WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Senators Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine.) introduced the Ensuring Veterans’ Final Resting Place Act of 2025. Currently, veterans can receive VA burial benefits, including headstones, markers, or urns. However, those who choose an urn or plaque lose eligibility for burial in a VA cemetery, even if their spouse remains eligible. This bill would allow veterans with VA-provided urns or plaques to be buried in VA national cemeteries if their families choose. Rep. Rudy Yakym (IN-2) introduced the bill in the House.
Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.): “Military spouses make countless sacrifices in support of our servicemembers. We have a sacred duty to honor our nation’s heroes, and my bill ensures veterans, and their spouses are laid to rest with the respect they have earned.”
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine.): “Veterans serve our country with honor and deserve dignity in their final resting place. This bipartisan bill would ensure that the surviving families of fallen veterans can receive full VA burial benefits no matter what type of memorial their families choose.”
Key provisions of the bill are:
- Ensuring veterans and their spouses can be buried together, regardless of their chosen burial option.
- Allowing veterans who receive urns or plaques from the VA to still be buried in VA national cemeteries if their families choose.
Full bill text here.
Background:
This is the first time the Ensuring Veterans’ Final Resting Place Act has been introduced.
The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs considered the Ensuring Veterans’ Final Resting Place Act of 2025 in today’s hearing.
Read more about the bill here.