[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2089 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 288
117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2089

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that grants provided 
by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for State veterans' cemeteries do 
not restrict States from authorizing the interment of certain deceased 
     members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces in such 
                  cemeteries, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 16, 2021

  Mrs. Shaheen (for herself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Hoeven, and Mr. Cramer) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

                             March 1, 2022

               Reported by Mr. Tester, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that grants provided 
by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for State veterans' cemeteries do 
not restrict States from authorizing the interment of certain deceased 
     members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces in such 
                  cemeteries, and for other purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Burial Equity for Guards 
and Reserves Act of 2021''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. PROHIBITIONS ON RESTRICTING INTERMENT OF CERTAIN 
              INDIVIDUALS IN CERTAIN STATE VETERANS' 
              CEMETERIES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Grants.--Section 2408 of title 38, United States Code, 
as amended by the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health 
Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-315), is 
further amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ``The 
        Secretary may'' and inserting ``Except as provided in 
        subsection (i), the Secretary may''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by adding at the end the following new 
        subsections:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(i)(1) The Secretary may not establish a condition for a 
grant under this section that restricts the ability of a State 
receiving such a grant to inter in a veterans' cemetery owned by that 
State any individual described in paragraph (2) solely by reason of the 
ineligibility of such individual for burial in an open national 
cemetery under the control of the National Cemetery Administration 
under section 2402(a) of this title.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(2) An individual described in this paragraph is the 
following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(A) Any member of a reserve component of the 
        Armed Forces whose service was terminated under honorable 
        conditions.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(B) Any member of the Army National Guard or the 
        Air National Guard whose service was terminated under honorable 
        conditions.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(C) Any member of the Reserve Officers' Training 
        Corps of the Army, Navy, or Air Force whose death occurs under 
        honorable conditions while a member of the Reserve Officers' 
        Training Corps of the Army, Navy, or Air Force.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(D) Any spouse of any member described in 
        subparagraphs (A) through (C).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(E) Any minor child or unmarried adult child (as 
        such terms are defined in section 2402(a) of this title) of any 
        member described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(j) The Secretary may not deny an application for a 
grant under this section solely on the basis that the State receiving 
such grant may use funds from such grant to expand, improve, operate, 
or maintain a veterans' cemetery to allow for the interment of 
individuals described in subsection (i)(2).''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Prohibition on Enforcing Certain Conditions on Grants 
for State Veterans' Cemeteries.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may 
not enforce a condition on a grant described in subsection (i)(1) of 
section 2408 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 
(a), that was established before the date of the enactment of this 
Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Plot Allowances.--Section 2303(b)(1) of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by striking ``and (ii) members'' and inserting 
        ``(ii) members''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by striking ``other than dishonorable, and'' 
        and inserting ``other than dishonorable, or (iii) described in 
        section 2408(i)(2) of this title''.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Burial Equity for Guards and 
Reserves Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITIONS ON RESTRICTING INTERMENT OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS IN 
              CERTAIN STATE VETERANS' CEMETERIES.

    (a) Grants.--Section 2408 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ``The Secretary may'' 
        and inserting ``Except as provided in subsection (i), the 
        Secretary may'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection (k); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (h) the following new 
        subsections:
    ``(i)(1) The Secretary may not establish a condition for a grant 
under this section that restricts the ability of a State receiving such 
a grant to inter in a veterans' cemetery owned by that State any 
individual described in paragraph (2) solely by reason of the 
ineligibility of such individual for burial in an open national 
cemetery under the control of the National Cemetery Administration 
under section 2402(a) of this title.
    ``(2) An individual described in this paragraph is the following:
            ``(A) Any member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces 
        who was discharged or released from service under conditions 
        other than dishonorable or whose death occurs under conditions 
        other than dishonorable while a member of such a reserve 
        component.
            ``(B) Any member of the Army National Guard or the Air 
        National Guard who was discharged or released from service 
        under conditions other than dishonorable or whose death occurs 
        under conditions other than dishonorable while a member of the 
        Army National Guard or the Air National Guard.
            ``(C) Any member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps of 
        the Army, Navy, or Air Force whose death occurs under 
        conditions other than dishonorable while a member of the 
        Reserve Officers' Training Corps of the Army, Navy, or Air 
        Force.
            ``(D) Any spouse of any member described in subparagraphs 
        (A) through (C).
            ``(E) Any minor child or unmarried adult child (as such 
        terms are defined in section 2402(a) of this title) of any 
        member described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).
    ``(j) The Secretary may not deny an application for a grant under 
this section solely on the basis that the State receiving such grant 
may use funds from such grant to expand, improve, operate, or maintain 
a veterans' cemetery in which interment of individuals described in 
subsection (i)(2) is allowed.''.
    (b) Prohibition on Enforcing Certain Conditions on Grants for State 
Veterans' Cemeteries.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not 
enforce a condition on a grant described in subsection (i)(1) of 
section 2408 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 
(a), that was established before the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Plot Allowances.--Section 2303 of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
            ``(1) the Secretary shall pay to the relevant State, 
        agency, political subdivision, or tribal organization, as the 
        case may be, the sum of $700 (as increased from time to time 
        under subsection (c)) as a plot or interment allowance for such 
        veteran if the veteran is buried (without charge for the cost 
        of a plot or interment) in a cemetery, or a section of a 
        cemetery, that--
                    ``(A) is used solely for the interment of persons 
                who are--
                            ``(i) eligible for burial in a national 
                        cemetery;
                            ``(ii) members of a reserve component of 
                        the Armed Forces not otherwise eligible for 
                        such burial or former members of such a reserve 
                        component not otherwise eligible for such 
                        burial who are discharged or released from 
                        service under conditions other than 
                        dishonorable; or
                            ``(iii) described in section 2408(i)(2) of 
                        this title; and
                    ``(B) is--
                            ``(i) owned by a State or by an agency or 
                        political subdivision of a State; or
                            ``(ii) on trust land owned by, or held in 
                        trust for, a tribal organization.''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``tribal 
                organization,'' after ``of a State,''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) In this section, the terms `tribal organization' and `trust 
land' have the meanings given those terms in section 3765 of this 
title.''.
                                                       Calendar No. 288

117th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2089

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that grants provided 
by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for State veterans' cemeteries do 
not restrict States from authorizing the interment of certain deceased 
     members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces in such 
                  cemeteries, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             March 1, 2022

                       Reported with an amendment