On Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, announced that his bill to repair and maintain the Mare Island Naval Cemetery has passed the House as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report.

This is the bill’s final stop in the House and it now heads to the Senate where it is expected to be considered in the coming days.

“The Mare Island Naval Cemetery is an historic and sacred place for our nation’s veterans and must be restored to properly honor the more than 800 service members buried there,” Thompson said in a statement. “I am proud to see my bill to provide for repairs and maintenance of the cemetery pass the House as part of the NDAA Conference Report and I look forward to its consideration in the Senate. I will continue working to ensure this bill becomes law so that the cemetery can once again properly recognize the service and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans.”

The cemetery is the oldest naval cemetery on the West Coast and has been designated as a National Historic Landmark.

It has three Congressional Medal of Honor recipients — James Cooney, Alexander Parker and William Halford.

On Thursday Thompson announced that his legislation to repair and maintain the Mare Island Naval Cemetery has been included in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report.

The bill would transfer control of the historic cemetery from the City of Vallejo to the Department of Veterans Affairs so it can be properly restored as the final resting places for hundreds of American service members.

Thompson first introduced the bill called H.R. 5588 in April of 2018. The cemetery would specifically be placed under the purview of the National Cemetery Administration. The VA would pay no fee to acquire the land, but would assume the obligation of maintaining the cemetery in the future.

The Mare Island Naval Cemetery has gone through a major restoration. Many trees that used to surround the cemetery have been removed, as well as a portion of the white picket fence that surrounded it, although portions of the fence will be but back after the drainage system is repaired. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, repairs for the cemetery have been slowed down.

In September of this year, the Department of Defense’s Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) Program resumed construction at the Mare Island Preserve and Naval Cemetery. The IRT project includes grading, installation of drainage systems, minor restoration of burial sites, and fence repair throughout the area.

On Veteran’s Day of 2020, many people attending the ceremony at the cemetery marveled at how much progress has been made on historic site, including Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis.

“I know that many are responsible for the work that has been done to restore this special place,” Kounalakis said in November. “But let me recognize in particular U.S. Representative Mike Thompson, who is a veteran and was wounded in Vietnam, but who has also worked tirelessly to enact the legislation required in the House of Representatives to return this ceremony to the jurisdiction of the U.S. government.”