H.R. 2078

119 HR 2078 IH: Bertie’s Respect for National Cemeteries Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-03-11
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 2078  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   March 11, 2025   Mr. Perry  introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Veterans' Affairs , and in addition to the Committee on  Armed Services , for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned   A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that the prohibition against interment or memorialization in the National Cemetery Administration or Arlington National Cemetery of persons committing Federal or State capital crimes is consistently carried out, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of George E. Siple from Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Bertie’s Respect for National Cemeteries Act  .
2.
Prohibition against interment or memorialization in the National Cemetery Administration or Arlington National Cemetery of persons committing Federal or State capital crimes
(a)
Responsibility of appropriate Federal official
Section 2411(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
by striking  In the case  and inserting  (A) Except as provided by subparagraph (B), in the case ; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
(B)
The appropriate Federal official shall take every reasonable action, including by searching public records, to ensure that a person who will be interred in a cemetery in the National Cemetery Administration or in Arlington National Cemetery is not ineligible for such interment by reason of this section.
 .
(b)
Authority To disinter
Section 2(c) of the Alicia Dawn Koehl Respect for National Cemeteries Act ( 38 U.S.C. 2411  note) is amended—
(1)
by striking  this section  and inserting  subsection (a) ; and
(2)
by inserting after  Arlington National Cemetery  the following:  on or after the date of the enactment of such section 2411 and the amendment made by subsection (b) shall apply with respect to any such interment or memorialization conducted .
3.
Disinterment of remains of George E. Siple from Indiantown Gap National Cemetery
(a)
Disinterment of remains
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall disinter the remains of George E. Siple from Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.
(b)
Notification of next-of-Kin
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall—
(1)
notify the next-of-kin of record for George E. Siple of the impending disinterment of his remains; and
(2)
upon disinterment, relinquish the remains to the next-of-kin of record for George E. Siple or, if the next-of-kin of record for George E. Siple is unavailable, arrange for an appropriate disposition of the remains.