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38 U.S.C. § 2408 — Aid to States, counties, and tribal organizations for establishment, expansion, and improvement of veterans’ cemeteries
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)**
(1) Subject to subsections (b), (c), (d), and (g), the Secretary may make a grant to any State or county for the following purposes:
(A) Establishing, expanding, or improving a veterans’ cemetery owned by the State or county.
(B) Operating and maintaining such a cemetery.
(2) A grant under paragraph (1) may be made only upon submission of an application to the Secretary in such form and manner, and containing such information, as the Secretary may require.
**(b)** A grant under this section for a purpose described in subsection (a)(1)(A) shall be subject to the following conditions:
(1) The amount of such a grant may not exceed—
(A) in the case of the establishment of a new cemetery, the sum of: (i) the cost of improvements to be made on the land to be converted into a cemetery; (ii) the cost of initial equipment necessary to operate the cemetery; and (iii) training costs described in subsection (c)(1); and
(B) in the case of the expansion or improvement of an existing cemetery, the sum of: (i) the cost of improvements to be made on any land to be added to the cemetery; and (ii) the cost of any improvements to be made to the existing cemetery; and (iii) training costs described in subsection (c)(1).
(2) If the amount of such a grant is less than the amount of costs referred to in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), the State or county receiving the grant shall contribute the excess of such costs over the grant.
(3) If a State or county that has received such a grant to establish, expand, or improve a veterans’ cemetery ceases to own such cemetery, ceases to operate such cemetery as a veterans’ cemetery, or uses any part of the funds provided through such grant for a purpose other than that for which the grant was made, the United States s
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Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-38/section-2408-aid-to-states-counties-and-tribal-organizations-for-establishment-expans--dbe7e85fbb.md
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Source location: Title 38, Chapter 24, § 2408; chapter-024-national-cemeteries-and-memorials.md
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**(a)**
(1) Subject to subsections (b), (c), (d), and (g), the Secretary may make a grant to any State or county for the following purposes:
(A) Establishing, expanding, or improving a veterans’ cemetery owned by the State or county.
(B) Operating and maintaining such a cemetery.
(2) A grant under paragraph (1) may be made only upon submission of an application to the Secretary in such form and manner, and containing such information, as the Secretary may require.
**(b)** A grant under this section for a purpose described in subsection (a)(1)(A) shall be subject to the following conditions:
(1) The amount of such a grant may not exceed—
(A) in the case of the establishment of a new cemetery, the sum of: (i) the cost of improvements to be made on the land to be converted into a cemetery; (ii) the cost of initial equipment necessary to operate the cemetery; and (iii) training costs described in subsection (c)(1); and
(B) in the case of the expansion or improvement of an existing cemetery, the sum of: (i) the cost of improvements to be made on any land to be added to the cemetery; and (ii) the cost of any improvements to be made to the existing cemetery; and (iii) training costs described in subsection (c)(1).
(2) If the amount of such a grant is less than the amount of costs referred to in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), the State or county receiving the grant shall contribute the excess of such costs over the grant.
(3) If a State or county that has received such a grant to establish, expand, or improve a veterans’ cemetery ceases to own such cemetery, ceases to operate such cemetery as a veterans’ cemetery, or uses any part of the funds provided through such grant for a purpose other than that for which the grant was made, the United States shall be entitled to recover from such State or county the total of all grants made under this section to such State or county in connection with such cemetery.
**(c)**
(1) A grant under this section for a purpose described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(1) may be used, solely or in part, for training costs, including travel expenses and up to four weeks of lodging expenses, associated with attendance by employees of a veterans’ cemetery owned by a State or on trust land owned by, or held in trust for, a tribal organization at training provided by the National Cemetery Administration.
(2) Any employee described in paragraph (1) who participates in training described in such paragraph shall fulfill a service requirement as determined by the Secretary.
(3) The Secretary may by regulation prescribe such additional terms and conditions for grants used for training costs under this subsection as the Secretary considers appropriate.
**(d)**
(1) In addition to the conditions specified in subsection (b) of this section, any grant to a State or county under this section to assist such State or county in establishing a veterans’ cemetery shall be made on the condition that such cemetery shall conform to such standards and guidelines relating to site selection, planning, and construction as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe. In prescribing regulations for the purposes of the preceding sentence, the Secretary shall take into account the standards and guidelines for site selection, planning, and construction that are applicable to cemeteries under the control of the National Cemetery Administration, including those provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of [section 2404 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2404&num=0&edition=prelim).
(2) Except as provided in subsection (i), the Secretary may by regulation prescribe such additional terms and conditions for grants under this section as the Secretary considers appropriate.
