Sponsors (3)
The bill returns a veteran's remains to family within a year and establishes a time‑bound disposition process to provide closure, at the cost of modest VA administrative burdens and leaving discretionary authority to the Secretary if no next of kin responds.
Families of veteran Fernando V. Cota can receive his remains within one year, enabling closure and private burial or memorial decisions.
Creates a clear, time‑bound process for disposition of remains, reducing the risk that the VA indefinitely retains remains and improving administrative predictability.
Imposes administrative and logistical costs on the VA to locate next of kin, notify them, and carry out disinterment and transfer within a year.
If no next of kin responds, the Secretary has broad discretion over disposition, which may leave families feeling they lack control over burial decisions.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Orders the VA to disinter Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston within one year after notifying his next of kin, then release or dispose of the remains.
Official title: To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 4, 2025 by Morgan Luttrell · Last progress December 4, 2025
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas within one year of the law taking effect, after first notifying Cota’s next of kin. After disinterment, the VA must either release the remains to the notified next of kin or, if no next of kin responds, arrange for disposition as the Secretary deems appropriate.