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Provides a $525 plot or interment allowance (subject to future statutory adjustments) for qualifying spouses and children of veterans who are buried in cemeteries owned by a State, State agency, or political subdivision. It specifies which family members qualify, updates cross-references, and makes the change effective on enactment for deaths occurring on or after that date.
Redesignate existing subsections (c) through (e) of 38 U.S.C. §2303 as subsections (d) through (f), respectively.
Require the Secretary to pay to a State, State agency, or political subdivision the sum of $525 (as increased from time to time under subsection (d)) as a plot or interment allowance for an individual described in the statute who is buried in a cemetery owned by that State or entity.
Define eligible individuals for the plot allowance as: a spouse, surviving spouse (including a surviving spouse who remarried), minor child (under 21, or under 23 if pursuing a course at an approved educational institution), or, at the Secretary's discretion, an unmarried adult child of any person described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), or (7) of 38 U.S.C. §2402.
In the subsection redesignated as (d), replace the phrase "subsection (b)" with "subsections (b) and (c)" to include the new subsection in the cross-reference.
Replace each occurrence of the earlier subsection reference with the new reference "subsection (d)" as specified in the amendment.
Primary beneficiaries are surviving spouses and eligible children of veterans who are buried in State‑owned cemeteries; they would be eligible for a $525 payment to help cover plot or interment costs. The Department of Veterans Affairs will administer the allowance, which will modestly increase VA outlays relative to prior law. State governments that operate cemeteries may see more straightforward access to federal burial assistance for eligible families, but they do not receive the payment directly unless specified by VA procedures. The change applies only to State‑owned cemeteries and does not alter federal cemetery burial policies. Fiscal impact is likely small at the federal level (incremental benefit payments), and the provision does not impose new duties or unfunded requirements on states or localities beyond routine administration and coordination with VA. The allowance amount is fixed in statute here but remains subject to future statutory increases provided elsewhere, so long‑term costs could rise if adjustments apply.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced November 20, 2025 by Andy Kim · Last progress November 20, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in Senate