**(e)**
(1) In addition to the conditions specified in subsections (b) and (c), any grant made to a State or county under this section shall be made subject to the condition specified in paragraph (2).
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the condition described in this paragraph is that, after the date of the receipt of the grant, such State or county prohibit the interment or memorialization in that cemetery of a person described in [section 2411(b) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2411/b&num=0&edition=prelim), subject to the receipt of notice described in subsection (a)(2) of such section, except that for purposes of this subsection—
(A) such notice shall be furnished to an appropriate official of such State or county; and
(B) a finding described in subsection (b)(3) of such section shall be made by an appropriate official of such State or county.
**(f)**
(1) Amounts appropriated to carry out this section shall remain available until expended. If all funds from a grant under this section have not been utilized by a State or county for the purpose for which the grant was made within three years after such grant is made, the United States shall be entitled to recover any such unused grant funds from such State or county.
(2) In any fiscal year, the aggregate amount of grants awarded under this section for the purposes specified in subsection (a)(1)(B) may not exceed $10,000,000.
**(g)**
(1) The Secretary may make grants under this subsection to any tribal organization to assist the tribal organization in establishing, expanding, or improving veterans’ cemeteries, or in operating and maintaining such cemeteries, on trust land owned by, or held in trust for, the tribal organization.
(2) Grants under this subsection shall be made in the same manner, and under the same conditions, as grants to States are made under the preceding provisions of this section.
**(h)**
(1) The Secretary may make a grant to a county under this section only if—
(A)
(i) the State in which the county is located does not have a veterans’ cemetery owned by the State;
(ii) the State is not in receipt of a grant under this section for the construction of a new veterans’ cemetery to be owned by the State;
(iii) the State did not apply for a grant under this section during the previous year;
(iv) no tribal organization from the State in which the county is located has a veterans’ cemetery on trust land owned by, or held in trust for, the tribal organization;
(v) no such tribal organization is in receipt of a grant under this section for the construction of a new veterans’ cemetery to be located on such land; and
(vi) no such tribal organization applied for a grant under this section during the previous year; and
(B) the county demonstrates in the application under subsection (a)(2), to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that the county has the resources necessary to operate and maintain the veterans’ cemetery owned by the county.
(2)
(A) If a county and the State in which the county is located both apply for a grant under this section for the same year, the Secretary shall give priority to the State.
(B) If a county and a tribal organization from the State in which the county is located both apply for a grant under this section for the same year, the Secretary shall give priority to the tribal organization.
(3) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to carry out this subsection.
**(i)**
(1) The Secretary may not establish a condition for a grant under this section that restricts the ability of a State receiving such a grant to inter in a veterans’ cemetery owned by that State any individual described in paragraph (2) solely by reason of the ineligibility of such individual for burial in an open national cemetery under the control of the National Cemetery Administration under [section 2402(a) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2402/a&num=0&edition=prelim).
(2) An individual described in this paragraph is the following:
(A) Any member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces who was discharged or released from service under conditions other than dishonorable or whose death occurs under conditions other than dishonorable while a member of such a reserve component.
(B) Any member of the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard who was discharged or released from service under conditions other than dishonorable or whose death occurs under conditions other than dishonorable while a member of the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard.
(C) Any member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps of the Army, Navy, or Air Force whose death occurs under conditions other than dishonorable while a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps of the Army, Navy, or Air Force.
(D) Any spouse of any member described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).
(E) Any minor child or unmarried adult child (as such terms are defined in [section 2402(a) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2402/a&num=0&edition=prelim)) of any member described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).
**(j)** The Secretary may not deny an application for a grant under this section solely on the basis that the State receiving such grant may use funds from such grant to expand, improve, operate, or maintain a veterans’ cemetery in which interment of individuals described in subsection (i)(2) is allowed.
**(k)**
(1) The Secretary may not establish a condition for a grant under this section that restricts the ability of a State, county, or tribal organization receiving such a grant to allow the interment of any person described in paragraph (8) or (10) of [section 2402(a) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2402/a&num=0&edition=prelim) in a veterans’ cemetery owned by that State or county or on trust land owned by, or held in trust for, that tribal organization.
(2) The Secretary may not deny an application for a grant under this section solely on the basis that the State, county, or tribal organization receiving such grant may use funds from such grant to expand, improve, operate, or maintain a veterans’ cemetery in which interment of persons described in paragraph (8) or (10) of [section 2402(a) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2402/a&num=0&edition=prelim) is allowed.
