[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7361 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7361

To establish a flower ordering program for gravesites under the purview 
              of the American Battle Monuments Commission.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2024

 Mr. Zinke (for himself, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Valadao, Mr. 
Davis of North Carolina, Mr. Waltz, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Kelly of 
 Mississippi, Mr. Cuellar, Mrs. Bice, Ms. Norton, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. 
  McCormick, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Guest, Mr. Baird, Mr. 
   Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Nehls, Mr. Van Drew, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. 
Ciscomani, Mr. Armstrong, Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer, Mr. Mooney, Mr. Dunn of 
 Florida, Mr. Barr, Mr. Jackson of Texas, Mr. Van Orden, Ms. Mace, Mr. 
 Ezell, Mr. Self, Mr. Mills, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Calvert, 
  Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania, Mr. Clyde, Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia, Mr. 
    Kean of New Jersey, Mr. Stauber, Mr. Moolenaar, and Mr. Lawler) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a flower ordering program for gravesites under the purview 
              of the American Battle Monuments Commission.

    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 ``Flowers for Fallen Heroes Act of 
2024''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION AUTHORITIES.

    Section 2103 of title 36, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``American Battle Monuments 
                Commission may'' and inserting ``American Battle 
                Monuments Commission shall'';
                    (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the ``and'' at 
                the end;
                    (C) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and 
                inserting a semicolon; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
        of the Flowers for Fallen Heroes Act of 2024, establish--
                    ``(A) a program and payment system for members of 
                the public to order floral arrangements for gravesites 
                under the Commission's purview, with orders executed by 
                third-party regional florists chosen by the Commission, 
                without excess administrative fees or markup; and
                    ``(B) a user-friendly website and telephone 
                ordering system for the program and payment system 
                described in subparagraph (A).'';
            (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ``, marketing 
        professionals,'' after ``architects''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(l) Authority of Commission To Accept Certain Types of 
Payments.--
            ``(1) Authority to accept credit card payments and 
        electronic funds transfers.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Commission shall accept 
                payment of fees related to activities described in 
                subsection (a)(6) by credit card or electronic funds 
                transfer.
                    ``(B) Use of vendors and third-party providers.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Commission shall--
                                    ``(I) contract with third-party 
                                providers, including insured depository 
                                institutions and card issuers (as such 
                                terms are defined in the Truth in 
                                Lending Act), for purposes of accepting 
                                payments by credit card or by 
                                electronic funds transfer; and
                                    ``(II) make every effort, when 
                                contracting with third-party vendors 
                                under clause (i), to find the lowest 
                                cost third-party vendor.
                            ``(ii) Payment of fees.--If a third-party 
                        vendor with which the Commission contracts 
                        requires a fee in connection with the 
                        processing of credit payments or electronic 
                        funds transfers, the person who is making such 
                        payment or transfer shall pay such fee, not the 
                        Commission.
                    ``(C) Completion of payment.--If a person elects to 
                make a payment to the Commission by a method authorized 
                under subparagraph (A), the payment shall not be deemed 
                to be made until the Commission receives the funds.
            ``(2) Liability for nonpayment.--If a payment by credit 
        card, debit card, or charge card, so received is not duly paid, 
        or is paid and subsequently charged back to the Commission, the 
        person by whom such method of payment has been tendered shall 
        remain liable for the payment, to the same extent as if such 
        method of payment had not been tendered.
            ``(3) Electronic funds transfer defined.--In this section, 
        the term `electronic funds transfer'--
                    ``(A) means a transfer of funds, other than a 
                transaction by check, draft, or similar paper 
                instrument, that is initiated through an electronic 
                terminal, telephone, or computer or magnetic tape for 
                the purpose of ordering, instructing, or authorizing a 
                financial institution to debit or credit an account; 
                and
                    ``(B) includes point of sale transfers, automated 
                teller machine transfers, direct deposit or withdrawal 
                of funds, transfers initiated by telephone, and 
                transfers resulting from debit card transactions.''.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION AND ADHERENCE TO CONGRESSIONAL INTENT.

    (a) Annual Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the American 
Battle Monuments Commission (referred to in this section as the 
``Commission'') shall submit a report on implementation and performance 
related to the amendments made by this Act to--
            (1) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Subcommittee 
        on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related 
        Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Subcommittee 
        on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related 
        Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
    (b) Contents of Annual Report.--Each report to Congress required 
under subsection (a) shall include progress summaries of activities 
related to--
            (1) section 2103(a)(6) of title 36, United States Code, 
        including--
                    (A) data on flower orders;
                    (B) the Commission's active management of a flower 
                program including receiving and processing the order, 
                placing the floral tribute with an appropriate note of 
                dedication, providing a picture of the decorated 
                gravesite to the requestor, status of telephone, 
                website ordering systems, and dedicated information 
                technology solutions;
                    (C) engagement with florists local to cemeteries 
                under the Commission's jurisdiction;
                    (D) efforts to ensure easy, low-cost access for 
                members of the public who would like to participate in 
                the flower program;
                    (E) creative marketing of the flower program to 
                include public service advertising and public-private 
                partnerships; and
                    (F) the vetting process for florists involved with 
                the flower program; and
            (2) promotion of the Commission's activities pursuant to 
        section 2102(a) of title 36, United States Code.
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