Honoring Our Heroes Act of 2024

Honoring Our Heroes Act of 2024

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish and implement a two-year pilot program to furnish, when requested, an appropriate headstone or burial marker to commemorate covered veterans. Covered veterans are veterans who died on or before November 1, 1990, and were released or discharged from service under conditions other than dishonorable. Currently, these benefits are only available to eligible veterans who died on or after November 1, 1990.

The bill requires the VA to update the National Cemetery Administration website with respect to the requirements for eligibility for a headstone or burial marker. 

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10395 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10395

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish and carry out 
a pilot program to furnish a headstone or burial marker to veterans who 
      died on or before November 1, 1990, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 12, 2024

 Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish and carry out 
a pilot program to furnish a headstone or burial marker to veterans who 
      died on or before November 1, 1990, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Honoring Our Heroes Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PROGRAM TO FURNISH 
              HEADSTONES AND BURIAL MARKERS TO COVERED VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting through 
the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, shall establish and carry out 
a pilot program under which the Secretary shall furnish, when 
requested, an appropriate headstone or burial marker for the purpose of 
commemorating a covered veteran.
    (b) Applications.--An individual desiring to request a headstone or 
marker for the purpose of commemorating a covered veteran under such 
pilot program shall submit to the Secretary an application in such 
time, in such form, and containing such information and assurances as 
the Secretary considers appropriate.
    (c) Update to Eligibility Requirements.--During the period the 
authority to carry out the pilot program under this section is 
effective, the Under Secretary shall update the internet website of the 
National Cemetery Administration with respect to the requirements for 
eligibility for a headstone or burial marker under the laws 
administered by the Secretary.
    (d) Termination Date.--The authority of the Secretary to carry out 
the pilot program under this section shall terminate on the date that 
is two years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (e) Covered Veteran Defined.--In this section, the term ``covered 
veteran'' means a veteran (as defined in section 101 of title 38, 
United States Code) who died on or before November 1, 1990.
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