II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4100 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the National Cemeteries 

Foundation to support the educational outreach activities of the Veterans 

Legacy Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 10, 2024 

Mr. MORAN (for himself and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the 

National Cemeteries Foundation to support the educational outreach activities of the Veterans Legacy Program, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Honoring Veterans’ Legacies and Burial Benefits En6 hancements Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—SUPPORTING THE VETERANS LEGACY PROGRAM 

Sec. 101. National Cemeteries Foundation to support educational outreach activities of the Veterans Legacy Program. 

TITLE II—ENSURING DIGNIFIED BURIALS FOR VETERANS 

Sec. 201. Headstones and markers for groups of individuals buried in group interments. 

Sec. 202. Requirement for use of dignified burial containers for interments in 

national cemeteries. 

TITLE III—BURIAL BENEFITS ENHANCEMENTS 

Sec. 301. Expansion of eligibility for government-furnished headstone, marker, 

or medallion for medal of honor recipients. 

Sec. 302. Modification of eligibility for burial benefits relating to other than 

dishonorable service for deaths in active service. 

Sec. 303. Permanent authority for burial, memorial headstones, and markers of 

spouses and dependent children who predecease veterans and 

active duty members of the Armed Forces. 

1 TITLE I—SUPPORTING THE 

2 VETERANS LEGACY PROGRAM 

3 SEC. 101. NATIONAL CEMETERIES FOUNDATION TO SUP4 PORT EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH ACTIVITIES 

5 OF THE VETERANS LEGACY PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 24 of title 38, United 

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new section: 

9 ‘‘§ 2415. National Cemeteries Foundation 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the 

12 National Cemeteries Foundation (in this section re13 ferred to as the ‘Foundation’). 


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1 ‘‘(2) NATURE OF CORPORATION.—The Founda2 tion is a charitable and nonprofit corporation and is 

3 not an agency or establishment of the United States. 

4 ‘‘(3) NONPROFIT STATUS.—If by the end of the 

5 four-year period beginning on the date of the enact6 ment of the Honoring Veterans’ Legacies and Burial 

7 Benefits Enhancements Act the Foundation is not 

8 treated as an organization described in section 

9 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 

10 exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such 

11 Code, the Secretary shall dissolve the Foundation. 

12 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Foundation 

13 are to provide a flexible funding mechanism— 

14 ‘‘(1) for educational outreach activities of the 

15 Veterans Legacy Program that are approved by the 

16 Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs at one or 

17 more national cemeteries under the control of the 

18 National Cemetery Administration; and 

19 ‘‘(2) to facilitate functions related to the con20 duct of such activities, approved as described in 

21 paragraph (1). 

22 ‘‘(c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS; EXECUTIVE DIREC23 TOR.— 

24 ‘‘(1) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 provide for the appointment of a board of direc3 tors for the Foundation. 

4 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The board of direc5 tors of the Foundation shall include at least one 

6 member representing the National Cemetery 

7 Administration. 

8 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—An individual ap9 pointed to the board of directors of the Founda10 tion may not be affiliated with or employed by 

11 any entity that is a source of funding for re12 search or education by the Department unless 

13 that source of funding is a governmental entity 

14 or an entity the income of which is exempt from 

15 taxation under the Internal Revenue Code of 

16 1986. 

17 ‘‘(D) APPOINTMENT.—Any member of the 

18 board of directors of the Foundation rep19 resenting the National Cemetery Administration 

20 shall be appointed after consultation with the 

21 Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs. 

22 ‘‘(2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall 

24 have an executive director who shall be ap25 pointed by the board of directors of the FounVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Apr 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4100.IS S4100

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1 dation with the concurrence of the Under Sec2 retary for Memorial Affairs. 

3 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES.— 

4 The executive director of the Foundation 

5 shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) be responsible for the operations 

7 of the Foundation; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) have such specific duties and re9 sponsibilities as the board of directors of 

10 the Foundation may prescribe. 

11 ‘‘(d) GENERAL AUTHORITIES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation may— 

13 ‘‘(A) accept, administer, retain, and spend 

14 funds derived from gifts, contributions, grants, 

15 fees, reimbursements, and bequests from indi16 viduals and public or private entities to the Vet17 erans Legacy Program; 

18 ‘‘(B) retain fees for the services provided 

19 in administering funds for the Veterans Legacy 

20 Program; and 

21 ‘‘(C) reimburse, from funds accepted on 

22 behalf of the Veterans Legacy Program, 

23 amounts to the applicable appropriation account 

24 of the Department for the Office of General 

25 Counsel for any expenses of that Office in proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Apr 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4100.IS S4100

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1 viding legal services to the National Cemetery 

2 Administration required to implement this sec3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTS, GRANTS, AND OTHER AGREE5 MENTS.—Any contract, grant, or other agreement 

6 for the carrying out of an educational outreach ac7 tivity using funds described in paragraph (1)(A) 

8 shall be between the Foundation and the contractor, 

9 grant recipient, or other party, as the case may be. 

