Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act responds to findings that an estimated 900 American-Jewish servicemembers killed in World War I and World War II and buried overseas in U.S. military cemeteries were mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses. It requires the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish the Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program for the first five fiscal years after enactment. The program identifies covered deceased Jewish Armed Forces members buried outside the United States under markers indicating they were not Jewish and contacts their survivors and descendants. Each year, the Commission must seek a one-year $500,000 contract with a qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit with demonstrated expertise. Earlier text also authorized $500,000 per year for the Commission. The bill separately extends a title 38 pension-payment limit from November 30, 2031, to January 31, 2032.
Who Benefits and How
Families of American-Jewish World War I servicemembers, families of American-Jewish World War II servicemembers, descendants of covered servicemembers, Jewish genealogy nonprofits, military history nonprofits, American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery visitors, Jewish veterans organizations, and historical-record researchers benefit from dedicated identification work, descendant outreach, nonprofit expertise, corrected religious heritage recognition, and better historical accuracy at overseas U.S. military cemeteries.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The American Battle Monuments Commission, Commission contracting staff, cemetery records staff, qualified nonprofit contractors, federal grant managers, descendants contacted by the program, Department of Veterans Affairs pension administrators, and veterans affected by the pension-payment-limit extension must administer the program, verify identities and burial markers, manage annual contracts, contact families, spend or oversee $500,000 contracts, and apply the pension-date change.
Key Provisions
- Establishes the Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program at the American Battle Monuments Commission.
- Requires identification of Jewish servicemembers buried overseas under markers indicating they were not Jewish.
- Requires contact with survivors and descendants of covered servicemembers.
- Requires annual one-year $500,000 contracts with qualified nonprofits during the five-fiscal-year program.
- Defines covered member and nonprofit organization for the program.
- Extends the title 38 pension-payment-limit date to January 31, 2032.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a five-fiscal-year American Battle Monuments Commission program to identify Jewish World War I and World War II servicemembers buried overseas under non-Jewish markers, contact survivors and descendants, contract annually with qualified nonprofits, authorize up to $500,000 per year when present in the text, and extend a VA pension-payment limit to January 31, 2032.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans, Commemoration, Federal Grants
Primary Purpose
Creates a five-fiscal-year American Battle Monuments Commission program to identify Jewish World War I and World War II servicemembers buried overseas under non-Jewish markers, contact survivors and descendants, contract annually with qualified nonprofits, authorize up to $500,000 per year when present in the text, and extend a VA pension-payment limit to January 31, 2032.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Families of American-Jewish World War I servicemembers
- Families of American-Jewish World War II servicemembers
- Descendants of covered servicemembers
- Jewish genealogy nonprofits
- Military history nonprofits
- Jewish veterans organizations
- Historical-record researchers
Identified Costs
- American Battle Monuments Commission
- Commission contracting staff
- Cemetery records staff
- Qualified nonprofit contractors
- Federal grant managers
- Descendants contacted by the program
- Department of Veterans Affairs pension administrators
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseRead twice and placed on the calendar
Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Received
Received in the Senate.
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate …
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, …
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules …
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4294)
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Descendants of covered servicemembers, Families of American-Jewish World War I servicemembers, Families of American-Jewish World War II servicemembers
American Battle Monuments Commission, Commission contracting staff, Department of Veterans Affairs pension administrators
Jewish genealogy nonprofits, Military history nonprofits
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "commission"
- → American Battle Monuments Commission
- "covered_member"
- → deceased Jewish Armed Forces member buried overseas under a marker indicating the member was 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