[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 164 (Monday, November 18, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8135-S8136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         ALICIA DAWN KOEHL RESPECT FOR NATIONAL CEMETERIES ACT

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Veterans' 
Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 1471 
and the Senate proceed to its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (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.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Sanders 
amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be 
read three times and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2146) was agreed to, as follows:

       Strike section 2 and insert the following new section 2:

     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 (f); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
     subsections:
       ``(d)(1) In a case described in subsection (e), 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)(i) In a case described in subsection (e)(1)(A), 
     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.
       ``(ii) In a case described in subsection (e)(1)(B), if 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.
       ``(3)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
     next of kin or other person

[[Page S8136]]

     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 (2) 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 under section 7105 of this title and shall 
     initiate appellate review in accordance with the provisions 
     of chapter 71 of this title.
       ``(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.
       ``(4) 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 (3)(A) or 
     by final disposition of the appeal pursuant to paragraph 
     (3)(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.
       ``(e)(1) A case described in this subsection is a case in 
     which the appropriate federal official receives--
       ``(A) written notice of a conviction referred to in 
     subsection (b)(1), (b)(2), or (b)(4) of a person described in 
     paragraph (2); or
       ``(B) information that a person described in paragraph (2) 
     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.
       ``(2) A person described in this paragraph is a person--
       ``(A) whose remains have been interred in a cemetery in the 
     National Cemetery Administration or in Arlington National 
     Cemetery; or
       ``(B) 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.''.
       (b) Modification of Exception To Interment or 
     Memorialization Prohibition.--Subsection (a)(2) of such 
     section is amended by striking ``such official approves an 
     application for''.
       (c) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section 
     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.
  The bill (S. 1471), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1471

       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 (f); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
     subsections:
       ``(d)(1) In a case described in subsection (e), 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)(i) In a case described in subsection (e)(1)(A), 
     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.
       ``(ii) In a case described in subsection (e)(1)(B), if 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.
       ``(3)(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 (2) 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 under section 7105 of this title and shall 
     initiate appellate review in accordance with the provisions 
     of chapter 71 of this title.
       ``(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.
       ``(4) 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 (3)(A) or 
     by final disposition of the appeal pursuant to paragraph 
     (3)(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.
       ``(e)(1) A case described in this subsection is a case in 
     which the appropriate federal official receives--
       ``(A) written notice of a conviction referred to in 
     subsection (b)(1), (b)(2), or (b)(4) of a person described in 
     paragraph (2); or
       ``(B) information that a person described in paragraph (2) 
     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.
       ``(2) A person described in this paragraph is a person--
       ``(A) whose remains have been interred in a cemetery in the 
     National Cemetery Administration or in Arlington National 
     Cemetery; or
       ``(B) 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.''.
       (b) Modification of Exception To Interment or 
     Memorialization Prohibition.--Subsection (a)(2) of such 
     section is amended by striking ``such official approves an 
     application for''.
       (c) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section 
     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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