Sponsors
The bill quickly secures a no‑cost parcel for a national cemetery—improving burial access for veterans and avoiding local acquisition costs—at the expense of imposing costs and constraints on the VA and creating risks that unresolved site issues or diverted budgets could harm other services or raise future costs.
Veterans in the Montgomery County area will gain access to additional burial space because the VA must accept the 58-acre parcel for use as a national cemetery within three years.
Local taxpayers and governments will not bear acquisition costs because the Montgomery County Land Bank must transfer the parcel to the VA at no cost or consideration.
Veterans and local governments benefit from a clear, time‑bound process (30‑day start, 3‑year completion), which reduces uncertainty and speeds delivery of cemetery services.
Veterans and taxpayers could see VA funds diverted to develop and maintain the new cemetery parcel, potentially reducing resources available for other VA services.
Local governments and taxpayers may face higher remediation or operational costs if the mandated acceptance timeline pressures the VA to proceed before fully resolving environmental, zoning, or infrastructure issues at the site.
Veterans and local governments lose some protection from the VA's site-suitability discretion because mandating acceptance of a specific parcel limits the agency's ability to assess or negotiate different terms, which could increase long-term operational costs or liabilities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the VA to accept transfer of a specific ~58-acre parcel from the Montgomery County Land Bank at no cost and use it for Dayton National Cemetery within three years of the Land Bank’s offer.
Introduced March 14, 2025 by Michael R. Turner · Last progress March 14, 2025
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into an agreement with the Montgomery County Land Bank to accept transfer of a specific approximately 58-acre parcel in Dayton, Ohio, at no cost and to take the parcel into use as part of Dayton National Cemetery. The VA must begin negotiating the transfer within 30 days after the Land Bank offers the parcel and must accept the parcel for use as a national cemetery no later than three years after that offer. Also assigns a short title for the law. The measure limits the VA’s obligation to this single described parcel and to agreements only with the Montgomery County Land Bank; it does not appropriate funds or change other law.