S2854-118

Passed Senate

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into an agreement with the city of Fargo, North Dakota, for the conveyance of certain land of the Department of Veterans Affairs at Fargo National Cemetery, and for other purposes.

118th Congress Introduced Sep 19, 2023

Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill authorizes the sale of approximately 2.73 acres of federal land at Fargo National Cemetery in North Dakota to the city of Fargo. The sale can only happen after the Department of Veterans Affairs first acquires 29.06 acres of adjacent land to expand the cemetery. The stated purpose is to improve the experience for visitors and volunteers at the cemetery.

Who Benefits and How

City of Fargo, North Dakota: Gains the opportunity to purchase federal land at market value for local development or improvement purposes. The city must formally request the conveyance and pay fair market value as determined by an independent appraisal.

Visitors and volunteers at Fargo National Cemetery: The bill states the land conveyance is intended to "improve the experience" for these groups, though specific improvements are not detailed.

National Cemetery Administration: Receives the proceeds from the land sale, which are deposited into the National Cemetery Administration Facilities Operation Fund to support cemetery operations nationwide.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Department of Veterans Affairs: Must conduct appraisals following federal standards, negotiate the conveyance agreement, and manage the transaction. This represents an administrative burden on the agency.

Taxpayers: No direct financial burden, as the city must pay fair market value. However, the land transfers from federal ownership to local municipal ownership.

Key Provisions

  • The VA Secretary must convey a 2.73-acre parcel at Fargo National Cemetery to the city of Fargo upon written request
  • The conveyance is contingent on the VA first completing acquisition of 29.06 acres to expand the cemetery
  • The city must pay fair market value based on a formal appraisal following Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions
  • Sale proceeds go to the National Cemetery Administration Facilities Operation Fund
  • The bill includes rules of construction limiting its scope to only the specific parcel and city described

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

This bill requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to convey a specific parcel of land at Fargo National Cemetery to the city of Fargo, North Dakota, upon certain conditions.

Key Policy Areas

Environment, Defense

Primary Purpose

This bill requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to convey a specific parcel of land at Fargo National Cemetery to the city of Fargo, North Dakota, upon certain conditions.

Policy Domains

Environment Defense

Legislative Progress

Passed Senate
Introduced Committee Passed
Sep 19, 2023

Mr. Hoeven (for himself and Ms. Smith) introduced the following …

Sep 19, 2023 (inferred)

Passed Senate (inferred from es version)

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

State & Local Government
2 mentions across 2 clauses
+2 positive

City of Fargo, North Dakota

Government
2 mentions across 2 clauses
+2 positive

Department of Veterans Affairs

Veterans
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Cemetery visitors and volunteers

2/3
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Environment
Actor Mappings
"the_secretary"
→ Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

1 term
"Secretary" §S1

The 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