10 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF REIMBURSED

11 AMOUNTS.—Amounts reimbursed to the Office of 

12 General Counsel under paragraph (1)(C) shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) be available for use by the Office of 

14 the General Counsel only for staff and training, 

15 and related travel, for the provision of legal 

16 services under this section; and 

17 ‘‘(B) remain available for such use without 

18 fiscal year limitation. 

19 ‘‘(e) TRANSFER AND ADMINISTRATION OF FUNDS.— 

20 Any funds received by the Secretary for the conduct of 

21 educational outreach activities of the Veterans Legacy 

22 Program, other than funds appropriated to the Depart23 ment, may be transferred to and administered by the 

24 Foundation. 


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1 ‘‘(f) APPROVAL OF EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH AC2 TIVITIES.—The Foundation may not spend funds for an 

3 educational outreach activity of the Veterans Legacy Pro4 gram unless the activity is approved in accordance with 

5 procedures prescribed by the Under Secretary for Memo6 rial Affairs for educational outreach activities carried out 

7 with funds donated or otherwise provided to the Founda8 tion for such activities. 

9 ‘‘(g) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for 

11 Memorial Affairs shall prescribe policies and proce12 dures to guide the spending of funds in support of 

13 the Veterans Legacy Program by the Foundation. 

14 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The policies and proce15 dures described in paragraph (1) shall be consistent 

16 with— 

17 ‘‘(A) the purpose of the Foundation as a 

18 flexible funding mechanism; and 

19 ‘‘(B) Federal and State law and regula20 tions, executive orders, circulars, policies of the 

21 Department, and directives that apply generally 

22 to the receipt and expenditure of funds by orga23 nizations described in section 501(c)(3) of the 

24 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 


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1 from taxation under section 501(a) of such 

2 Code. 

3 ‘‘(h) ACCOUNTABILITY AND OVERSIGHT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) RECORDS AVAILABLE TO SECRETARY.— 

5 The records of the Foundation shall be available to 

6 the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(2) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—For the purposes 

8 of sections 404(a)(1) and 406(a)(1) of title 5, the 

9 programs and operations of the Foundation shall be 

10 considered to be programs and operations of the De11 partment with respect to which the Inspector Gen12 eral of the Department has responsibilities under 

13 chapter 4 of title 5. 

14 ‘‘(3) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The Founda15 tion shall be considered an agency for the purposes 

16 of section 716 of title 31 (relating to availability of 

17 information and inspection of records by the Comp18 troller General). 

19 ‘‘(4) CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY.—Each 

20 director, officer, and employee of the Foundation 

21 shall be subject to a conflict of interest policy adopt22 ed by the Foundation. 

23 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL REPORT BY FOUNDATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Foun25 dation shall submit to the Secretary a report. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—Each report required 

2 by subparagraph (A) shall include the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) A detailed statement of the oper4 ations, activities, and accomplishments of 

5 the Foundation during the year in which 

6 the report is submitted. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The most recent audit of the 

8 Foundation under paragraph (6). 

9 ‘‘(iii) The most recent Internal Rev10 enue Service Form 990 ‘Return of Organi11 zation Exempt from Income Tax’ or equiv12 alent and the applicable schedules under 

13 such form. 

14 ‘‘(6) AUDITS OF FOUNDATION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) REVENUES IN EXCESS OF $500,000.— 

16 If revenues of the Foundation exceed $500,000 

17 in any year, the Foundation shall obtain an 

18 audit of the Foundation for that year. 

19 ‘‘(B) REVENUES BETWEEN $100,000 AND

20 $500,000.—If revenues of the Foundation are be21 tween $100,000 and $500,000 each year for 

22 three consecutive years, the Foundation shall 

23 obtain an audit of the Foundation for those 

24 years. 


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1 ‘‘(C) INDEPENDENT AUDITOR.—Any audit 

2 under this paragraph shall be performed by an 

3 independent auditor. 

4 ‘‘(7) ANNUAL REPORT BY SECRETARY.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Sec6 retary shall submit to the Committee on Vet7 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

8 on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Represent9 atives a report on the Foundation. 

10 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—Each report required 

11 by subparagraph (A) shall set forth the fol12 lowing information: 

13 ‘‘(i) The location of educational out14 reach activities funded by the Foundation. 

15 ‘‘(ii) The amount received by the 

16 Foundation during the previous year, in17 cluding— 

18 ‘‘(I) the total amount received; 

19 ‘‘(II) the amount received from 

20 governmental entities for research and 

21 the amount received from govern22 mental entities for education; 

23 ‘‘(III) the amount received from 

24 all other sources for research and the 


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1 amount received from all other 

2 sources for education; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) if an amount received from 

4 a source referred to in subclause (III) 

5 exceeded $25,000, information that 

6 identifies the source. 

7 ‘‘(iii) The amount expended by the 

8 Foundation during the year for travel con9 ducted in conjunction with research and 

10 the amount expended for travel conducted 

11 in conjunction with education. 

12 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH ACTIVITY.—The 

14 term ‘educational outreach activity’ means any activ15 ity that is part of a collaborative effort involving 

16 universities, schools, teachers, professors, students of 

17 all levels, and nonprofit organizations— 

18 ‘‘(A) to research veterans interred in na19 tional cemeteries under the control of the Na20 tional Cemetery Administration; and 

21 ‘‘(B) to memorialize those veterans by 

22 sharing their stories of service and sacrifice to 

23 the United States. 

24 ‘‘(2) VETERANS LEGACY PROGRAM.—The term 

25 ‘Veterans Legacy Program’ has the meaning given 


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1 that term in section 1(d) of Public Law 116–107 

2 (38 U.S.C. 2400 note).’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 at the beginning of chapter 24 of title 38, United States 

5 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

6 item: 

‘‘2415. National Cemeteries Foundation.’’. 

7 TITLE II—ENSURING DIGNIFIED 

8 BURIALS FOR VETERANS 

9 SEC. 201. HEADSTONES AND MARKERS FOR GROUPS OF IN10 DIVIDUALS BURIED IN GROUP INTERMENTS. 

11 Section 2306 of title 38, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub14 section (l); and 

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol16 lowing new subsection (k): 

17 ‘‘(k) In lieu of a headstone or marker for an indi18 vidual under this section, the Secretary may furnish a sin19 gle appropriate headstone or marker for a group of indi20 viduals buried in a group interment if each individual of 

21 such group is eligible for a headstone or marker furnished 

22 under this section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. REQUIREMENT FOR USE OF DIGNIFIED BURIAL 

2 CONTAINERS FOR INTERMENTS IN NATIONAL 

3 CEMETERIES. 

4 Section 2404 of title 38, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following new sub6 section: 

7 ‘‘(j) The Secretary may not accept a cardboard con8 tainer for the interment of the unclaimed remains of a 

9 veteran in a national cemetery unless evidence is provided 

10 to the Secretary that the veteran or a member of the vet11 eran’s family previously expressed the desire for the use 

12 of such a container.’’. 

13 TITLE III—BURIAL BENEFITS 

14 ENHANCEMENTS 

15 SEC. 301. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR GOVERNMENT16 FURNISHED HEADSTONE, MARKER, OR ME17 DALLION FOR MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPI18 ENTS. 

19 Section 2306(d) of title 38, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (4)(B)(i), by inserting ‘‘, ex22 cept as provided in paragraph (5)’’ after ‘‘1917’’; 

23 and 

24 (2) in paragraph (5)(C)— 

25 (A) by striking clause (i); and 


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1 (B) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) 

2 as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively. 

3 SEC. 302. MODIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR BURIAL BEN4 EFITS RELATING TO OTHER THAN DISHON5 ORABLE SERVICE FOR DEATHS IN ACTIVE 

6 SERVICE. 

7 (a) PERSONS ELIGIBLE FOR INTERMENT IN NA8 TIONAL CEMETERIES.—Section 2402(a)(1) of title 38, 

9 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘under con10 ditions other than dishonorable as shown by a statement 

11 from a general court-martial convening authority’’ after 

12 ‘‘space service’’. 

13 (b) HEADSTONES, MARKERS, AND BURIAL RECEP14 TACLES.—Section 2306 of title 38, United States Code, 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b)(4)(A), by inserting ‘‘under 

17 conditions other than dishonorable as shown by a 

18 statement from a general court-martial convening 

19 authority’’ after ‘‘space service’’; and 

20 (2) in subsection (g)(2), by inserting ‘‘under 

21 conditions other than dishonorable as shown by a 

22 statement from a general court-martial convening 

23 authority’’ after ‘‘space service’’. 

24 (c) FLAGS.—Section 2301(d) of title 38, United 

25 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘under conditions 


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1 other than dishonorable, as shown by a statement from 

2 a general court-martial convening authority,’’ after ‘‘space 

3 service’’. 

4 SEC. 303. PERMANENT AUTHORITY FOR BURIAL, MEMO5 RIAL HEADSTONES, AND MARKERS OF 

6 SPOUSES AND DEPENDENT CHILDREN WHO 

7 PREDECEASE VETERANS AND ACTIVE DUTY 

8 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. 

9 (a) MEMORIAL HEADSTONES AND MARKERS.—Sec10 tion 2306(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amend11 ed— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘if such 

13 death occurs before October 1, 2024’’; and 

14 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘if such 

15 death occurs before October 1, 2024’’. 

16 (b) BURIAL.—Section 2402(a)(5) of title 38, United 

17 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘if such death occurs 

18 before October 1, 2024’’. 

Æ 


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