(3)
(A) When requested by a State, county, or tribal organization that is the recipient of a grant made under this section, the Secretary shall—
(i) determine whether a person is eligible for burial in a national cemetery under paragraph (8) or (10) of [section 2402(a) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2402/a&num=0&edition=prelim); and
(ii) advise the recipient of the determination.
(B) A recipient described in subparagraph (A) may use a determination of the Secretary under such subparagraph as a determination of the eligibility of the person concerned for burial in the cemetery for which the grant was made.
**(l)** For purposes of this section:
(1) The term “tribal organization” has the meaning given that term in [section 3765(4) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section3765/4&num=0&edition=prelim).
(2) The term “trust land” has the meaning given that term in [section 3765(1) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section3765/1&num=0&edition=prelim).
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)**
(1) When a veteran described in paragraph (2) dies, the Secretary shall—
(A) pay the actual cost (not to exceed $700 (as increased from time to time under subsection (c))) of the burial and funeral or, within such limits, may make contracts for such services without regard to the laws requiring advertisement for proposals for supplies and services for the Department; and
(B) when such a death occurs in a State, transport the body to the place of burial in the same or any other State.
(2) A veteran described in this paragraph is a deceased veteran who is not covered by [section 2307 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2307&num=0&edition=prelim) and who meets any of the following criteria:
(A) The deceased veteran dies in—
(i) a facility of the Department (as defined in [section 1701(3) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section1701/3&num=0&edition=prelim)) to which the deceased veteran was properly admitted for hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary care under section 1710 or 1711(a) of this title; or
(ii) an institution at which the deceased veteran was, at the time of death, receiving—
(I) hospital care in accordance with sections 1703A, 8111, and 8153 of this title;
(II) nursing home care under [section 1720 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section1720&num=0&edition=prelim); or
(III) nursing home care for which payments are made under [section 1741 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section1741&num=0&edition=prelim).
(B) At the time of death, the deceased veteran (including a person who died during a period deemed t
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** The Secretary is authorized to make all rules and regulations which are necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this chapter, and may designate those cemeteries which are considered to be national cemeteries.
**(b)** In conjunction with the development and administration of cemeteries for which the Secretary is responsible, the Secretary shall provide all necessary facilities including, as necessary, superintendents’ lodges, chapels, crypts, mausoleums, and columbaria.
**(c)**
(1) Subject to paragraph (2), each grave in a national cemetery shall be marked with an appropriate marker. Such marker shall bear the name of the person buried, the number of the grave, and such other information as the Secretary shall by regulation prescribe.
(2) The grave markers referred to in paragraph (1) shall be upright for interments that occur on or after January 1, 1987, except that—
(A) in the case of any cemetery scheduled to be closed by September 30, 1991, as indicated in the documents submitted by the Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs to the Congress in justification for the amounts included for Veterans’ Administration programs in the President’s Budget for fiscal year 1987, the Secretary may provide for flat grave markers;
(B) in the case of any cemetery with a section which has flat markers on October 28, 1986, the Secretary may continue to provide for flat grave markers in such section;
(C) in the case of any cemetery located on the grounds of or adjacent to a Department health-care facility, the Secretary may provide for flat grave markers;
(D) in the case of grave sites of cremated remains that are interred in the ground, the Secretary may provide for flat grave markers.11 So in original. The period probably should be a semicolon.
(
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 2404
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
For the purposes of this title—
(1) The terms “Secretary” and “Department” mean the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Veterans Affairs, respectively.
(2) The term “veteran” means a person who served in the active military, naval, air, or space service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.
(3) The term “surviving spouse” means (except for purposes of chapter 19 of this title) a person who was the spouse of a veteran at the time of the veteran’s death, and who lived with the veteran continuously from the date of marriage to the date of the veteran’s death (except where there was a separation which was due to the misconduct of, or procured by, the veteran without the fault of the spouse) and who has not remarried.
(4)
(A) The term “child” means (except for purposes of chapter 19 of this title (other than with respect to a child who is an insurable dependent under subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 1965(10) of such chapter) and [section 8502(b) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section8502/b&num=0&edition=prelim)) a person who is unmarried and—
(i) who is under the age of eighteen years;
(ii) who, before attaining the age of eighteen years, became permanently incapable of self-support; or
(iii) who, after attaining the age of eighteen years and until completion of education or training (but not after attaining the age of twenty-three years), is pursuing a course of instruction at an approved educational institution;
and who is a legitimate child, a legally adopted child, a stepchild who is a member of a veteran’s household or was a member at the time of the veteran’s death, or an illegitimate child but, as to the alleged father, onl
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** The Secretary shall furnish, when requested, appropriate Government headstones or markers at the expense of the United States for the unmarked graves of the following:
(1) Any individual buried in a national cemetery or in a post cemetery.
