[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 11, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1776-S1777]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER (by request):
  S. 1743. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize 
memorialization of deceased spouses and surviving spouses of veterans 
and deceased members of the Armed Forces whose remains are not 
available for interment; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.


                        armed forces legislation

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, as Chairman of the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs, I have today introduced, at the request of the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs, S. 1743, a proposed bill to authorize memorialization 
of deceased spouses and surviving spouses of veterans and deceased 
members of the Armed Forces whose remains are not available for 
interment. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs submitted this legislation 
to the President of the Senate by letter dated June 24, 1997.
  My introduction of this measure is in keeping with the policy which I 
have adopted of generally introducing--so that there will be specific 
bills to which my colleagues and others may direct their attention and 
comments--all Administration-proposed draft legislation referred to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Thus, I reserve the right to support or 
oppose the provisions of, as well as any amendment to, this 
legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that additional material be 
printed in the Record.

                                S. 1743

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

     SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION TO FURNISH MEMORIAL HEADSTONES AND 
                   MARKERS FOR SPOUSES AND SURVIVING SPOUSES OF 
                   VETERANS AND DECEASED SERVICE MEMBERS.

       Section 2306(b) of title 38, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (a) by adding ``(which for purposes of this subsection 
     includes a person who died in the active military, naval, or 
     air service) or any spouse or surviving spouse (which for 
     purposes of this section includes an unremarried surviving 
     spouse who had a subsequent remarriage which was terminated 
     by death or divorce) of a veteran'' following ``any 
     veteran'';
       (b) by striking out ``veteran's'' in paragraph (2) and 
     inserting in lieu thereof ``individual's''; and
       (c) by adding at the end thereof ``Where the Secretary has 
     furnished a memorial headstone or market under this 
     subsection for the purpose of commemorating a veteran, or has 
     furnished a headstone or marker for the unmarked grave of a 
     veteran under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary 
     shall, where feasible, add a memorial inscription to the 
     existing headstone or marker under this subsection for the 
     veteran's surviving spouse.''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO PROVISIONS GOVERNING MEMORIAL AREAS.

       Section 2403(b) of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
     by striking all after ``appropriate'' and inserting in lieu 
     thereof ``group memorials shall be erected to honor the 
     memory of groups of individuals referred to in subsection (a) 
     of this section, and appropriate memorial headstones and 
     markers shall be erected to honor the memory of individuals 
     referred to in subsection (a) of this section or subsection 
     (b) of section 2306 of this title.

     SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       The amendments made by this Act shall be effective with 
     respect to deaths occurring after the date of its enactment.
                                                                    ____



                             The Secretary of Veterans Affairs

                                    Washington, DC, June 24, 1997.
     Hon. Albert Gore, Jr.,
     President of the Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: Transmitted herewith is a draft bill to 
     amend sections 2306 and 2403 of title 38, United States Code, 
     to authorize memorialization of deceased spouses and 
     surviving spouses of veterans and deceased members of the 
     Armed Forces whose remains are not available for interment.
       The law currently authorizes the Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs to furnish and to erect in national cemeteries 
     appropriate memorial headstones or markers for veterans and 
     members of the Armed Forces whose remains are not available 
     for interment because they have not been recovered or 
     identified, were buried at sea, were donated to science, or 
     were cremated and the ashes scattered. However, there is no 
     authorization for memorialization of the deceased spouses of 
     such persons where remains are not available for interment. 
     Since spouses are currently eligible for other burial 
     benefits such as Government-furnished headstones or markers 
     for unmarked graves and interment in a national cemetery, if 
     their remains are available, we believe it is inequitable to 
     deny the comparable benefit of memorialization when remains 
     are unavailable. This benefit would be particularly 
     meaningful when a spouse predeceases a veteran by providing 
     the veteran with a suitable remembrance of the deceased loved 
     one which can be appreciated by the veteran during his or her 
     lifetime.
       Where a veteran predeceases his or her spouse and the 
     veteran's grave is marked with an upright headstone, a 
     memorial inscription for the spouse may be placed on the back 
     of the same headstone, and a separate marker for the spouse 
     would not generally be required. If the veteran's grave is 
     marked with a flat stone marker, an inscription can usually 
     be added for the spouse, space permitting. Accordingly, the 
     draft bill provides that, where feasible, a memorial 
     inscription shall be placed on an existing headstone or 
     marker in lieu of furnishing a new memorial headstone or 
     marker.
       The addition of an inscription to an existing marker will 
     not be feasible in some situations. When an existing marker 
     or headstone cannot be modified, we contemplate replacing the 
     existing marker with a new marker or headstone bearing 
     inscriptions for both the veteran and the spouse. For 
     example, where a veteran has predeceased his or her spouse, 
     it would not be feasible to add a

[[Page S1777]]

     memorial inscription for the spouse to an existing bronze 
     marker or to a niche marker for cremated remains. A new 
     headstone or marker will also be necessary where a spouse 
     predeceases a veteran. Upon the veteran's subsequent death, 
     the veteran may be buried under circumstances requiring use 
     of a different style of marker than was supplied for 
     memorialization of the spouse, e.g., a niche marker for 
     cremated remains, as opposed to a full-sized flat marker or 
     headstone. Further, since the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     places the veteran's name in a preeminent position on a 
     marker or headstone, the spouse's marker would be replaced 
     with a new marker or headstone bearing inscriptions for both 
     the veteran and the spouse, with the veteran's inscription 
     being preeminent.
       Because it is likely that relatively few spouses will 
     require memorialization, we anticipate that the costs 
     associated with this proposal would be insignificant. This 
     proposal would affect direct spending; therefore, it is 
     subject to pay-as-you-go requirement of the Omnibus Budget 
     Reconciliation Act of 1990. The Office of Management and 
     Budget (OMB) estimates that the pay-as-you-go effect of this 
     proposal would be less than $500,000.
       The OMB advises that there is no objection from the 
     standpoint of the Administration's program to the submission 
     of this proposal to the Congress.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                      Jesse Brown.
                                 ______