S. 4949 · 117th Congress

National Cemeteries Preservation and Protection Act of 2022

Introduced on Sep 27, 2022 by Jon Tester (D-MT). One cosponsor. Became Public Law 117-355.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 117-355
Introduced
Sep 27, 2022
Cosponsors
1
1 from the other party
Policy area
Armed Forces and National Security
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Official title

A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to address green burial sections in national cemeteries, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Cemeteries and funerals
  • Federal-Indian relations
  • Indian lands and resources rights
  • Land transfers
  • Sex offenses
  • Veterans' organizations and recognition

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Jan 5, 2023). Public domain.

National Cemeteries Preservation and Protection Act of 2022

This act addresses the administration and jurisdiction of national cemeteries.

Specifically, the act requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay a plot or interment allowance for a veteran if the veteran was buried before March 15, 2022, in a cemetery on trust land owned by, or held in trust for, a tribal organization, and the organization that maintains or operates the cemetery applies for such allowance. Such allowance is only authorized if a plot or interment allowance was not already paid for the burial of such veteran.

The act also authorizes the VA to designate green burial sections in national cemeteries (i.e., sections of cemeteries in which the remains of individuals have been prepared for interment in a manner not involving chemicals or embalming fluids and have been interred in a natural manner or completely biodegradable burial receptacle).

The act authorizes the Department of the Army to transfer certain lands to the VA to expand the Fort Bliss National Cemetery.

In addition, the act authorizes the Department of the Interior to transfer certain land to the VA for the land to be used as a national cemetery.

Finally, the act prohibits persons who have committed certain crimes from being interred or memorialized in a cemetery in the National Cemetery Administration or in Arlington National Cemetery.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Jon TesterD-MTSponsor

Republicans · 1

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Sep 27, 2022Introduced in Senate
  2. Sep 27, 2022 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  3. Dec 19, 2022Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
  4. Dec 19, 2022 · SenateSenate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
  5. Dec 19, 2022Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S7303-7304; text: CR S7303-7304)
  6. Dec 19, 2022 · SenatePassed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S7303-7304; text: CR S7303-7304)
  7. Dec 20, 2022 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  8. Dec 21, 2022 · HouseReceived in the House.
  9. Dec 21, 2022 · HouseHeld at the desk.
  10. Dec 22, 2022 · HouseMr. Takano moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  11. Dec 22, 2022 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H10038-10040)
  12. Dec 22, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 4949.
  13. Dec 22, 2022Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H10038-10039)
  14. Dec 22, 2022 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H10038-10039)
  15. Dec 22, 2022 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  16. Dec 28, 2022Presented to President.
  17. Dec 28, 2022 · HousePresented to President.
  18. Jan 5, 2023Signed by President.
  19. Jan 5, 2023Signed by President.
  20. Jan 5, 2023Became Public Law No: 117-355.
  21. Jan 5, 2023Became Public Law No: 117-355.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. WSSC Water1 report
    $40K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.