[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1471 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1471
To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of the
Army to reconsider decisions to inter or honor the memory of a person
in a national cemetery, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 1, 2013
Mr. Coats (for himself, Mr. Donnelly, and Mr. Burr) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of the
Army to reconsider decisions to inter or honor the memory of a person
in a 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 ``Alicia Dawn Koehl Respect for
National Cemeteries Act''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO RECONSIDER DECISIONS OF SECRETARY OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS OR SECRETARY OF THE ARMY TO INTER THE REMAINS OR
HONOR THE MEMORY OF A PERSON IN A NATIONAL CEMETERY.
(a) Authority To Reconsider Prior Decisions.--Section 2411 of title
38, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new
subsection (d):
``(d)(1) In a case described in paragraph (2)(A), the appropriate
Federal official may reconsider a decision to--
``(A) inter the remains of a person in a cemetery in the
National Cemetery Administration or in Arlington National
Cemetery; or
``(B) honor the memory of a person in a memorial area in a
cemetery in the National Cemetery Administration (described in
section 2403(a) of this title) or in such an area in Arlington
National Cemetery (described in section 2409(a) of this title).
``(2)(A) A case described in this paragraph is a case in which the
appropriate Federal official receives information that a person
described in subparagraph (B) may have committed a Federal capital
crime or a State capital crime but was not convicted of such crime by
reason of such person not being available for trial due to death or
flight to avoid prosecution.
``(B) A person described in this subparagraph is a person--
``(i) whose remains have been interred in a cemetery in the
National Cemetery Administration or in Arlington National
Cemetery; or
``(ii) whose memory has been honored in a memorial area in
a cemetery in the National Cemetery Administration or in such
an area in Arlington National Cemetery.
``(3)(A) If in a case described in paragraph (2), the appropriate
Federal official finds, based upon a showing of clear and convincing
evidence and after an opportunity for a hearing in a manner prescribed
by the appropriate Federal official, that the person had committed a
Federal capital crime or a State capital crime but had not been
convicted of such crime by reason of such person not being available
for trial due to death or flight to avoid prosecution, the appropriate
Federal official shall provide notice to the deceased person's next of
kin or other person authorized to arrange burial or memorialization of
the deceased person of the decision of the appropriate Federal official
to disinter the remains of the deceased person or to remove a memorial
headstone or marker memorializing the deceased person.
``(B) Notice under subparagraph (A) shall be provided by the
appropriate Federal official as follows:
``(i) By the Secretary in accordance with section 5104 of
this title.
``(ii) By the Secretary of Defense in accordance with such
regulations as the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe for
purposes of this subsection.
``(4)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the next of
kin or other person authorized to arrange burial or memorialization of
the deceased person shall be allowed a period of 60 days from the date
of the notice required by paragraph (3) to file a notice of
disagreement with the Federal official that provided the notice.
``(B)(i) A notice of disagreement filed with the Secretary under
subparagraph (A) shall be treated as a notice of disagreement filed
with the Board of Veterans' Appeals under chapter 71 of this title, and
shall be decided by the Board in accordance with the provisions of that
chapter.
``(ii) A notice of disagreement filed with the Secretary of Defense
under subparagraph (A) shall be decided in accordance with such
regulations as the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe for purposes of
this subsection.
``(5) When the decision of the appropriate Federal official to
disinter the remains or remove a memorial headstone or marker of the
deceased person becomes final either by failure to appeal the decision
in accordance with paragraph (4)(A) or by a decision pursuant to
paragraph (4)(B), the appropriate Federal official may take any of the
following actions:
``(A) Disinter the remains of the person from the cemetery
in the National Cemetery Administration or in Arlington
National Cemetery and provide for the reburial or other
appropriate disposition of the disinterred remains in a place
other than a cemetery in the National Cemetery Administration
or in Arlington National Cemetery.
``(B) Remove from a memorial area in a cemetery in the
National Cemetery Administration or in Arlington National
Cemetery any memorial headstone or marker placed to honor the
memory of the person.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect to any interment or memorialization conducted by the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the Secretary of the Army in a
cemetery in the National Cemetery Administration or in Arlington
National Cemetery after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. DISINTERMENT OF REMAINS OF MICHAEL LASHAWN ANDERSON FROM FORT
CUSTER NATIONAL CEMETERY.
(a) Disinterment of Remains.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall disinter the remains of Michael LaShawn Anderson from Fort Custer
National Cemetery.
(b) Notification of Next-of-Kin.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall--
(1) notify the next-of-kin of record for Michael LaShawn
Anderson of the impending disinterment of his remains; and
(2) upon disinterment, relinquish the remains to the next-
of-kin of record for Michael LaShawn Anderson or, if the next-
of-kin of record for Michael LaShawn Anderson is unavailable,
arrange for an appropriate disposition of the remains.
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