H.R. 3656, a bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a consistent eligibility date for provision of Department of Veterans Affairs memorial headstones and markers for eligible spouses and dependent children of veterans whose remains are
Cost Estimate
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on October 12, 2017
The Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-368) authorized the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide, upon request, a memorial headstone (for placement in a national or state veterans’ cemetery) to commemorate the deceased spouse or un-remarried surviving spouse of a veteran in certain instances where the spousal remains are not available. Subsequent public laws extended this benefit to certain dependent children and remarried survivors, but those acts only applied the benefit to those who died after 2006 and 2008, respectively. H.R. 3656 would extend this benefit to all eligible beneficiaries who died on or after November 11, 1998.