[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.
____________________