Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act

Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act

This bill requires the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to establish the Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program to identify deceased members of the Armed Forces who were Jewish and buried in a U.S. military cemetery located outside of the United States under a marker indicating the member was not Jewish. The program must contact survivors and descendants of such members.

The ABMC must seek to enter into a contract with a nonprofit organization to carry out the program during the first 10 fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of the bill.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1318 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1318

   To direct the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a 
  program to identify American-Jewish servicemembers buried in United 
  States military cemeteries overseas under markers that incorrectly 
     represent their religion and heritage, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 7, 2025

  Mr. Moran (for himself, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Cornyn) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a 
  program to identify American-Jewish servicemembers buried in United 
  States military cemeteries overseas under markers that incorrectly 
     represent their religion and heritage, 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 ``Fallen Servicemembers Religious 
Heritage Restoration Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) An estimated 900 American-Jewish servicemembers of the 
        Armed Forces killed in World War I and World War II and buried 
        overseas in United States military cemeteries were, for various 
        reasons, mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses. In most 
        instances, those mistakes were made inadvertently.
            (2) In 2022, more than 2,000,000 people visited the United 
        States World War I and World War II cemeteries in foreign 
        countries.
            (3) American-Jewish servicemembers played a vital role in 
        the Allied victories in World War I and World War II.
            (4) American-Jewish servicemembers who fought and died for 
        the United States must have their heritage properly recognized 
        and honored.
            (5) The United States Government has a solemn 
        responsibility to ensure that every American servicemember 
        killed in action and buried overseas is properly honored.
            (6) The work of properly identifying American-Jewish 
        servicemembers buried overseas is vital and integral to the 
        responsibility of the American Battle Monuments Commission to 
        ensure that past mistakes in honoring those servicemembers who 
        died in the line of duty are corrected.

SEC. 3. FALLEN SERVICEMEMBERS RELIGIOUS HERITAGE RESTORATION PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The American Battle Monuments Commission shall 
establish a program to identify covered members and to contact 
survivors and descendants of such covered members. Such program shall 
be known as the ``Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration 
Program''.
    (b) Duration.--The Commission shall carry out the Fallen 
Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program during the first 
10 fiscal years that begin after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Contracts.--
            (1) Authority.--During each fiscal year described in 
        subsection (b), the Commission shall seek to enter into a 
        contract with a nonprofit organization under which such 
        nonprofit organization shall carry out the purpose described in 
        subsection (a).
            (2) Term; amount.--Each contract under this subsection 
        shall be for one year and in the amount of $500,000 to the 
        nonprofit organization.
            (3) Priority.--In awarding a contract under this 
        subsection, the Commission shall give priority to a nonprofit 
        organization that has demonstrated capability and expertise in 
        carrying out the purpose described in subsection (a).
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated to the Commission $500,000 for 
each fiscal year described in subsection (b).
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``covered member'' means a deceased member of 
        the Armed Forces who was Jewish and buried--
                    (A) in a United States military cemetery located 
                outside the United States; and
                    (B) under a marker that indicates such member was 
                not Jewish.
            (2) The term ``nonprofit organization'' means an 
        organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 
        501(a) of such Code.
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