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House Passes Legislation to Improve Veterans’ Burial Benefits

Today, Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, released the following statement after the House passed two bills to improve burial benefits for our nation’s heroes.

“As a grateful nation, we have a duty to give our fallen heroes the honor and respect they deserve,” said Roe. “The two bills the House passed today will provide more options for servicemembers or families coping with the loss of a loved one, and I’d like to thank Reps. Scott and Correa for their work on these important topics.

“Currently, families who choose for their loved one to be buried in a veterans cemetery controlled by the National Parks Service – like the Andrew Johnson Cemetery in my district - are unable to receive an outer burial receptacle at no cost like they would in a VA-managed cemetery. I’m grateful to Rep. Scott for his leadership on the Veterans Cemetery Benefit Correction Act, which would extend this burial benefit to veterans interred in an NPS cemetery, and I look forward to working with him to address the issue."

The House passed the following bills:

H.R. 4910: The Veterans Cemetery Benefit Correction Act

The Veterans Cemetery Benefit Correction Act, introduced by Rep. Austin Scott, would require the federal government to provide an outer burial receptacle for each new grave of eligible veterans and family members interred in a veterans cemetery under the control of the National Park Service. Click here for more information. Read the bill here.

H.R. 4335: Servicemember Family Burial Act

The Servicemember Family Burial Act, introduced by Rep. Luis Correa, would allow the spouses and eligible dependents of active-duty servicemembers who predecease the servicemember to be interred in a national cemetery. Click here for more information. Read the bill here.

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