S1071-119

Signed into Law

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026

119th Congress Introduced Mar 14, 2025

At a Glance

Read full bill text

Legislative Progress

Signed into Law
Introduced Committee Passed Law
Dec 10, 2025

Dec 10, 2025 (inferred)

Passed House (inferred from enr version)

Dec 10, 2025 (inferred)

Passed Senate (inferred from enr version)

Dec 10, 2025 (inferred)

Enrolled Bill (inferred from enr version)

Mar 14, 2025

Mr. Cornyn (for himself and Mr. Cruz) introduced the following …

Senate Roll #648

On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S. 1071)

Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S. 1071

Motion Agreed to (77-20)
77 Yea 20 Nay 3 Not Voting
Dec 17, 2025
Senate Roll #647

On the Cloture Motion S. 1071

Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S. 1071

Cloture Motion Agreed to (76-20, 3/5 majority required)
76 Yea 20 Nay 4 Not Voting
Dec 15, 2025
Senate Roll #646

On the Motion to Proceed S. 1071

Motion to Proceed to the House Message to Accompany S. 1071

Motion to Proceed Agreed to (75-22)
75 Yea 22 Nay 3 Not Voting
Dec 11, 2025
House Roll #320

On Passage

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota from Fort …

Passed
312 Yea 112 Nay 9 Not Voting
Dec 10, 2025
House Roll #319

On Motion to Commit

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota from Fort …

Failed
209 Yea 216 Nay 8 Not Voting
Dec 10, 2025

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to remove the remains of Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas within one year. The remains will be returned to the next of kin if they can be contacted, or the VA will arrange for appropriate disposition if no family member responds.

Who Benefits and How

The family (next of kin) of Fernando V. Cota benefits by potentially receiving the remains of their relative for reburial elsewhere. This appears to be a private bill addressing a specific family's request regarding burial location.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Veterans Affairs bears the administrative burden of conducting the disinterment, locating and notifying next of kin, and arranging for transfer or alternative disposition of the remains.

Key Provisions

  • VA Secretary must disinter remains within one year of enactment
  • Next of kin must be notified before disinterment can proceed
  • Remains are either returned to family or VA arranges appropriate disposition
Model: claude-opus-4
Generated: Jan 16, 2026 04:46

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

Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery and either return them to next of kin or arrange for appropriate disposition.

Policy Domains

Veterans Affairs Federal Cemeteries

Legislative Strategy

"Private bill to address a specific individual case regarding burial arrangements"

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Veterans Affairs Federal Cemeteries
Actor Mappings
"the_secretary"
→ Secretary of Veterans Affairs

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