[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1627 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1627


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 24, 2011

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
     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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Honoring American Veterans Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. 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)(A) 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--
            ``(i) 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
            ``(ii) 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.
    ``(B) If the Secretary waives such requirement under subparagraph 
(A), the Secretary shall--
            ``(i) make available on an Internet website notification of 
        the waiver and the rationale for the waiver; and
            ``(ii) submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the 
        Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on 
        Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Armed Services of the 
        House of Representatives written notice of the waiver and the 
        rationale for the waiver.
    ``(4) The Secretary of the Army shall provide notice to the 
Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of 
the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
Armed Services of the House of Representatives of any monument proposed 
to be placed in Arlington National Cemetery. During the 60-day period 
beginning on the date on which such notice is received, Congress may 
pass a joint resolution of disapproval of the placement of the 
monument. The proposed monument may not be placed in Arlington National 
Cemetery until the later of--
            ``(A) if Congress does not pass a joint resolution of 
        disapproval of the placement of the monument, the date that is 
        60 days after the date on which notice is received under this 
        paragraph; or
            ``(B) if Congress passes a joint resolution of disapproval 
        of the placement of the monument, and the President signs a 
        veto of such resolution, the earlier of--
                    ``(i) the date on which either House of Congress 
                votes and fails to override the veto of the President; 
                or
                    ``(ii) the date that is 30 session days after the 
                date on which Congress received the veto and objections 
                of the president.''.

SEC. 3. CODIFICATION OF PROHIBITION AGAINST RESERVATION OF GRAVESITES 
              AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 24 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 2410 the following new section:
``Sec. 2410A. Arlington National Cemetery: other administrative matters
    ``(a) One Gravesite Per Family.--(1) Not more than one gravesite 
may be provided at Arlington National Cemetery to a veteran or member 
of the Armed Forces who is eligible for interment at such cemetery and 
the family members of such veteran or member who are also eligible for 
interment at such cemetery.
    ``(2) The Secretary may waive the requirement under paragraph (1) 
in extreme circumstances, as determined by the Secretary. If the 
Secretary waives such requirement under this paragraph, the Secretary 
shall submit notice of the waiver to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
Representatives.
    ``(b) Prohibition Against Reservation of Gravesites.--A gravesite 
at Arlington National Cemetery may not be reserved for an individual 
before the death of such individual.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 24 of such title is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 2410 the following new item:

