[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2700 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2700

To amend title 38, United States Code, to identify the persons who are 
eligible to request headstones or markers furnished by the Secretary of 
               Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 30, 2014

Mr. Portman (for himself and Mr. Tester) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to identify the persons who are 
eligible to request headstones or markers furnished by the Secretary of 
               Veterans Affairs, 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 ``Honor Those Who Served Act of 
2014''.

SEC. 2. PERSONS ELIGIBLE TO REQUEST HEADSTONES OR MARKERS FURNISHED BY 
              THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Section 2306 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(h)(1) A person may request a headstone or marker to commemorate 
a decedent under this section if the person is--
            ``(A) the decedent's next of kin;
            ``(B) a person authorized in writing by the decedent's next 
        of kin to make such request;
            ``(C) a personal representative authorized in writing by 
        the decedent to make such request;
            ``(D) in the case of a decedent for which no person 
        described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) may be identified, a 
        State veterans service agency, a military researcher, a local 
        historian, or a genealogist or other person familiar with the 
        research sources and methods necessary to prove the identity of 
        the decedent; or
            ``(E) in the case of a decedent who is a veteran who served 
        on active duty in the Armed Forces at least 75 years before the 
        date on which the headstone or marker is requested, any person.
    ``(2) In the case of a request for a headstone or marker under this 
section for a decedent described in subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) 
made by a person who is not the decedent's next of kin, the Secretary 
shall ensure that the decedent's next of kin has the opportunity to 
object to the placement of the headstone or marker or request the 
removal of the headstone or marker, as appropriate.
    ``(3) In the case of a request for a headstone or marker under this 
section for a decedent described in subparagraph (D) or (E) of 
paragraph (1) made by a person who is not described in subparagraph 
(A), (B), or (C) of such paragraph, the person requesting the headstone 
or marker may only request an emblem of belief for the headstone or 
marker if the person can provide sufficient evidence regarding the 
religious beliefs of the decedent.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Subsection (h) of section 2306 of such title, 
as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to a request for a 
headstone or marker submitted after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
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