Should the Spouses or Children of Soldiers be Buried in National Cemeteries? (H.R. 4335)

What is H.R. 4335?

(Updated May 28, 2020)

This bill would revise eligibility rules for burials in national cemeteries to allow the interment of the spouse or children of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces who was serving on active duty (or any other condition other than dishonorable condition) at the time of the spouse's or child's death. . The spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (at the discretion of the VA) could be buried in any open national cemetery currently overseen by the National Cemetery Administration. Under current law such burials in national cemeteries are only available to a servicemember’s family if the soldier dies before the spouse or child.

Argument in favor

This bill would make consistent the standards that should be afforded to all people posthumously, and in particular those that are or have served this country and their families that in many ways are also serving.

Argument opposed

While spouses and children are no doubt important members of a veteran’s family, they themselves did not serve in the Armed Forces. There is only a finite amount of space in national cemeteries and this would mean less room for actual veterans.

Impact

Military servicemembers; veterans; servicemember families; and the VA.

Cost of H.R. 4335

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA) introduced this bill to ensure that the VA has the authority to bury a servicemember’s spouse or children in a national cemetery if they die before the servicemember:

“My legislation would allow active duty servicemembers to bury their spouse or eligible dependent child in a VA cemetery. The bill would authorize VA to inter in a VA national cemetery the spouse and eligible dependent child of an active duty servicemember at the time of the spouse’s or child’s death. This would eliminate the need for review by the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs for each burial request of a deceased spouse and dependent child of active duty servicemembers.”

This bill was reported favorably from the House Veterans Affairs’ subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs and has the support of one cosponsor, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO).

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA) Request for Cosponsors