S. 4949 

One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two 

An Act 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to address green burial sections in national 

cemeteries, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘National Cemeteries Preservation 

and Protection Act of 2022’’. 

SEC. 2. PLOT AND INTERMENT ALLOWANCES FOR VETERANS BURIED 

BEFORE MARCH 15, 2022, IN CEMETERIES ON TRUST LAND 

OWNED BY, OR HELD IN TRUST FOR, TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall pay a plot or interment 

allowance under paragraph (1) of section 2303(b) of title 38, United 

States Code, for a veteran if— 

(1) the veteran was buried, before March 15, 2022, in 

a cemetery, or in a section of a cemetery, that is on trust 

land owned by, or held in trust for, a tribal organization; 

(2) the tribal organization that is responsible for operating 

and maintaining the cemetery, or the section of cemetery, 

applies for such allowance; 

(3) a plot or interment allowance was not already paid 

for the burial of such veteran under paragraph (2) of such 

section; and 

(4) the burial of the veteran otherwise meets the requirements under paragraph (1) of such section. 

SEC. 3. GREEN BURIAL SECTIONS AT NATIONAL CEMETERIES. 

Section 2404 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

(1) in subsection (c)(2)— 

(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

inserting a semicolon; 

(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at 

the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

(C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

‘‘(E) in the case of grave sites in a green burial section 

designated under subsection (i), the Secretary may provide 

for grave markers of such type as the Secretary considers 

appropriate.’’; and 

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

‘‘(i)(1) The Secretary may designate one or more sections in 

any national cemetery as green burial sections. 
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‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘green burial section’ means 

a section of a cemetery in which the remains of individuals interred 

in that section— 

‘‘(A) have been prepared for interment in a manner that 

does not involve chemicals or embalming fluids; and 

‘‘(B) have been interred in a natural manner or in completely biodegradable burial receptacles.’’. 

SEC. 4. TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION OVER LAND 

AT FORT BLISS, TEXAS, FOR EXPANSION OF FORT BLISS 

NATIONAL CEMETERY. 

(a) TRANSFER AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of the Army may 

transfer to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs administrative jurisdiction over a parcel of real property consisting of approximately 

two acres located at Fort Bliss, Texas, directly adjacent to, and 

contiguous with, Fort Bliss National Cemetery. 

(b) CONDITION OF TRANSFER.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of the transfer authorized 

by subsection (a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may complete appropriate environmental, cultural resource, and other 

due diligence activities on the real property described in subsection (c) before determining whether the property is suitable 

for cemetery purposes. 

(2) COORDINATION.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

coordinate with the Secretary of the Army as needed during 

the performance of the activities described in paragraph (1). 

(c) DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The exact acreage and legal description 

of the real property to be transferred under this section shall 

be determined by a survey satisfactory to the Secretary the 

Army. 

(2) COST OF SURVEY.—The cost of the survey described 

in paragraph (1) shall be borne by the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs. 

(d) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS; COSTS OF TRANSFER.— 

(1) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of 

the Army may require such additional terms and conditions 

in connection with the transfer under this section as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect the interests of the 

United States. 

(2) REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS .— (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

shall reimburse the Secretary of the Defense for costs 

incurred by the Secretary of the Army in implementing 

this section, including the costs of any surveys. 

(B) NO PAYMENT FOR VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY.—Notwithstanding any other legal requirement that might otherwise apply, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall not 

be required to make payment of any kind for the value 

of the real property described in subsection (c). 

SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND FOR 

USE AS A NATIONAL CEMETERY. 

Section 2406 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

(1) by striking ‘‘As additional lands’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 

IN GENERAL.—As additional lands’’; and 

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
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‘‘(b) TRANSFER OF DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND FOR

USE AS A NATIONAL CEMETERY.—Notwithstanding section 204(d) 

of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

1714(d)), if the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior agree 

to a transfer under subsection (a) of any land for use by the 

Department as a national cemetery, the land shall be— 

‘‘(1) withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the 

public land laws, including the mining laws, the mineral leasing 

laws, and the geothermal leasing laws; 

‘‘(2) subject to valid existing rights; 

‘‘(3) transferred to the administrative jurisdiction of the 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and 

‘‘(4) deemed to be property (as defined in section 102(9) 

of title 40) for as long as the land remains under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.’’. 

SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF PROHIBITION AGAINST INTERMENT OR 

MEMORIALIZATION IN THE NATIONAL CEMETERY ADMINISTRATION OR ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY OF PERSONS 

COMMITTING CERTAIN CRIMES. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2411 of title 38, United States Code, 

is amended— 

(1) in the section heading— 

(A) by inserting ‘‘certain’’ before ‘‘Federal’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘capital’’; 

(2) in subsection (b)— 

(A) in paragraph (4)— 

(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 

16901 et seq.);’’ and inserting ‘‘(34 U.S.C. 20901 et 

seq.); and’’; and 

(ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘or to a 

period of 99 years or more’’ after ‘‘life imprisonment’’; 

and 

(B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

‘‘(5) A person who— 

‘‘(A) is found (as provided in subsection (c)) to have 

committed a Federal or State crime that would cause the 

person to be a tier III sex offender for purposes of the 

Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (34 U.S.C. 

20901 et seq.); but 

‘‘(B) has not been convicted of such crime by reason 

of such person not being available for trial due to death 

or flight to avoid prosecution.’’; 

(3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘subsection (b)(3)’’ and 

inserting ‘‘paragraph (3) or (5) of subsection (b)’’; 

(4) in subsection (d)(2)(A)(ii), by striking ‘‘or a State capital 

crime’’ and inserting ‘‘, a State capital crime, or a Federal 

or State crime that would cause the person to be a tier III 

sex offender for purposes of the Sex Offender Registration and 

Notification Act (34 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.),’’; and 

(5) in subsection (e)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘or a State capital 

crime’’ and inserting ‘‘, a State capital crime, or a Federal 

or State crime that would cause the person to be a tier III 

sex offender for purposes of the Sex Offender Registration and 

Notification Act (34 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.),’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 24 of such title is amended by striking the item 

relating to section 2411 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘2411. Prohibition against interment or memorialization in the National Cemetery 

Administration or Arlington National Cemetery of persons committing 

certain Federal or State crimes.’’. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.