Representative Derek Tran, Lawmakers Urge California to Accept $10 Million in Federal Funding for Orange County Veterans Cemetery

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Derek Tran (CA-45) joined Rep. Lou Correa and a bipartisan group of lawmakers this week to send a letter urging Governor Gavin Newsom to ensure the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) accepts $10 million in federal funding offered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the Southern California Veterans Cemetery at Gypsum Canyon. Representatives Lou Correa, Ken Calvert, Young Kim, Mike Levin, and Dave Min, alongside State Senator Thomas J. Umberg and Assemblymembers Sharon Quirk-Silva and Avelino Valencia, joined Tran in signing the letter.

“After more than a decade of work, we are closer than ever to fulfilling our promise to Orange County’s veterans and their families,” said the lawmakers. “We should not allow $10 million in federal funding secured for this purpose to be left on the table.”

Read the full letter HERE. 

On July 27, 2021, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved $20 million for site development for a veterans’ cemetery at Gypsum Canyon, designating more than 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. The funding allocated has yet to be accepted by the California Department of Veterans Affairs.  

An Army veteran and a member of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, Representative Tran is dedicated to expanding protections and benefits for veterans: 

• In July 2025, Representative Tran led a letter with Representative Correa to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), urging federal support for the construction of the Southern California Veterans Cemetery at Gypsum Canyon.
• Rep. Tran’s first piece of legislation, the Protect Veteran Jobs Act, supports the livelihoods of veterans who were wrongfully removed from their civil service positions and allows them to continue serving their country as part of the federal workforce.
• Representative Tran introduced the bipartisan Delivering Digitally to Our Veterans Act to allow veterans the option to receive G.I. Bill information and benefits through electronic messages, reducing unnecessary paperwork and increasing accessibility. 
• Representative Tran also introduced the Carlton H. Ingram Veterans’ Benefits Protection Act to protect veterans’ disability benefits from a change at the Department of Veterans Affairs that would have cut benefits for veterans who rely on medication to manage their disabilities.

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