Funerals and Buriais: Protecting Consumers from Bad Practices Hearings
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S. HRG. 106-672 FUNERALS AND BURIAIS: PROTECTING CONSUMERS FROM BAD PRACTICES HEARINGS BEFORE THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION WASHINGTON, DC APRIL 10 AND 11, 2000 Serial No. 106-27 Printed for the use of the Special Committee on Aging S. HRG. 106-472 FUNERALS AND BURIALS: PROTECHNG CONSUMERS FROM BAD PRACTCES HEARING BEFORE THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION WASHINGTON, DC APRIL 10 AND 11, 2000 Serial No. 106-27 Printed for the use of the Special Committee on Aging U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 65-219 cc WASHINGTON : 2000 For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC. 20402 SPECIAL COMMITEE ON AGING CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa, Chairman JAMES M. JEFFORDS, Vermont JOHN B. BREAUX, Louisiana LARRY CRAIG, Idaho HARRY REID, Nevada CONRAD BURNS, Montana HERB KOHL, Wisconsin RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin RICK SANTORUM, Pennsylvania RON WYDEN, Oregon CHUCK HAGEL, Nebraska JACK REED, Rhode Island SUSAN COLLINS, Maine RICHARD H. BRYAN, Nevada MIKE ENZI, Wyoming EVAN BAYH, Indiana TIM HUTCHINSON, Arkansas BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas JIM BUNNING, Kentucky THEo~oRE L. To~RN, Staff Director T&cHEODOPREEm, Minority Staff Director CONTENTS Page APRIL 10 Opening statement of Senator Charles E. Grassley ............................................ 1 Statement of Senator John Breaux ........................................................................ 4 Statement of Senator Richard Bryan .................................................................... 5 PANEL I Irwin Karp, Convicted Felon, California Department of Corrections, Tehachapi, CA ..................................................................................................... 6 PANEL II Danell D. Pepson, Leesburg, VA ............................................................................ 30 Toni Moore, President and Chief Executive Officer, Paradise Memorial Park Cemetery Memorial Fund, Santa Fe Springs, CA ............................................. 37 Cheryl L. Lankford, Lankford Funeral Home, DeLand, FL ................................ 44 Daryl J. Roberts, Scottsdale, AZ ............................................................................. 50 Father Henry Wasielewski, Interfaith Funeral Information Committee, Tem pe,A Z ............................................................................................................. 61 Lamar W. Hankins, President, FAMSA-Funeral Consumer Alliance, San M arcos, TX ............................................................................................................ 70 Robert Shreve, American Association of Retired Persons, Washington, DC ...... 84 APRIL 11 Opening statement of Senator Charles E. Grassley ............................................. 109 Statement of Senator John Breaux ........................................................................ 110 PANEL OF WrrNESSEs Eileen Harrington, Associate Director, Marketing Practices, Federal Trade Com m ission, W ashington, DC ............................................................................. 112 G.V. Ayers, Chief, Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, Department of Consumer Affairs, State of California, Sacramento, CA ..................................................... 134 Jay Jacobson, National Funeral Directors Association, Pella, IA ....................... 145 Paul Elvig, on behalf of the International Cemetery and Funeral Association, R eston , VA ............................................................................................................ 217 APPENDIX Charts on Deaths and Funerals in the United States .......................................... 353 Senator Grassley's Consumer Tips on Funerals and Cemeteries ........................ 362 Additional testimony submitted by G.V. Ayers, Bureau Chief Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, Department of Consumer Affairs, State of California ......... 363 Additional testimony submitted on behalf of the National Funeral Directors A ssociation ............................................................................................................ 365 Additional testimony submitted on behalf of the International Cemetery and Funeral Association ............................................................................................. 375 Testimony submitted by Robert K. Phelps ............................................................ 396 Testimony submitted by Harriet Karol .................................................................. 398 Testimony submitted by Fenwick and Irene Carlile ...................... 402 Testimony submitted by Catherine E. Morais ...................................................... 404 Statement submitted by Cindy Briggs ................................................................... 410 Testimony submitted by Chris and Lisa Cook ...................................................... 412 IV Page Material submitted by Edith Churchman, National Funeral Directors and M orticians Association, Inc. ................................................................................ 417 Comments submitted by Robert R. Johnson ......................................................... 422 Letter submitted by Gabrielle Burns, President Jupiter Index Web Magazine . 438 Letter submitted by Carlene A. Perfetto .............................................................. 439 Testimony submitted by the Monument Builders of North America .................. 440 Testimony submitted by the North American Cemetery Regulators Associa- tion ............................-.... -...-... -........................................................................ 464 Testimony submitted by Davis Mortuary .............................................................. 486 Comments submitted by Grundy Memorial Chapel, Inc. ..................................... 488 Letter submitted from Joseph E. Pray .................................................................. 491 Letter submitted by International Order of the Golden Rule ................ 494 Letter submitted by Humboldt Funeral Society ................................................... 496 Comments submitted by Webcaskets ..................................................................... 499 Letter submitted by William Hedger ..................................................................... 505 Letter submitted by Beacham McDougald ........................................................... 512 FUNERALS AND BURIALS: PROTECTING CONSUMERS FROM BAD PRACTICES MONDAY, APRIL 10, 2000 U.S. SENATE, SPECIAL COMMIrrEE ON AGING, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice,* at 1:05 p.m., in room SD-106, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Charles E. Grassley (Chairman of the Committee) presiding. Present: Senators Grassley, Breaux, and Bryan. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, CHAIRMAN The CHAMMAN. I thank everybody for their attendance at this hearing, and appreciate the fact that a lot of people in preparation for this hearing beyond those of us that are employed by the people of the United States have gone to a lot of work to be prepared for it, and particularly for our witnesses we thank you for doing that. But those of you who are just here because of your interest in it, we thank you, too, for taking time out of your busy schedules. I want to make it very clear up front that I do not consider this set of hearings that involve the funeral home industry as "gotcha" type hearings. We have had the cooperation of the industry very much in working toward these hearings. Remember, as far as these hearings are concerned, they started out with a proposition put forth by the General Accounting Office that the Federal Trade Commission was not adequately enforcing the Funeral Rule. So this is a hearing not only about a segment of our economy, but it is also about our constitutional oversight of the laws being faithfully executed to make sure that the regulatory agencies are doing their job as well. So I want to thank Senator Breaux for being here and other members who hopefully will be able to come and attend part of our hearing. I hope that by the end, my committee and the public will agree that it was important for the Committee on Aging to examine the funeral-related industries. In addition, I want to thank the wit- nesses for being here today. Your testimony will assist the commit- tee greatly in determining how best to address the problems that you raise. This hearing focuses on a multi-billion-dollar industry that pro- vides funeral goods and services to Americans. Like any industry, it has its decent and caring providers, and like any industry it also has those who are not so caring. The Committee on Aging em- barked on this investigation on behalf of all those citizens who have had bad experiences with the providers who are not so caring. Some consumers have been cheated outright, others have simply paid too much money for a funeral or a burial. Why is that? Fu- neral goods and services are unique from most other consumer goods and services. Consumers rarely shop around and compare prices. They are grieving at that particular time. They are very emotional. They put their trust in the funeral industry. Therefore, it is important that consumers are able to ensure themselves that this industry is worthy of their trust. I am particularly concerned that older Americans may be vulner-