Sponsors
The bill creates a formal, administratively supported option for the primary surviving next of kin to request a Capitol lying-in-honor—providing national recognition and clearer government duties—while imposing modest taxpayer costs and leaving some relatives excluded or burdened by eligibility rules and logistics.
Families of service members who die in the line of duty (primary surviving next of kin) can request that their loved one lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol rotunda, giving those families a formal, national recognition option.
The relevant Secretary must notify the primary surviving next of kin about the lying-in-honor option and the Architect of the Capitol is authorized to schedule and regulate ceremonies, creating clear, consistent procedures that help families and federal staff manage these events.
Giving the Architect of the Capitol explicit authority to schedule and regulate lying-in-honor ceremonies supports orderly administration and consistent treatment of such national honors.
Some relatives may be excluded from requesting a lying-in-honor because of the eligibility limits in 38 U.S.C. §105 and the defined "primary surviving next of kin," leaving certain family members without recourse and creating perceptions of unfairness.
Federal agencies will incur administrative costs to notify families and run lying-in-honor ceremonies, which are paid by taxpayers.
Families may face emotional and logistical burdens arranging or attending a national ceremony on short notice if a death occurs soon after enactment.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows a service member who dies from a line-of-duty injury to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol rotunda at the primary surviving next of kin's request, with notification and scheduling rules.
Introduced May 29, 2025 by Brian Jeffrey Mast · Last progress May 29, 2025
Allows the remains of a member of the Armed Forces who dies from an injury incurred in the line of duty to lie in honor in the United States Capitol rotunda if the primary surviving next of kin requests it. The bill directs the appropriate Secretary to notify that next of kin using an existing notification process and directs the Architect of the Capitol, under the Speaker and President pro tempore, to set dates, times, and regulations for arranging the lying in honor; it applies to members who die on or after the date of enactment.