H.R. 9321: To temporarily expand the authorized uses of grants awarded under the Veterans Legacy Program of the National Cemetery Administration, and for other purposes.

This bill would temporarily expand how certain Veterans Legacy Program grants can be used.

What changes

Under current law, these grants are used for projects that help preserve and share veterans’ stories and history. This bill would let grant recipients use the money for a new, limited purpose: helping the Department of Veterans Affairs locate, identify, and bury unclaimed or abandoned human remains believed to be those of veterans.

Specifically, grant funds could be used to help with

• finding unclaimed or abandoned remains suspected to belong to a veteran;
• determining whether those remains are actually a veteran’s; and
• interring those remains in a national cemetery under VA control.

How long the change would last

The expanded use of grants would apply starting on the date the bill becomes law and would end after the second fiscal year that begins after that date. In other words, it is a temporary change.

Budget limitation

The bill says that funding for these new grant uses should not be requested as extra money on top of the normal Veterans Legacy Program funding in the President’s annual budget request. This appears intended to keep the new activity within the existing program structure rather than create a separate additional budget line.

Relevant Companies

None found