Preserving the Sacredness of our National Cemeteries Act

Preserving the Sacredness of our National Cemeteries Act - Prohibits the interment or memorialization in a national cemetery of any person convicted of a State capital crime and sentenced to death or life imprisonment. (Currently, such prohibition extends only to those so convicted and sentenced without the possibility of parole.)

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to require a person submitting an application for interment or memorialization to certify whether the individual has been convicted of a capital crime.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3965 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3965

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the interment or 
    memorialization in national cemeteries of persons convicted of 
 committing State capital crimes regardless of whether their sentences 
                            included parole.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2005

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the interment or 
    memorialization in national cemeteries of persons convicted of 
 committing State capital crimes regardless of whether their sentences 
                            included parole.

    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 ``Preserving the Sacredness of our 
National Cemeteries Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF INTERMENT OR MEMORIALIZATION IN NATIONAL 
              CEMETERIES OF PERSONS CONVICTED OF COMMITTING CAPITAL 
              CRIMES AND SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT WITH PAROLE.

    (a) Prohibition to Include All Persons Sentenced to Life 
Imprisonment.--
            (1) Covered sentences.--Subsection (b)(2) of section 2411 
        of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking 
        ``without parole''.
            (2) Covered crimes.--Subsection (d)(2) of such section is 
        amended by striking ``without parole''.
    (b) Certification Required.--Such section is further amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (d), as amended by 
        subsection (a)(2), as subsection (e); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsection (d):
    ``(d) As part of an application for interment or memorialization of 
any person in a national cemetery, the Secretary shall require the 
person submitting the application to certify whether or not the person 
to be interred or memorialized has been convicted of a capital 
crime.''.
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