(2) Any individual eligible for burial in a national cemetery (but not buried there), except for those persons or classes of persons enumerated in section 2402(a)(4), (5), and (6) of this title.
(3) Soldiers of the Union and Confederate Armies of the Civil War.
(4) Any individual described in [section 2402(a)(5) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2402/a/5&num=0&edition=prelim) who is buried in a veterans’ cemetery owned by a State or a veterans’ cemetery owned by a tribal organization or on land owned by or held in trust for a tribal organization.
(5) Any individual who at the time of death was entitled to retired pay under chapter 1223 of title 10 or would have been entitled to retired pay under that chapter but for the fact that the person was under 60 years of age.
**(b)**
(1) The Secretary shall furnish, when requested, an appropriate memorial headstone or marker for the purpose of commemorating an eligible individual whose remains are unavailable. Such a headstone or marker shall be furnished for placement in a national cemetery area reserved for that purpose under [section 2403 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2403&num=0&edition=prelim), a veterans’ cemetery owned by a State, a veterans’ cemetery of a tribal organization or on land owned by or held in trust for a tribal organization, or, in the case of a veteran, in a State, local, or private cemetery.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), an eligible in
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) In General.—** The Secretary may pay, in addition to any amount paid pursuant to [section 2303 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2303&num=0&edition=prelim) regarding veterans described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of subsection (a)(2) of such section, or pursuant to [section 2307 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2307&num=0&edition=prelim), the cost of transportation of the deceased veteran described in subsection (b) for burial in a national cemetery or a covered veterans’ cemetery. Such payment shall not exceed the cost of transportation to the national cemetery nearest the veteran’s last place of residence in which burial space is available.
**(b) Deceased Veteran Described.—** A deceased veteran described in this subsection is any of the following veterans:
(1) A veteran who dies as the result of a service-connected disability.
(2) A veteran who dies while in receipt of disability compensation (or who but for the receipt of retirement pay or pension under this title, would have been entitled to compensation).
(3) A veteran whom the Secretary determines is eligible for funeral expenses under [section 2303 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section2303&num=0&edition=prelim) by virtue of the Secretary determining that the veteran has no next of kin or other person claiming the body of such veteran pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(C) of such section.
**(c) Covered Veterans’ Cemetery Defined.—** In this section, the term “covered veterans’ cemetery” means a veterans’ cemetery—
(1) in which a deceased veteran described in subsection (b) is eligible to be buried;
(2) that—
(A) is owned by a State; or
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 38 U.S.C. § 2308
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
Page 630
TITLE 38—VETERANS’ BENEFITS
§ 2407
other Federal agencies, exchange, or otherwise,
as the Secretary determines to be in the best in-
terest of the United States.
(b) TRANSFER OF DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
LAND FOR USE AS A NATIONAL CEMETERY.—Not-
withstanding section 204(d) of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1714(d)), if the Secretary and the Secretary of
the Interior agree to a transfer under subsection
(a) of any land for use by the Department as a
national cemetery, the land shall be—
(1) withdrawn from all forms of appropria-
tion under the public land laws, including the
mining laws, the mineral leasing laws, and the
geothermal leasing laws;
(2) subject to valid existing rights;
(3) transferred to the administrative juris-
diction of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
and
(4) deemed to be property (as defined in sec-
tion 102(9) of title 40) for as long as the land re-
mains under the administrative jurisdiction of
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
(Added Pub. L. 93–43, § 2(a), June 18, 1973, 87 Stat.
78, § 1006; amended Pub. L. 99–576, title VII,
§ 701(57), Oct. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 3295; Pub. L.
101–237, title III, § 313(b)(1), Dec. 18, 1989, 103 Stat.
2077; renumbered § 2406, Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(a),
Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 406; Pub. L. 108–454, title
VI, § 603, Dec. 10, 2004, 118 Stat. 3624; Pub. L.
117–355, § 5, Jan. 5, 2023, 136 Stat. 6279.)
Editorial Notes
AMENDMENTS
2023—Pub. L. 117–355 designated existing provisions as
subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b).
2004—Pub. L. 108—454 inserted ‘‘exchange,’’ after
‘‘agencies,’’.
1991—Pub. L. 102–83 renumbered section 1006 of this
title as this section.
1989—Pub. L. 101–237 substituted ‘‘Secretary’’ for ‘‘Ad-
ministrator’’ wherever
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