing on the Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act of 2009
“Planning for one’s own, or even a loved one’s death, is typically a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience.  It is often compounded by unpredictability. But just because death all too often comes like a thief in the night, bereaved consumers should not be left wondering who, in fact, was the real thief…death or the cemetery salesperson?

Everything one needs to know about this legislation is at the Website Bereaved Consumers Protection Act..com-CLICK HERE

“On September 25, 2009, I introduced the “Bereaved Consumer’s Bill of Rights.” Today, my Subcommittee is reviewing this draft bill at its first hearing of the new legislative session. To help us consider the measure, I am grateful to the accomplished panel of witnesses who have prepared testimony and saw fit to be here, today, to comment upon the merits and drawbacks of this important bill.

“Among H.R. 3655′s provisions, the bill would require the FTC to require ALL funeral goods and services providers, and not just “for profit” funeral homes, to do the following:

The Legislation was written in response to the Horriffic Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal outside Chicago

* provide consumers with accurate, itemized price information for each specific funeral good or service offered for sale;
* prohibit these providers from misrepresenting what federal, state, and local laws require in protecting consumers;
* include disclosures in pre-paid contracts regarding fees or penalties to be assessed for cancellation or transfer, by the purchaser, of burial, cremation, or entombment rights to different facilities, and
* retain records of the date and location of each burial, cremation, and entombment as well as the corresponding rights of disposition (i.e., perpetual or term), and make those records available to federal, state, and local governments.

“In drafting this Bill of Rights, I have been earnest in respecting existing states’ laws. The bill would authorize both the FTC and the States Attorneys General, and other designated state entities, to enforce its requirements.-via www.house.gov

Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral|Cemetery Blog By Your Funeral Guy

This is  a light in a dark place, A National  Funeral and Cemetery Consumers Bill of rights.

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