HR4398Referred to Committee

Veteran Burial Timeliness and Death Certificate Accountability Act

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2025-07-15
Introduced
157
Cosponsors
HR
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Tom Emmer
Tom Emmer
Republican · MN · Representative
Votes with party: 98.9% (664 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/E000294

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (157)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Subcommittee Hearings Held

2026-06-30

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

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Plain-English Summary

This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to bury deceased veterans within a specific timeframe and establish accountability measures when those deadlines are missed. It aims to address delays that have left some veteran families waiting extended periods for their loved ones' final burials, while also ensuring death certificates are processed promptly. The legislation would affect veterans' families and VA burial operations across the country.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Armed Forces and National Security

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 4398 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 4398 To direct a physician or nurse practitioner employed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to certify the death of a veteran not later than 48 hours after such physician or nurse practitioner learns of such death, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 15, 2025 Mr. Emmer (for himself, Mr. Reschenthaler, Mr. Garbarino, Mr. DesJarlais, Mr. Latta, Ms. Malliotakis, Mr. Self, Ms. Tenney, Mr. LaLota, Mr. Womack, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Stauber, Mr. Alford, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Van Orden, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Lawler, Mr. Fulcher, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. Patronis, Mr. Mackenzie, Ms. McBride, Mr. Finstad, Mr. Owens, Mr. Costa, Mr. Calvert, Mrs. Kim, Mr. Nehls, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Fry, Mr. Gooden, Mr. Wied, Mr. Williams of Texas, Mr. Moylan, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Ciscomani, Mr. Rose, Mr. Strong, Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Steil, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr. Feenstra, Mrs. Fischbach, Mr. Tiffany, Ms. Van Duyne, Mr. Flood, Mr. Moore of West Virginia, and Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To direct a physician or nurse practitioner employed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to certify the death of a veteran not later than 48 hours after such physician or nurse practitioner learns of such death, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Veteran Burial Timeliness and Death Certificate Accountability Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) States and counties have reported significant delays in the signing of death certificates for veterans who pass away from natural causes. (2) Such delays, caused by the refusal of, or postponement by, physicians of the Department of Veterans Affairs have, in some cases, lasted as long as eight weeks. (3) Such delays prevent the timely burial of deceased veterans and access to survivor benefits. SEC. 3. TIMELY CERTIFICATION OF THE DEATH OF A VETERAN. (a) In General.-- (1) VA physician or nurse practitioner.--Subject to paragraph (2), a physician or nurse practitioner employed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs who is the primary care provider of a veteran who dies of natural causes shall certify the death of such veteran not later than 48 hours after such physician or nurse practitioner learns of such death. (2) Coroner or medical examiner.--If a physician or nurse practitioner described in paragraph (1) cannot comply with such subsection with regards to a death described in such paragraph, a coroner or medical examiner in the jurisdiction where such death occurred may certify such death. (b) Report.--One year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report regarding compliance with subsection (a). Such a report shall include, with regards to the year preceding the date of the report, the following elements: (1) The percentage of cases in which a physician or nurse practitioner employed by the Secretary complied with paragraph (1) of such subsection. (2) The number of cases in which such a physician or nurse practitioner could not so comply. (3) The most common reasons why such a physician or nurse practitioner could not so comply. <all>
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