II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2089 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 16, 2021 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. HOEVEN, and Mr. CRAMER) 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 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. 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITIONS ON RESTRICTING INTERMENT OF 

2 CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS IN CERTAIN STATE 

3 VETERANS’ CEMETERIES. 

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

5 Code, as amended by the Johnny Isakson and David P. 

6 Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improve7 ment Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–315), is further 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ‘‘The Sec10 retary may’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

11 subsection (i), the Secretary may’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub13 sections: 

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

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

16 a State receiving such a grant to inter in a veterans’ ceme17 tery owned by that State any individual described in para18 graph (2) solely by reason of the ineligibility of such indi19 vidual for burial in an open national cemetery under the 

20 control of the National Cemetery Administration under 

21 section 2402(a) of this title. 

22 ‘‘(2) An individual described in this paragraph is the 

23 following: 

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

25 the Armed Forces whose service was terminated 

26 under honorable conditions. 


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

2 or the Air National Guard whose service was termi3 nated under honorable conditions. 

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

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

6 whose death occurs under honorable conditions while 

7 a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps of 

8 the Army, Navy, or Air Force. 

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

10 subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

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

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

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

14 through (C). 

15 ‘‘(j) The Secretary may not deny an application for 

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

17 State receiving such grant may use funds from such grant 

18 to expand, improve, operate, or maintain a veterans’ ceme19 tery to allow for the interment of individuals described in 

20 subsection (i)(2).’’. 

21 (b) PROHIBITION ON ENFORCING CERTAIN CONDI22 TIONS ON GRANTS FOR STATE VETERANS’ CEME23 TERIES.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not en24 force a condition on a grant described in subsection (i)(1) 

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


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

2 the enactment of this Act. 

3 (c) PLOT ALLOWANCES.—Section 2303(b)(1) of title 

4 38, United States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and (ii) members’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘(ii) members’’; and 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘other than dishonorable, and’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘other than dishonorable, or (iii) de9 scribed in section 2408(i)(2) of this title’’. 

Æ 


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