Honoring Our Heroes Act of 2025
Honoring Our Heroes Act of 2025
Plain Language Summary
# Honoring Our Heroes Act of 2025 — Plain Language Summary **What the Bill Does:** This bill would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide free headstones or burial markers for older veterans who have passed away. Currently, this benefit is only available to veterans who died after November 1, 1990. The new bill would extend this benefit to veterans who died before that date, as long as they were discharged honorably or under other-than-dishonorable conditions.
The program would run as a two-year pilot to test how it works before potentially becoming permanent. **Who It Affects:** The bill primarily affects families of deceased veterans who died before November 1, 1990, and who were not discharged dishonorably. It also requires the VA to update its website with clearer information about eligibility requirements for headstones and burial markers, which would help any veteran's family understand what benefits they might qualify for. **Current Status:** The bill has passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting further action in the Senate. No companion bill in the Senate has been identified yet.
CRS Official Summary
Honoring Our Heroes Act of 2025This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish and implement a two-year pilot program to furnish, when requested, an appropriate headstone or burial marker to commemorate covered veterans. Covered veterans are veterans who died on or before November 1, 1990, and were released or discharged from service under conditions other than dishonorable. Currently, these benefits are only available to eligible veterans who died on or after November 1, 1990.The bill requires the VA to update the National Cemetery Administration website with respect to the requirements for eligibility for a headstone or burial marker.
Latest Action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.