Title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay costs relating to the transportation of certain deceased veterans to veterans' cemeteries owned by a State or tribal organization.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to pay the burial transportation costs of certain deceased veterans to a state- or tribal-owned veterans' cemetery in which the deceased veteran is eligible to be buried.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1390 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1390

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to pay costs relating to the transportation of certain 
 deceased veterans to veterans' cemeteries owned by a State or tribal 
                             organization.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 7, 2017

   Mr. Banks of Indiana (for himself, Mr. Messer, Mr. Budd, and Mrs. 
  Radewagen) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to pay costs relating to the transportation of certain 
 deceased veterans to veterans' cemeteries owned by a State or tribal 
                             organization.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. TRANSPORTATION OF DECEASED VETERANS TO VETERANS' CEMETERIES.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 2308 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) In General.--(1) The Secretary may pay, in addition to any 
amount paid pursuant to section 2302 or 2307 of this title, the cost of 
transportation of the deceased veteran described in paragraph (1) or 
(2) of subsection (b) for burial in a national cemetery or a covered 
veterans' cemetery. Such payment shall not exceed the cost of 
transportation to the national cemetery nearest the veteran's last 
place of residence in which burial space is available.
    ``(2) The Secretary may pay, in addition to any amount paid 
pursuant to section 2302 or 2307 of this title, the cost of 
transportation of the deceased veteran described in subsection (b)(3) 
for burial in a national cemetery. Such payment shall not exceed the 
cost of transportation to the national cemetery nearest the veteran's 
last place of residence in which burial space is available.''.
    (b) Covered Veterans' Cemetery Defined.--Section 2308 of such title 
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Covered Veterans' Cemetery Defined.--In this section, the 
term `covered veterans' cemetery' means, with respect to a deceased 
veteran described in subsection (b), a veterans' cemetery owned by a 
State or a tribal organization (as defined in section 3765(4) of this 
title) in which the deceased veteran is eligible to be buried.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 2308 of such title is amended in 
the section heading by adding at the end the following: ``or a 
veterans' cemetery''.
    (d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 23 of such title is amended by striking the item relating to 
section 2308 and inserting the following new item:

``2308. Transportation of deceased veteran to a national cemetery or a 
                            veterans' cemetery.''.
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