117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2089 

AN ACT 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that grants 

provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for State 

veterans’ cemeteries do not restrict States from authorizing the interment of certain deceased members of the 

reserve components of the Armed Forces in such cemeteries, and for other purposes. 
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†S 2089 ES

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Burial Equity for 

5 Guards and Reserves Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROHIBITIONS ON RESTRICTING INTERMENT OF 

7 CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS IN CERTAIN STATE 

8 VETERANS’ CEMETERIES. 

9 (a) GRANTS.—Section 2408 of title 38, United States 

10 Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ‘‘The Sec12 retary may’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

13 subsection (i), the Secretary may’’; 

14 (2) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 

15 (k); and 

16 (3) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol17 lowing new subsections: 

18 ‘‘(i)(1) The Secretary may not establish a condition 

19 for a grant under this section that restricts the ability of 

20 a State receiving such a grant to inter in a veterans’ ceme21 tery owned by that State any individual described in para22 graph (2) solely by reason of the ineligibility of such indi23 vidual for burial in an open national cemetery under the 

24 control of the National Cemetery Administration under 

25 section 2402(a) of this title. 
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1 ‘‘(2) An individual described in this paragraph is the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(A) Any member of a reserve component of 

4 the Armed Forces who was discharged or released 

5 from service under conditions other than dishonor6 able or whose death occurs under conditions other 

7 than dishonorable while a member of such a reserve 

8 component. 

9 ‘‘(B) Any member of the Army National Guard 

10 or the Air National Guard who was discharged or 

11 released from service under conditions other than 

12 dishonorable or whose death occurs under conditions 

13 other than dishonorable while a member of the Army 

14 National Guard or the Air National Guard. 

15 ‘‘(C) Any member of the Reserve Officers’ 

16 Training Corps of the Army, Navy, or Air Force 

17 whose death occurs under conditions other than dis18 honorable while a member of the Reserve Officers’ 

19 Training Corps of the Army, Navy, or Air Force. 

20 ‘‘(D) Any spouse of any member described in 

21 subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

22 ‘‘(E) Any minor child or unmarried adult child 

23 (as such terms are defined in section 2402(a) of this 

24 title) of any member described in subparagraphs (A) 

25 through (C). 
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1 ‘‘(j) The Secretary may not deny an application for 

2 a grant under this section solely on the basis that the 

3 State receiving such grant may use funds from such grant 

4 to expand, improve, operate, or maintain a veterans’ ceme5 tery in which interment of individuals described in sub6 section (i)(2) is allowed.’’. 

7 (b) PROHIBITION ON ENFORCING CERTAIN CONDI8 TIONS ON GRANTS FOR STATE VETERANS’ CEME9 TERIES.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not en10 force a condition on a grant described in subsection (i)(1) 

11 of section 2408 of title 38, United States Code, as added 

12 by subsection (a), that was established before the date of 

13 the enactment of this Act. 

14 (c) PLOT ALLOWANCES.—Section 2303 of title 38, 

15 United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(1) the Secretary shall pay to the relevant 

20 State, agency, political subdivision, or tribal organi21 zation, as the case may be, the sum of $700 (as in22 creased from time to time under subsection (c)) as 

23 a plot or interment allowance for such veteran if the 

24 veteran is buried (without charge for the cost of a 
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1 plot or interment) in a cemetery, or a section of a 

2 cemetery, that— 

3 ‘‘(A) is used solely for the interment of 

4 persons who are— 

5 ‘‘(i) eligible for burial in a national 

6 cemetery; 

7 ‘‘(ii) members of a reserve component 

8 of the Armed Forces not otherwise eligible 

9 for such burial or former members of such 

10 a reserve component not otherwise eligible 

11 for such burial who are discharged or re12 leased from service under conditions other 

13 than dishonorable; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) described in section 2408(i)(2) 

15 of this title; and 

16 ‘‘(B) is— 

17 ‘‘(i) owned by a State or by an agency 

18 or political subdivision of a State; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) on trust land owned by, or held 

20 in trust for, a tribal organization.’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘tribal 

22 organization,’’ after ‘‘of a State,’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub24 section: 
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1 ‘‘(e) In this section, the terms ‘tribal organization’ 

2 and ‘trust land’ have the meanings given those terms in 

3 section 3765 of this title.’’. 

Passed the Senate March 7, 2022. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2089 

AN ACT 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure 

teries, and for other purposes. components of the Armed Forces in such cemement of certain deceased members of the reserve not restrict States from authorizing the intererans Affairs for State veterans’ cemeteries do that grants provided by the Secretary of Vet-