IB
Union Calendar No. 37
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 70
[Report No. 106–70]
To amend title 38, United States Code, to enact into law eligibility require-
ments for burial in Arlington National Cemetery, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 6, 1999
Mr. STUMP (for himself, Mr. EVANS, and Mr. BILIRAKIS) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
MARCH 18, 1999
Additional sponsors: Mr. QUINN, Mr. SAXTON, Ms. DANNER, Mrs.
CHENOWETH, Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr. HILLEARY, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. JEN-
KINS, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. CARSON, Ms. BROWN of Flor-
ida, Mr. CONDIT, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. BLILEY, Mr. ACKER-
MAN, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. HORN, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr.
TANCREDO, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. BORSKI, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr.
STEARNS, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. LAFALCE, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr.
GIBBONS, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms.
GRANGER, Mr. SUNUNU, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mrs. KELLY, Mr.
GARY MILLER of California, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. FROST,
Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. TURNER, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. CRANE,
Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey,
Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. BRYANT, Mr. TIERNEY, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. SHOWS,
Mr. NEY, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. DINGELL, Ms. PRYCE
of Ohio, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi,
Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska, Mr. SISISKY, Mrs. BIGGERT,
Mr. LARGENT, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mrs. JONES of
Ohio, Mr. UPTON, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. MCCOLLUM, Mr. EWING, Mr. SALM-
ON, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. BROWN
of Ohio, Mr. SPENCE, Mr. BATEMAN, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr.
RAHALL, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. BILBRAY,
Mr. LATHAM, Mr. GOODE, Mr. WYNN, Mr. TERRY, Mr. PEASE, Mr.
WELLER, Mr. REYES, Mr. GORDON, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. SENSEN-
BRENNER, Mr. SWEENEY, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma,
Mr. LAZIO, Mr. PICKETT, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. STUPAK,
Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. EVERETT, Mrs. JOHN-
SON of Connecticut, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. MCINTYRE,
Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. GALLEGLY, and Mr. SIMPSON
MARCH 18, 1999
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
and ordered to be printed
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to enact into law
eligibility requirements for burial in Arlington National
Cemetery, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arlington National
Cemetery Burial Eligibility Act’’.
SEC. 2. PERSONS ELIGIBLE FOR BURIAL IN ARLINGTON NA-
TIONAL CEMETERY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 24 of title 38, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section:
‘‘§ 2412. Arlington National Cemetery: persons eligi-
ble for burial
‘‘(a) PRIMARY ELIGIBILITY.—The remains of the fol-
lowing individuals may be buried in Arlington National
Cemetery:
‘‘(1) Any member of the Armed Forces who
dies while on active duty.
‘‘(2) Any retired member of the Armed Forces
and any person who served on active duty and at the
time of death was entitled (or but for age would
have been entitled) to retired pay under chapter
1223 of title 10, United States Code.
‘‘(3) Any former member of the Armed Forces
separated for physical disability before October 1,
1949, who—
‘‘(A) served on active duty; and
‘‘(B) would have been eligible for retire-
ment under the provisions of section 1201 of
title 10 (relating to retirement for disability)
had that section been in effect on the date of
separation of the member.
‘‘(4) Any former member of the Armed Forces
whose last active duty military service terminated
honorably and who has been awarded one of the fol-
lowing decorations:
‘‘(A) Medal of Honor.
‘‘(B) Distinguished Service Cross, Air
Force Cross, or Navy Cross.
‘‘(C) Distinguished Service Medal.
‘‘(D) Silver Star.
‘‘(E) Purple Heart.
‘‘(5) Any former prisoner of war who dies on or
after November 30, 1993.
‘‘(6) The President or any former President.
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY OF FAMILY MEMBERS.—The re-
mains of the following individuals may be buried in Arling-
ton National Cemetery:
‘‘(1) The spouse, surviving spouse (which for
purposes of this paragraph includes any remarried
surviving spouse, section 2402(5) of this title not-
withstanding), minor child, and, at the discretion of
the Superintendent, unmarried adult child of a per-
son listed in subsection (a), but only if buried in the
same gravesite as that person.
