Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Honoring Veterans’ Families Act of 2019”.
Honoring Veterans’ Families Act of 2019
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide inscriptions for spouses and children on certain headstones and markers furnished by the Secretary, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Provision of inscriptions for spouses and children on certain headstones and markers furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
In general— Section 2306 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(i)
“(1) In the case of an individual for whom the Secretary has furnished a headstone or marker for the unmarked grave of the individual in a non-Department cemetery under subsection (a) or for whom the Secretary has furnished a headstone or marker under subsection (d), the Secretary may, if feasible and upon request, replace the headstone or marker to add an inscription for the surviving spouse or eligible dependent child of such individual following the death of the surviving spouse or eligible dependent child.
“(2) If the spouse or eligible dependent child of an individual referred to in paragraph (1) predeceases the individual, the Secretary may, if feasible and upon request, include an inscription for the spouse or dependent child on the headstone or marker furnished for the individual under subsection (a) or (d).
“(3) In this section, the term non-Department cemetery means—
“(A) a veterans' cemetery owned by a State; or
“(B) a State, local, tribal, or private cemetery.”
Effective date— Subsection (i) of section 2306 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to an individual who dies on or after October 1, 2018.