Bill Summary
This legislation, also known as the "Veterans Cemetery Transportation Act," seeks to amend the existing title 38 of the United States Code to allow the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay for the transportation costs of deceased veterans to veterans' cemeteries owned by a state or tribal organization. This means that the government will cover the expenses of transporting a deceased veteran's remains to a cemetery if that cemetery is deemed eligible and has received a grant from the Secretary. This amendment would expand the current law, which only covers transportation to national cemeteries, to include all cemeteries that meet the requirements. The bill also includes definitions and clarifications for certain terms, and makes minor changes to the existing law for consistency.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation would affect the families of deceased veterans by allowing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay for the transportation costs of their loved one's remains to a national or covered veterans' cemetery. This could provide financial relief to families who may not have the means to cover these costs themselves.
2. It could also affect the operations and budget of the Department of Veterans Affairs, as they would now be responsible for covering transportation costs to both national and covered veterans' cemeteries. This could potentially impact other areas of funding within the department.
3. This legislation could also impact state and tribal organizations who own veterans' cemeteries, as they may see an increase in burials and maintenance costs if more veterans are able to be buried in these cemeteries. This could also lead to potential changes in eligibility criteria for these cemeteries.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 697 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 697
To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs to pay costs relating to the transportation of certain
deceased veterans to veterans' cemeteries owned by a State or tribal
organization.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 22, 2019
Mr. Banks introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs to pay costs relating to the transportation of certain
deceased veterans to veterans' cemeteries owned by a State or tribal
organization.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. TRANSPORTATION OF DECEASED VETERANS TO VETERANS' CEMETERIES.
(a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 2308 of title 38, United
States Code, is amended by striking ``in a national cemetery'' and
inserting ``in a national cemetery or a covered veterans' cemetery''.
(b) Covered Veterans' Cemetery Defined.--Section 2308 of such title
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(c) Covered Veterans' Cemetery Defined.--In this section, the
term `covered veterans' cemetery' means a veterans' cemetery--
``(1) in which a deceased veteran described in subsection
(b) is eligible to be buried; and
``(2) for which the Secretary has made a grant under
section 2408 of this title.''.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 2308 of such title is amended in
the section heading by adding at the end the following: ``or a
veterans' cemetery''.
(d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of
chapter 23 of such title is amended by striking the item relating to
section 2308 and inserting the following new item:
``2308. Transportation of deceased veteran to a national cemetery or a
veterans' cemetery.''.
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