[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 180 (Monday, November 6, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H8508-H8509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





AUTHORIZING THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO PROVIDE HEADSTONES AND 
  MARKERS FOR THE GRAVES OF SPOUSES AND CHILDREN OF VETERANS WHO ARE 
                      BURIED IN TRIBAL CEMETERIES

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 3657) to amend title 38, United States Code, to 
authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide headstones and 
markers for the graves of spouses and children of veterans who are 
buried in tribal cemeteries, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3657

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

     SECTION 1. ELIGIBILITY OF SPOUSES AND CHILDREN OF VETERANS 
                   BURIED IN TRIBAL CEMETERIES FOR CERTAIN 
                   DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS BURIAL BENEFITS.

       Section 2306 of title 38, United States Code is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(4), by inserting ``or a veterans' 
     cemetery owned by a tribal organization or on tribal land 
     owned by or held in trust by a tribal organization'' after 
     ``State'';
       (2) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ``, a veterans' 
     cemetery of a tribal organization or on tribal land owned by 
     or held in trust by a tribal organization'' after ``owned by 
     a State''; and
       (3) in subsection (f)--
       (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
     subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;
       (B) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting ``(1) The 
     Secretary'';
       (C) by striking ``a national cemetery or in a veterans 
     cemetery of a State or tribal organization for which the 
     Department has provided a grant under section 2408 of this 
     title'' and inserting ``a covered cemetery''; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) The term `covered cemetery' means any of the 
     following:
       ``(A) A national cemetery.
       ``(B) A veterans' cemetery of a State for which the 
     Department has provided a grant under section 2408 of this 
     title.
       ``(C) A veterans' cemetery of a tribal organization or on 
     tribal land owned by or held in trust by a tribal 
     organization for which the Department has provided a grant 
     under such section.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Roe) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3657, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3657, as amended.
  VA provides headstones and markers for the spouses or dependent 
children of veterans who are interred in a national or State veterans 
cemetery at no charge. But VA is not authorized to provide headstones 
or markers for spouses and dependent children who are interred in 
Tribal veterans cemeteries. That is not right.
  There is no reason that veterans and their families who are interred 
in Tribal veterans cemeteries shouldn't receive the same benefits as 
those who decide to use national or State veterans cemeteries.
  H.R. 3657 would allow VA to provide headstones and markers for 
eligible family members who are interred in Tribal veterans cemeteries.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Poliquin for introducing this 
bill. I know he has a special interest in this because his district 
includes a Tribal veterans cemetery.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3657, and ensure 
that veterans who choose to be interred in Tribal cemeteries are given 
the same recognition that we give to veterans who are interred in 
national or State veterans cemeteries.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3657, as amended, which would 
authorize VA to provide headstones and markers for the graves of 
spouses and children of veterans who are buried in Tribal cemeteries.
  VA currently provides a headstone or a marker for eligible spouses or 
dependent children who are buried or interred in a national, military 
post, or State veterans cemetery. However, spouses and dependents are 
not eligible for a government-furnished headstone or marker if they are 
buried in a private or Tribal cemetery.
  H.R. 3657, as amended, would resolve this inequity by ensuring that 
veterans' spouses and children who are buried at Tribal veterans 
cemeteries are provided government-furnished headstones or markers, 
which would be the same treatment family members buried at national and 
State veterans cemeteries receive.
  H.R. 3657, as amended, enjoys broad, bipartisan support among the 
Members of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, and I wish to thank 
the bill's sponsor, Representative Bruce Poliquin, for his sponsorship 
and the work of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs 
Subcommittee for bringing it to the floor.
  Native-American veterans have earned, and deserve, the same rights, 
privileges, and honors that other veterans receive. For this reason, I 
strongly support H.R. 3657, as amended, and I urge my colleagues to 
join me.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Maine (Mr. Poliquin), my good friend and member of the Veterans' 
Affairs Committee.
  Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful that the House will be voting on this 
commonsense piece of legislation tonight. I am very proud to represent 
the Houlton Band of the Maliseet Indians in Houlton, Maine, who created 
the first Tribal veterans cemetery not only in Maine, but also along 
the entire East Coast.
  This past summer, Mr. Speaker, I was very surprised to learn that 
family members of veterans buried at Tribal cemeteries are not provided 
the same treatment as those buried at State and national veterans 
cemeteries. H.R. 3657 fixes this issue permanently.
  Specifically, it would ensure that the family members of veterans who 
are buried at Tribal cemeteries--such as the Maliseet Indian Tribal 
cemetery in Houlton--are provided with government-furnished headstones, 
the same treatment as those buried at national and State veterans 
cemeteries.
  Mr. Speaker, we are all Americans. People who put on the uniform--
whether a man or a woman, whoever they are, wherever they live, or 
whatever cemetery they are buried in--deserve the same respect, the 
same honor, and the same treatment.

  I am thrilled to tell everybody listening here that this moved out of 
committee--this commonsense fix--this bill moved out of committee with 
unanimous support.
  Mr. Speaker, I am asking for that to happen tonight when it appears 
on the floor, and I am grateful for our chairman to bring this up 
tonight.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.
  Again, I strongly support H.R. 3657, as amended, and I urge my 
colleagues to do the same.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank both sides of the aisle for these great 
bills we are passing this afternoon. It may seem like a small bill to 
the American public, but to the individual that is affected--in Maine, 
or wherever it may be--this is a huge deal.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on the Democratic side for all of 
the work they have done on the committee in a bipartisan way. It is a 
great committee to work on.
  This is a very important week for all of us, as we go home this 
Friday to begin celebrating Veterans Day. Two very important days on 
the committee are Memorial Day and Veterans Day, to honor those who 
passed and those who are still with us.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank both the Republicans and the Democrats. We put 
that at the door's edge, and this week we will be voting on some 
important pieces of legislation. We have seven more bills on the floor 
tomorrow.

[[Page H8509]]

  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for 
the support they have given our veterans in this country.
  I once again urge all Members to support this legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 3657, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended to read: ``A bill to amend title 
38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
to provide certain burial benefits for spouses and children of veterans 
who are buried in tribal cemeteries, and for other purposes.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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