II 

Calendar No. 288 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D 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 

MARCH 1, 2022 

Reported by Mr. TESTER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Guards and Reserves Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PROHIBITIONS ON RESTRICTING INTERMENT OF 

5 CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS IN CERTAIN STATE 

6 VETERANS’ CEMETERIES. 

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

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

9 Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improve10 ment Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–315), is further 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ‘‘The Sec13 retary may’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

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

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub16 sections: 

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

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

19 a State receiving such a grant to inter in a veterans’ ceme20 tery owned by that State any individual described in para21 graph (2) solely by reason of the ineligibility of such indi22 vidual for burial in an open national cemetery under the 

23 control of the National Cemetery Administration under 

24 section 2402(a) of this title. 

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

26 following: 


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

2 the Armed Forces whose service was terminated 

3 under honorable conditions. 

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

5 or the Air National Guard whose service was termi6 nated under honorable conditions. 

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

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

9 whose death occurs under honorable conditions while 

10 a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps of 

11 the Army, Navy, or Air Force. 

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

13 subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

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

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

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

17 through (C). 

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

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

20 State receiving such grant may use funds from such grant 

21 to expand, improve, operate, or maintain a veterans’ ceme22 tery to allow for the interment of individuals described in 

23 subsection (i)(2).’’. 

24 (b) PROHIBITION ON ENFORCING CERTAIN CONDI25 TIONS ON GRANTS FOR STATE VETERANS’ CEMEVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Mar 01, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2089.RS S2089

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1 TERIES.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not en2 force a condition on a grant described in subsection (i)(1) 

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

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

5 the enactment of this Act. 

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

7 38, United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘and (ii) members’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘(ii) members’’; and 

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

11 and inserting ‘‘other than dishonorable, or (iii) de12 scribed in section 2408(i)(2) of this title’’. 

13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

15 Guards and Reserves Act of 2021’’. 

16 SEC. 2. PROHIBITIONS ON RESTRICTING INTERMENT OF 

17 CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS IN CERTAIN STATE 

18 VETERANS’ CEMETERIES. 

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

20 Code, is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ‘‘The Sec22 retary may’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

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

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

25 (k); and 


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1 (3) by inserting after subsection (h) the following 

2 new subsections: 

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

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

5 a State receiving such a grant to inter in a veterans’ ceme6 tery owned by that State any individual described in para7 graph (2) solely by reason of the ineligibility of such indi8 vidual for burial in an open national cemetery under the 

9 control of the National Cemetery Administration under sec10 tion 2402(a) of this title. 

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

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(A) Any member of a reserve component of the 

14 Armed Forces who was discharged or released from 

15 service under conditions other than dishonorable or 

16 whose death occurs under conditions other than dis17 honorable while a member of such a reserve compo18 nent. 

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

20 or the Air National Guard who was discharged or re21 leased from service under conditions other than dis22 honorable or whose death occurs under conditions 

23 other than dishonorable while a member of the Army 

24 National Guard or the Air National Guard. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Any member of the Reserve Officers’ Train2 ing Corps of the Army, Navy, or Air Force whose 

3 death occurs under conditions other than dishonorable 

4 while a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training 

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

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

7 subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

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

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

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

11 through (C). 

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

13 a grant under this section solely on the basis that the State 

14 receiving such grant may use funds from such grant to ex15 pand, improve, operate, or maintain a veterans’ cemetery 

16 in which interment of individuals described in subsection 

17 (i)(2) is allowed.’’. 

18 (b) PROHIBITION ON ENFORCING CERTAIN CONDI19 TIONS ON GRANTS FOR STATE VETERANS’ CEMETERIES.— 

20 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not enforce a condi21 tion on a grant described in subsection (i)(1) of section 2408 

22 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 

23 that was established before the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act. 


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

2 United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (b)— 

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

5 follows: 

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

7 State, agency, political subdivision, or tribal organi8 zation, as the case may be, the sum of $700 (as in9 creased from time to time under subsection (c)) as a 

10 plot or interment allowance for such veteran if the 

11 veteran is buried (without charge for the cost of a plot 

12 or interment) in a cemetery, or a section of a ceme13 tery, that— 

14 ‘‘(A) is used solely for the interment of per15 sons who are— 

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

17 cemetery; 

18 ‘‘(ii) members of a reserve component 

19 of the Armed Forces not otherwise eligible 

20 for such burial or former members of such 

21 a reserve component not otherwise eligible 

22 for such burial who are discharged or re23 leased from service under conditions other 

24 than dishonorable; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) described in section 2408(i)(2) of 

2 this title; and 

3 ‘‘(B) is— 

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

5 or political subdivision of a State; or 

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

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

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

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

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub11 section: 

12 ‘‘(e) In this section, the terms ‘tribal organization’ and 

13 ‘trust land’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

14 3765 of this title.’’. 


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Calendar No. 288 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2089 

A BILL 

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 VetMARCH 1, 2022 

Reported with an amendment 


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