``2410A. Arlington National Cemetery: other administrative matters.''.
    (c) Applicability.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        section 2410A of such title, as added by subsection (a), shall 
        apply with respect to all interments at Arlington National 
        Cemetery after the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Exception.--Subsection (b) of such section, as so 
        added, shall not apply with respect to the interment of an 
        individual for whom a written request for a reserved gravesite 
        was submitted to the Secretary of the Army before January 1, 
        1962, and subsequently approved.
    (d) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall 
        submit to Congress a report on reservations made for interment 
        at Arlington National Cemetery.
            (2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall 
        include the following:
                    (A) The number of requests for reservation of a 
                gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery that were 
                submitted to the Secretary of the Army before January 
                1, 1962.
                    (B) The number of gravesites at such cemetery that, 
                on the day before the date of the enactment of this 
                Act, were reserved in response to such requests.
                    (C) The number of such gravesites that, on the day 
                before the date of the enactment of this Act, were 
                unoccupied.
                    (D) A list of all reservations for gravesites at 
                such cemetery that were extended by individuals 
                responsible for management of such cemetery in response 
                to requests for such reservations made on or after 
                January 1, 1962.
                    (E) A description of the measures that the 
                Secretary is taking to improve the accountability and 
                transparency of the management of gravesite 
                reservations at Arlington National Cemetery.
                    (F) Such recommendations as the Secretary may have 
                for legislative action as the Secretary considers 
                necessary to improve such accountability and 
                transparency.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE PROVISION OF A MEMORIAL MARKER 
              ON CHAPLAINS HILL TO HONOR THE MEMORY OF THE JEWISH 
              CHAPLAINS WHO DIED WHILE ON ACTIVE DUTY IN THE ARMED 
              FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) 13 Jewish chaplains have died while on active duty in 
        the Armed Forces of the United States.
            (2) Army Chaplain Rabbi Alexander Goode died on February 3, 
        1943, when then U.S.S. Dorchester was sunk by German torpedoes 
        off the coast of Greenland.
            (3) Chaplain Goode received the Four Chaplains' Medal for 
        Heroism and the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroic 
        efforts to save the lives of those onboard the Dorchester.
            (4) Army Chaplain Rabbi Irving Tepper was killed in action 
        in France on August 13, 1944.
            (5) Chaplain Tepper also saw combat in Morocco, Tunisia, 
        and Sicily while attached to an infantry combat team in the 
        Ninth Division.
            (6) Army Chaplain Rabbi Louis Werfel died on December 24, 
        1944, at the young age of 27, in a plane crash while en route 
        to conduct Chanukah services.
            (7) Chaplain Werfel was known as ``The Flying Rabbi'' 
        because his duties required traveling great distances by plane 
        to serve Army personnel of Jewish faith at outlying posts.
            (8) Army Chaplain Rabbi Meir Engel died at the Naval 
        Hospital in Saigon, Vietnam, on December 16, 1964, after 
        faithfully serving his country during World War II, the Korean 
        War, and the Vietnam War.
            (9) Army Chaplain Rabbi Morton Singer died on December 17, 
        1968, in a plane crash while on a mission in Vietnam to conduct 
        Chanukah services.
            (10) Army Chaplain Rabbi Herman Rosen died in service of 
        his faith and his country on June 18, 1943.
            (11) His son, Air Force Chaplain Solomon Rosen, also died 
        in service of his faith and his country on November 2, 1948.
            (12) Army Chaplain Rabbi Nachman Arnoff died in service of 
        his faith and his country on May 9, 1946.
            (13) Army Chaplain Rabbi Frank Goldenberg died in service 
        of his faith and his country on May 22, 1946.
            (14) Army Chaplain Rabbi Henry Goody died in service of his 
        faith and his country on October 19, 1943.
            (15) Army Chaplain Rabbi Samuel Hurwitz died in service of 
        his faith and his country on December 9, 1943.
            (16) Air Force Chaplain Rabbi Samuel Rosen died in service 
        of his faith and his country on May 13, 1955.
            (17) Air Force Chaplain Rabbi David Sobel died in service 
        of his faith and his country on March 7, 1974.
            (18) Chaplains Hill in Arlington National Cemetery 
        memorializes the names of 242 chaplains who perished while 
        serving on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United 
        States.
            (19) None of the 13 Jewish chaplains who have died while 
        serving on active duty are memorialized on Chaplains Hill.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that an 
appropriate site on Chaplains Hill in Arlington National Cemetery 
should be provided for a memorial marker, to be paid for with private 
funds, to honor the memory of the Jewish chaplains who died while on 
active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, so long as the 
Secretary of the Army has exclusive authority to approve the design and 
site of the memorial marker.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE SERVICE AND SACRIFICE OF 
              MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES WHO ARE SERVING 
              IN, OR HAVE SERVED IN, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, 
              OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, AND OPERATION NEW DAWN.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) More than 2,000,000 members of the Armed Forces have 
        deployed to the theaters of war since the commencement of 
        Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and 
        Operation New Dawn.
            (2) Hundreds of thousands of such members have deployed for 
        multiple tours of duty, leaving their homes, their families, 
        and in many cases, their civilian jobs.
            (3) More than 5,500 members of the Armed Forces have made 
        the ultimate sacrifice for the United States while serving in 
        Iraq or Afghanistan.
            (4) Tens of thousands of additional members of the Armed 
        Forces have been seriously wounded in the line of duty while 
        serving in these theaters of war.
            (5) These members of the Armed Forces have answered the 
        Nation's call to duty, serving bravely and nobly and, in most 
        cases, without fanfare or acclaim.
            (6) These members of the Armed Forces have personified the 
        virtues of patriotism, service, duty, courage, and sacrifice.
            (7) All Americans recognize the service and sacrifices made 
        by these members of the Armed Forces and their families.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--Congress--
            (1) honors the members of the Armed Forces who are serving 
        in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and 
        Operation New Dawn and the members and veterans who have 
        previously served in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation 
        Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn; and
            (2) calls on all Americans to reflect on the service of 
        these members and veterans and to hold them in a special place 
        of honor now and in the future.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 23, 2011.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.