‘‘(2)(A) The spouse, minor child, and, at the
discretion of the Superintendent, unmarried adult
child of a member of the Armed Forces on active
duty if such spouse, minor child, or unmarried adult
child dies while such member is on active duty.
‘‘(B) The individual whose spouse, minor child,
and unmarried adult child is eligible under subpara-
graph (A), but only if buried in the same gravesite
as the spouse, minor child, or unmarried adult child.
‘‘(3) The parents of a minor child or unmarried
adult child whose remains, based on the eligibility of
a parent, are already buried in Arlington National
Cemetery, but only if buried in the same gravesite
as that minor child or unmarried adult child.
‘‘(4)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the sur-
viving spouse, minor child, and, at the discretion of
the Superintendent, unmarried adult child of a
member of the Armed Forces who was lost, buried
at sea, or officially determined to be permanently ab-
sent in a status of missing or missing in action.
‘‘(B) A person is not eligible under subpara-
graph (A) if a memorial to honor the memory of the
member is placed in a cemetery in the national cem-
etery system, unless the memorial is removed. A me-
morial removed under this subparagraph may be
placed, at the discretion of the Superintendent, in
Arlington National Cemetery.
‘‘(5) The surviving spouse, minor child, and, at
the discretion of the Superintendent, unmarried
adult child of a member of the Armed Forces buried
in a cemetery under the jurisdiction of the American
Battle Monuments Commission.
‘‘(c) DISABLED ADULT UNMARRIED CHILDREN.—In
the case of an unmarried adult child who is incapable of
self-support up to the time of death because of a physical
or mental condition, the child may be buried under sub-
section (b) without requirement for approval by the Super-
intendent under that subsection if the burial is in the same
gravesite as the gravesite in which the parent, who is eligi-
ble for burial under subsection (a), has been or will be
buried.
‘‘(d) FAMILY MEMBERS OF PERSONS BURIED IN A
GROUP GRAVESITE.—In the case of a person eligible for
burial under subsection (a) who is buried in Arlington Na-
tional Cemetery as part of a group burial, the surviving
spouse, minor child, or unmarried adult child of the mem-
ber may not be buried in the group gravesite.
‘‘(e) EXCLUSIVE AUTHORITY FOR BURIAL IN AR-
LINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY.—Eligibility for burial of
remains in Arlington National Cemetery prescribed under
this section is the exclusive eligibility for such burial.
‘‘(f) APPLICATION FOR BURIAL.—A request for bur-
ial of remains of an individual in Arlington National Cem-
etery made before the death of the individual may not be
considered by the Secretary of the Army or any other re-
sponsible official.
‘‘(g) REGISTER OF BURIED INDIVIDUALS.—(1) The
Secretary of the Army shall maintain a register of each
individual buried in Arlington National Cemetery and
shall make such register available to the public.
‘‘(2) With respect to each such individual buried on
or after January 1, 1998, the register shall include a brief
description of the basis of eligibility of the individual for
burial in Arlington National Cemetery.
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
‘‘(1) The term ‘retired member of the Armed
Forces’ means—
‘‘(A) any member of the Armed Forces on
a retired list who served on active duty and who
is entitled to retired pay;
‘‘(B) any member of the Fleet Reserve or
Fleet Marine Corps Reserve who served on ac-
tive duty and who is entitled to retainer pay;
and
‘‘(C) any member of a reserve component
of the Armed Forces who has served on active
duty and who has received notice from the Sec-
retary concerned under section 12731(d) of title
10, of eligibility for retired pay under chapter
1223 of title 10, United States Code.
‘‘(2) The term ‘former member of the Armed
Forces’ includes a person whose service is considered
active duty service pursuant to a determination of
the Secretary of Defense under section 401 of Public
Law 95–202 (38 U.S.C. 106 note).