To direct the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a program to identify American-Jewish servicemembers buried in United States military cemeteries overseas under markers that incorrectly represent their religion and heritage, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseRead twice and placed on the calendar
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Received
Additional sponsors: Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Goldman of Texas, Mr. Suozzi, …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Ms. Wasserman Schultz (for herself, Mr. Miller of Ohio, Mr. …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act creates a 5-year program to identify an estimated 900 American-Jewish servicemembers from World War I and World War II who were mistakenly buried under Christian crosses in U.S. military cemeteries overseas. The American Battle Monuments Commission will contract with nonprofit organizations to research these cases and contact descendants to correct the grave markers.
Who Benefits and How
Descendants of misidentified Jewish servicemembers finally have a path to correct their ancestors' grave markers, honoring their true religious heritage after decades of incorrect markers.
The American Jewish community benefits from official recognition and correction of this historical oversight, ensuring Jewish soldiers who died for their country are properly memorialized.
Nonprofit genealogical organizations can receive contracts of up to $500,000 per year for five years to conduct the research and outreach work, with priority given to organizations with demonstrated expertise in this area.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Taxpayers fund the program at $500,000 per year for five years, totaling $2.5 million over the program's duration.
The American Battle Monuments Commission must administer the program, issue contracts, and oversee the correction of markers once descendants are identified and give consent.
Key Provisions
- Creates 5-year program called the "Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program"
- Authorizes $500,000 annually for contracts with nonprofit organizations to identify mismarked graves
- Prioritizes experienced nonprofits that have demonstrated capability in this type of genealogical research
- Covers approximately 900 servicemembers buried in overseas U.S. military cemeteries under incorrect religious markers
- Includes pension payment extension from November 2031 to January 2032 as a budget offset provision
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes a 5-year program within the American Battle Monuments Commission to identify approximately 900 American-Jewish servicemembers from WWI and WWII who were mistakenly buried under Christian crosses in overseas military cemeteries, and to contact their descendants to correct the grave markers.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Correct a historical injustice by using nonprofit expertise to research and identify mismarked graves, then work with descendants to properly honor the religious heritage of fallen Jewish servicemembers"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Descendants of misidentified American-Jewish servicemembers
- American Jewish community
- Nonprofit organizations with genealogical research expertise (\K/year contracts)
- Historical accuracy of U.S. military cemetery records
Likely Burden Bearers
- Taxpayers (\.5 million over 5 years)
- American Battle Monuments Commission (program administration)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_commission"
- → American Battle Monuments Commission
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A deceased member of the Armed Forces who was Jewish and buried in a U.S. military cemetery outside the United States under a marker that indicates they were not Jewish.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology