A bill to amend titles 10 and 38 of the United States Code, to modify the circumstances under which a person who has committed a capital offense is denied certain burial-related benefits and funeral honors.

Prohibits the interment or memorialization in a national cemetery of, or the performance of military funeral honors for, any person convicted of a federal or state capital crime for which a life sentence or the death penalty may be imposed. (Currently, such prohibition extends only to those so convicted who have been sentenced to death or life imprisonment without parole.)

Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to prescribe regulations to ensure that a person is not interred in a national cemetery or provided funeral honors unless a good faith effort has been made to determine whether such person is ineligible for such interment or honors.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1813 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1813

  To amend titles 10 and 38 of the United States Code, to modify the 
circumstances under which a person who has committed a capital offense 
     is denied certain burial-related benefits and funeral honors.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 3, 2005

Mr. Craig (for himself, Mr. Roberts, and Mr. Brownback) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend titles 10 and 38 of the United States Code, to modify the 
circumstances under which a person who has committed a capital offense 
     is denied certain burial-related benefits and funeral honors.

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

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION AGAINST INTERMENT IN NATIONAL CEMETERY.

    Section 2411 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking `` for which the 
                person was sentenced to death or life imprisonment''; 
                and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking `` for which the 
                person was sentenced to death or life imprisonment 
                without parole''; and
            (2) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``the death 
                penalty or life imprisonment'' and inserting ``a life 
                sentence or the death penalty''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``the death 
                penalty or life imprisonment without parole may be 
                imposed'' and inserting ``a life sentence or the death 
                penalty may be imposed''.

SEC. 2. DENIAL OF CERTAIN BURIAL-RELATED BENEFITS.

    Section 985 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``who has been convicted 
        of a capital offense under Federal or State law for which the 
        person was sentenced to death or life imprisonment without 
        parole.'' and inserting ``described in section 2411(b) of title 
        38.'';
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``convicted of a capital 
        offense under Federal law'' and inserting ``described in 
        section 2411(b) of title 38''; and
            (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
    ``(c) Definition.--In this section, the term `burial' includes 
inurnment.''.

SEC. 3. DENIAL OF FUNERAL HONORS.

    Section 1491(h) of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;
            (2) by striking `` means a decedent who--'' and inserting 
        the following: ``--
            ``(1) means a decedent who--'';
            (3) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated, by striking the 
        period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) does not include any person described in section 
        2411(b) of title 38.''.

SEC. 4. RULEMAKING.

    (a) Department of Defense.--The Secretary of Defense shall 
prescribe regulations to ensure that a person is not interred in any 
military cemetery under the authority of the Secretary or provided 
funeral honors under section 1491 of title 10, United States Code, 
unless a good faith effort has been made to determine whether such 
person is described in section 2411(b) of title 38, United States Code, 
or is otherwise ineligible for such interment or honors under Federal 
law.
    (b) Department of Veterans Affairs.--The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall prescribe regulations to ensure that a person is not 
interred in any cemetery in the National Cemetery System unless a good 
faith effort has been made to determine whether such person is 
described in section 2411(b) of title 38, United States Code, or is 
otherwise ineligible for such interment under Federal law.
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