Arlington National Cemetery Burial Eligibility Act

Arlington National Cemetery Burial Eligibility Act - Allows the remains of the following persons to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery: (1) any member of the armed forces who dies while on active duty; (2) any retired member of the armed forces; (3) any member or former member of a reserve component of the armed forces who served on active duty, who was honorably discharged from active duty, who was under 60 years of age, and who, but for such age, would have been eligible for retired pay; (4) any former member who was separated for physical disability before October 1, 1949, who served on active duty, and who would have been eligible for disability retirement if such provisions had been in effect on such date; (5) any former member whose last active military service was terminated honorably and who has been awarded one of a number of specified military decorations; (6) any former prisoner of war who dies on or after November 30, 1993; (7) any reserve member who dies while on active duty for training or inactive duty training; (8) the President or any former President; (9) the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child, and, in the discretion of the Cemetery's Superintendent, unmarried adult child of an interred member (but only if buried in the same grave site); (10) the spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (discretionary) of a member on active duty if such person dies while the member is on active duty; (11) the individual whose spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (discretionary) is eligible under (10), above, but only if buried in the same grave site; (12) the parents of a minor child or unmarried adult child whose remains, based on the parent's eligibility, are already buried in the Cemetery, but only if buried in the same grave site; (13) the surviving spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (discretionary) of a member who was lost, buried at sea, or officially determined to be permanently absent in a status of missing or missing in action; and (14) the surviving spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (discretionary) of a member buried in a cemetery under the jurisdiction of the American Battle Monuments Commission. Authorizes the President to deem an otherwise ineligible individual as eligible for such burial for extraordinary acts, services, or contributions to the armed forces. Prohibits the consideration of a request for burial under such extraordinary circumstances that is made before the death of the individual involved. Directs the Secretary of the Army to: (1) maintain a register of each individual buried in the Cemetery that describes the basis of burial eligibility for individuals buried on or after January 1, 2002; and (2) publish an updated pamphlet describing eligibility for Cemetery burial. (Sec. 3) Authorizes the cremated remains of the following individuals to be placed in the Cemetery columbarium: (1) any person described above who is eligible for Cemetery burial; (2) a veteran whose last period of active duty service (other than for training) ended honorably; and (3) the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child, and, at the Superintendent's discretion, the unmarried adult child of a veteran whose last period of active service ended honorably. (Sec. 4) Requires a Cemetery grave site to be appropriately marked. Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the provision of Cemetery headstones or markers at private expense in lieu of Cemetery headstones and markers provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Allows for the placement of Cemetery monuments for particular military service or a military event, but requires a 25-year wait after such service or event before the placing of such monument. (Sec. 6) Amends the Veterans Education and Benefits Expansion Act of 2001 to make a provision authorizing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish a headstone or marker for the graves of eligible veterans buried in private cemeteries effective with respect to veterans dying on or after September 11, 2001 (currently December 27, 2001).

Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on July 22, 2002. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.

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