[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1627 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1627

     To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for certain 
   requirements for the placement of monuments in Arlington National 
                   Cemetery, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 15, 2011

Mr. Miller of Florida (for himself, Mr. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Lamborn, 
   and Mr. Johnson of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the 
Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for certain 
   requirements for the placement of monuments in Arlington National 
                   Cemetery, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PLACEMENT OF MONUMENTS IN ARLINGTON 
              NATIONAL CEMETERY.

    Section 2409(b) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Under'' and inserting ``(1) Under'';
            (2) by inserting after ``Secretary of the Army'' the 
        following: ``and subject to paragraph (2)''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
    ``(2)(A) Except for a monument containing or marking interred 
remains, no monument (or similar structure as determined by the 
Secretary of the Army in regulations) may be placed in Arlington 
National Cemetery except pursuant to the provisions of this subsection.
    ``(B) A monument may be placed in Arlington National Cemetery if 
the monument commemorates--
            ``(i) the service in the Armed Forces of the individual, or 
        group of individuals, whose memory is to be honored by the 
        monument; or
            ``(ii) a particular military event.
    ``(C) No monument may be placed in Arlington National Cemetery 
until the end of the 25-year period beginning--
            ``(i) in the case of the commemoration of service under 
        subparagraph (B)(i), on the last day of the period of service 
        so commemorated; and
            ``(ii) in the case of the commemoration of a particular 
        military event under subparagraph (B)(ii), on the last day of 
        the period of the event.
    ``(D) A monument may be placed only in those sections of Arlington 
National Cemetery designated by the Secretary of the Army for such 
placement and only on land the Secretary determines is not suitable for 
burial.
    ``(E) A monument may only be placed in Arlington National Cemetery 
if an appropriate non-governmental entity has agreed to act as a 
sponsoring organization to coordinate the placement of the monument 
and--
            ``(i) the construction and placement of the monument are 
        paid for only using funds from private sources;
            ``(ii) the Secretary of the Army consults with the 
        Commission of Fine Arts before approving the design of the 
        monument; and
            ``(iii) the sponsoring organization provides for an 
        independent study on the availability and suitability of 
        alternative locations for the proposed monument outside of 
        Arlington National Cemetery.
    ``(3) The Secretary of the Army may waive the requirement under 
paragraph (2)(C) in a case in which the monument would commemorate a 
group of individuals who the Secretary determines--
            ``(A) has made valuable contributions to the Armed Forces 
        that have been ongoing and perpetual for longer than 25 years 
        and are expected to continue on indefinitely; and
            ``(B) has provided service that is of such a character that 
        the failure to place a monument to the group in Arlington 
        National Cemetery would present a manifest injustice.''.
                                 <all>