IB 
Union Calendar No. 103
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1516
[Report No. 108–199] 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery 
for veterans in southeastern Pennsylvania. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 31, 2003
Mr. GERLACH (for himself and Mr. HOEFFEL) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
JULY 10, 2003
Additional sponsors: Mr. MURTHA, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. PITTS, Mr. FATTAH, 
Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. 
PLATTS, Ms. HART, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. 
WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsyl-
vania, Mr. SHERWOOD, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. 
EVANS, Mr. MICHAUD, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey 
JULY 10, 2003
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 31, 2003] 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a 
national cemetery for veterans in southeastern Pennsylvania.
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 ‘‘National Cemetery Ex-
pansion Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW NATIONAL CEMETERIES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than four years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs, in accordance with chapter 24 of title 38, 
United States Code, shall establish five new national ceme-
teries. The new cemeteries shall be located in the following 
locations (those locations having been determined by the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to be the most appropriate lo-
cations for new national cemeteries): 
(1) Southeastern Pennsylvania. 
(2) The Birmingham, Alabama, area. 
(3) The Jacksonville, Florida, area. 
(4) The Bakersfield, California, area. 
(5) The Greenville/Columbia, South Carolina, 
area. 
(b) FUNDS.—Amounts appropriated for the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs for any fiscal year after fiscal year 
2003 for Advance Planning shall be available for the pur-
poses of subsection (a).
(c) SITE SELECTION PROCESS.—In determining the 
specific sites for the new cemeteries required by subsection 
(a) within the locations specified in that subsection, the Sec-
retary shall solicit the advice and views of representatives 
of State and local veterans organizations and other individ-
uals as the Secretary considers appropriate. 
(d) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
submit to Congress a report on the establishment of the na-
tional cemeteries required by subsection (a). The report 
shall—
(1) set forth a schedule for the establishment of 
each such cemetery and an estimate of the costs asso-
ciated with the establishment of each such cemetery; 
and 
(2) identify the amount of Advance Planning 
Funds obligated for purposes of this section as of the 
submission of the report. 
(e) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to 
Congress an annual report on the implementation of this 
section until the establishment of all five cemeteries is com-
pleted and each such cemetery has opened. The Secretary 
shall include in each such annual report an update of the 
information provided under paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub-
section (d).
(f) DEFINITION OF SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA.—
In this section, the term ‘‘southeastern Pennsylvania’’ 
means the city of Philadelphia and Berks County, Bucks 
County, Chester County, Delaware County, Philadelphia 
County, and Montgomery County in the State of Pennsyl-
vania.
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to provide for 
the establishment by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of 
five additional cemeteries in the National Cemetery Sys-
tem.’’.
Union Calendar No. 103
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 1516
[Report No. 108–199] 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to es-
tablish a national cemetery for veterans in south-
eastern Pennsylvania. 
JULY 10, 2003
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed