S. Rpt. 119-89 accompanies the "Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act" — legislation that falls within the Veterans' Affairs Committee's jurisdiction. Committee reports serve as the official legislative history of a bill, documenting what the legislation would do and why the committee recommends passage. Reports of this kind include the committee's section-by-section analysis, any amendments adopted during markup, the Congressional Budget Office cost estimate, dissenting views from minority members, and the legal basis for the legislation. Courts and agencies consult committee reports when interpreting enacted laws, making these documents important beyond the immediate legislative moment.
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Senate Report 119-89 - FALLEN SERVICEMEMBERS RELIGIOUS HERITAGE RESTORATION ACT
[Senate Report 119-89]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 201
119th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 119-89
======================================================================
FALLEN SERVICEMEMBERS RELIGIOUS HERITAGE RESTORATION ACT
_______
October 22 (legislative day, October 21), 2025.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Moran, from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1318]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to which was referred
the bill (S. 1318) to direct the American Battle Monuments
Commission to establish a program to identify American-Jewish
servicemembers buried in United States military cemeteries
overseas under markers that incorrectly represent their
religion and heritage, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
INTRODUCTION
On April 7, 2025, Senator Moran from Kansas introduced S.
1318, the Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration
Act. Senators Jacky Rosen from Nevada, Richard Blumenthal from
Connecticut, and John Cornyn from Texas are original
cosponsors. Senators Elissa Slotkin from Michigan, Adam Schiff
from California, Thomas Tillis from North Carolina, John
Boozman from Arkansas, Susan Collins from Maine, Ted Cruz from
Texas, Raphael Warnock from Georgia, Jim Banks from Indiana,
Patty Murray from Washington, David McCormick from
Pennsylvania, Mazie Hirono from Hawaii, Margaret Hassan from
New Hampshire, Peter Welch from Vermont, James Lankford from
Oklahoma, Jon Ossoff from Georgia, and Jon Husted from Ohio
were later added as cosponsors of the bill. The bill was
referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs (hereinafter,
``Committee'').
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
On May 21, 2025, the Committee held a hearing on
legislation pending before the Committee, including S. 1318.
Testimony was received from: Thomas O'Toole, MD, Acting
Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Clinical Services,
Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs; Morgan Brown, National Legislative Director, Paralyzed
Veterans of America; Brian Dempsey, Director, Government
Affairs, Wounded Warrior Project; and Jon Retzer, Deputy
National Legislative Director for Health, Disabled American
Veterans.
COMMITTEE MEETING
After reviewing the testimony from the foregoing hearing,
the Committee met in open session on July 30, 2025, to consider
S. 1318. The Committee, by voice vote, voted to favorably
report S. 1318, en bloc with other measures, to the Senate.
SUMMARY OF THE BILL AS REPORTED
S. 1318, as reported (hereinafter, ``the bill''), consists
of three sections, summarized below.
Section 1 provides the short title of the bill, the Fallen
Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act.
Section 2 lists findings by Congress including related
history and scale of American-Jewish servicemembers buried
under inaccurate grave markers.
Section 3 would establish a Fallen Servicemembers Religious
Heritage Restoration Program at the American Battle Monuments
Commission (ABMC).
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Sec. 3. Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program
Section 3 of the bill would direct the establishment of a
Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program
within ABMC with the purpose of identifying American-Jewish
servicemembers incorrectly buried under grave markers that do
not reflect their Jewish religious heritage and facilitating a
grave marker replacement.
The bill authorizes this program for the first 10 fiscal
years after the bill's enactment, and requires ABMC to award
contracts to qualifying nonprofit organizations, organizations
described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such
Code. Each contract would be awarded to the nonprofit
organization for one year and in the amount of $500,000. The
bill requires ABMC, in awarding such contracts, to prioritize
contracts to nonprofit organizations with demonstrated
capability and expertise in carrying out the purposes described
above.
Background
During World War II, the scale of burials conducted in
theater resulted, at times, in clerical errors concerning the
grave markers needed for the fallen. Additionally, some
American-Jewish servicemembers did not wish to publicly display
their faith on their dog tags when fighting against Nazi
Germany. Currently, there are approximately 900 American-Jewish
servicemembers who were killed in action during World Wars I
and II that are incorrectly buried under a Latin Cross grave
marker, instead of the Star of David. The Committee recognizes
the role that faith traditions play in the lives of those who
serve in uniform, and the importance of accurately depicting
the biographical and personal details of those buried in ABMC
cemeteries. Recognizing this importance, Senator Jerry Moran
from Kansas, the bill's lead sponsor, stated in an April 7,
2025, press release marking the introduction of the bill:
We owe a debt we can never repay to those who have
given their last full measure of devotion on behalf of
our nation and the freedoms we cherish, religious
liberty being chief among them. This legislation makes
certain that the religious heritage of those who have
died for our country, particularly Jewish-American
servicemembers, is rightfully represented at their
final resting places, providing their survivors with
assurance that their loved one's faith is being
acknowledged and memorialized with accuracy.
In that same press release, Senator Jacky Rosen from
Nevada, the bill's original cosponsor, stated that:
Our nation has a duty to fully honor the heroes who
made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms.
I'm proud to join Senator Moran in introducing this
bipartisan legislation to correct the headstones of
servicemembers by ensuring that the religious
affiliation of our fallen is properly and accurately
recognized.
During the course of typical meetings with organizations,
Congressional offices, and other partners active in the burial
and memorialization space, the Committee learned of many
American-Jewish servicemembers buried under inaccurate grave
markers--dispersed among the many thousands interred in ABMC's
26 cemeteries. Included in ABMC's stakeholders are the
descendants and loved ones of the veterans interred in ABMC
cemeteries, the militaries of the United States and of allied
and host countries, other government agencies, historians,
educators, cemetery visitors, the travel and tourism industry,
citizens of the United States and allied and host countries,
and the media. Nonprofit organizations partake in the type of
research and outreach needed to identify deceased members of
the Armed Forces who were Jewish and are buried in a United
States military cemetery located outside the United States and
under a marker that indicates such member was not Jewish. ABMC
will replace grave markers that contain mistakes, such as
incorrect religious affiliation.
This bill is meant to correct these, often unintentional or
incidental, errors by marshalling resources of the federal
government to partner with qualified entities that are well-
suited to expeditiously conduct the historical genealogical and
archival research to identify these fallen servicemembers and
connect with their families to facilitate a grave marker
replacement. Such replacement requests must both have
incontrovertible proof of the servicemember's religion and the
consent from the next of kin. This Committee is aware, and
supportive, of ABMC's ongoing partnership efforts to identify
and replace incorrect grave markers for American-Jewish
servicemembers buried in ABMC cemeteries and intends the bill
to be carried out in support of, and in conjunction with, those
existing efforts.
ABMC utilized two types of grave markers during World Wars
I and II, Latin Crosses and Stars of David. The program this
bill would establish is explicitly focused on American-Jewish
fallen servicemembers given the unique historical conditions
that caused many American-Jewish servicemembers to not
accurately reflect their faith on their dog tags. This is
amidst the challenges of burying large numbers of individuals
in the 1940s in a pre-digital world where clerical errors
happened and can be time-consuming to identify and rectify. The
bill authorizes this program for 10 years, which is an
appreciable amount of time to demonstrate progress on finding
these cases and facilitating grave marker replacements.
The focus is on World War II casualties to capitalize on
the benefit of remaining family members with either living
memory of the deceased, or closer familial memory. Since many
of these servicemembers in question were young unmarried men
with no children, identifying next of kin can be challenging
and take a long time. This program is important to invest in
now while these closer family members are still alive.
Bill
The bill would require ABMC to establish a Fallen
Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program. The
defined purpose of the program is, first, to identify American-
Jewish servicemembers incorrectly buried under grave markers
that do not reflect their Jewish religious heritage and,
second, to contact survivors and descendants of such decedents
with the purpose of facilitating a grave marker replacement.
The bill authorizes this program for the first 10 fiscal
years after the bill's enactment, and requires ABMC to award
contracts to qualifying nonprofit organizations, organizations
described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such
Code. Each contract would be awarded to the nonprofit
organization for one year and in the amount of $500,000. The
bill requires ABMC, in awarding such contracts, to prioritize
contracts to nonprofit organizations with demonstrated
capability and expertise in carrying out the purposes described
above.
Given the laborious and meticulous nature of research to
carry out this program, the bill directs that priority be given
to organizations with demonstrated capability and expertise.
With the passage of time, descendants pass away themselves and
verifying the biographical details of the fallen servicemembers
can grow more difficult. Government records can at times be
incomplete, missing, or damaged--such as certain Army and Air
Force records following the 1973 fire at the National Personnel
Records Center. Historical genealogical research can involve
field visits to synagogues, cemeteries, and archives, in
addition to research conducted online. Once identified,
surviving relatives and descendants can offer additional
documentation, memories, or other supporting evidence--but they
must be located first. Since many of the deceased have no
direct descendants, this type of research can be painstaking.
The contracts are intended to be open bid so that ABMC can
choose the best partner to work with to make the most impact,
with the understanding that while this universe of applicants
is likely small, no one organization is guaranteed a contract
or federal funding year over year.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget
Office:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 1318 would authorize annual appropriations of $500,000
for 10 years to the American Battle Monuments Commission for
the purpose of providing grants to nonprofit organizations. The
commission maintains American military cemeteries and memorials
outside of the United States. Grant recipients would use the
funds to identify the graves of Jewish U.S. service members who
are buried in those cemeteries under headstones or markers that
incorrectly indicate they were not Jewish. CBO estimates that
implementing the grant program would cost $5 million over the
2025-2035 period. Such spending would be subject to the
appropriation of the specified amounts.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall
within budget function 700 (veterans benefits and services).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER S. 1318
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2025- 2025-
2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2030 2035
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Authorization.................................. 0 1 * 1 * 1 * 1 * 1 * 3 5
Estimated Outlays........................................ 0 1 * 1 * 1 * 1 * 1 * 3 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = between zero and $500,000.
On August 8, 2025 CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
2701, the Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration
Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans'
Affairs on July 23, 2025. H.R. 2701 would authorize grants for
nonprofits for five years, rather than the 10-year period
specified in S. 1318. H.R. 2701 would reduce direct spending
for VA pensions; S. 1318 would not affect those benefits.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Logan Smith. The
estimate was reviewed by Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of
Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT
The Committee finds that the bill would impose regulatory
requirements on the American Battle Monuments Commission and
nonprofit partners, and could affect the personal privacy of
individuals by contacts to descendants of interred
servicemembers. The paperwork resulting from enactment is
expected to be minimal.
TABULATION OF VOTES CAST IN COMMITTEE
In compliance with paragraph 7(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the following is a tabulation of
votes cast in person or by proxy by members of the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs at its July 30, 2025, meeting.
During this meeting, Chairman Moran called up 23 bills,
including S. 1318, to be considered en bloc. The bills were
reported favorably by voice vote en bloc.
AGENCY REPORT
On May 21, 2025, the American Battle Monuments Commission
submitted a statement for the record (SFR) in support of S.
1318. That SFR is reprinted below:
Statement for the Record
s. 1318--fallen servicemembers religious heritage restoration act;
chairman moran (r-ks), rm blumenthal (d-ct), sen. rosen (d-nv), sen.
cornyn (r-tx)
Summary of bill: To direct the American Battle Monuments
Commission (ABMC) to establish a program to identify American-
Jewish servicemembers buried in a US military cemetery overseas
under markers that incorrectly represent their religion and
heritage, and for other purposes.
Official position: ABMC supports the proposed bill.
Statement for the record: Chairman Moran, Ranking Member
Blumenthal, and distinguished members of the Senate Committee
on Veterans' Affairs, thank you for your support of the
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and the opportunity
share ABMC's views on the proposed legislation and how it
benefits our mission.
Since ABMC was founded in 1923, the success of our mission
has depended on the engagement of our stakeholders. Over time,
our approach to accomplishing our mission has evolved to meet
the changing needs of these various individuals. We have
traditionally served:
Veterans, Family, and Friends Honored for
Their Service or Their Loss--We honor the veterans,
family members, and friends of United States (U.S.)
military who have served our country or endured the
loss of a loved one who served. This group has the
closest ties to our sites, and we strive to provide
them with the most positive experience possible. For
immediate family members who want to visit a family
member's burial or memorialization site, we provide
letters authorizing fee-free passports for traveling
overseas to visit the memorial site. In addition, we
offer a variety of other services, including
information on an individual buried or honored, and
escort services for family members visiting grave and
memorial sites within the cemetery.
Military and Public Officials--We host a
variety of special events and commemorations throughout
the year, including Memorial Day and Veterans Day
holidays, to honor the freedom preserved and restored
and the lives lost. Host country and U.S. government
officials, diplomats, and military representatives
attend these events with the public. In addition,
military units hold ceremonies to honor their fallen
comrades, and foreign organizations pay tribute to
those who died liberating their regions.
Guests and Visitors--We receive millions of
American and foreign visitors of all generations at
ABMC cemeteries and memorials. They learn and are
inspired by the stewardship of the sites themselves,
and the stories of our armed forces shared within our
visitor centers and contact stations. We provide a
variety of services to these visitors, including
direction, advice on modes of transportation, and
information on local accommodations.
ABMC Partners--We support and provide
information to our partners that help us further our
mission, including other government agencies,
historians and educators, the travel and tourism
industry, and the media. Through these partnerships, we
promote our mission, encourage visits to our
commemorative sites, and help educate and inspire the
public.
Recognizing the need for a federal agency to be responsible
for honoring the fallen members of American armed forces where
they had served abroad and for controlling the construction of
military monuments and markers on foreign soil, Congress
enacted legislation creating the ABMC.
As an independent agency of the Executive Branch, ABMC is
responsible for commemorating the service, achievements, and
sacrifice of American armed forces in the U.S. and where they
have served overseas since April 6, 1917 (the date of U.S.
entry into World War I), through the erection of suitable
memorial shrines; for designing, constructing, operating, and
maintaining permanent American military burial grounds in
foreign countries; for controlling the design and construction
of U.S. military monuments and markers in foreign countries by
other U.S. citizens and organizations, both public and private;
and for encouraging the maintenance of such monuments and
markers by their sponsors. In performing these functions, ABMC
administers, operates and maintains 26 permanent American
military burial grounds and 31 separate memorials, monuments
and markers, of which three are located in the U.S.
Nearly 208,000 U.S. war dead from World War I and World War
II are buried or memorialized on Walls of the Missing at ABMC
sites. Additionally, more than 8,200 war dead listed as missing
from the Korean War and 2,500 from the Vietnam War are
memorialized at ABMC's Honolulu Memorial. ABMC also administers
three cemeteries not associated with the world wars: Mexico
City National Cemetery, Corozal American Cemetery in Panama,
and Clark Veterans Cemetery in the Philippines. More than
15,000 members of the armed forces, veterans, and others are
interred in these sites.
Each grave site in the permanent American World War I and
World War II cemeteries on foreign soil is marked by a
headstone of white marble. Annotated on the headstones of the
World War I war dead who could not be identified is the phrase,
``HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO
GOD.'' In the World War II cemeteries, the words ``AMERICAN
SOLDIER'' were replaced with ``COMRADE IN ARMS.''
ABMC's World War I, World War II, and Mexico City
cemeteries are closed to future burials except for the remains
of U.S. war dead found from time to time in the World War I and
World War II battle areas. Corozal American Cemetery outside
Panama City, Panama, and Clark Veterans Cemetery in the
Philippines are the only active cemeteries that ABMC maintains.
The Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration
Act serves our stakeholders and as such, ABMC has no objections
to the purpose or language of S. 1318. However, ABMC requests
clarification regarding when the proposed funds will be
appropriated. In support of this legislation and to advance the
program and its merits, ABMC would prefer funds be appropriated
for this purpose in fiscal year (FY) 2026. If not appropriated
in FY 2026, ABMC will request funding in its (FY) 2027 budget
and the next ten budget cycles in support of this program.
ABMC's appropriations are used to maintain and operate the
26 overseas American cemeteries and 31 federal memorials,
monuments and markers that ABMC maintains on behalf of the
American people. Without the legislative authority and
accompanying funding, ABMC will remain focused on using its
appropriations for existing statutory authorities to achieve
its sacred duty of telling the story of service and sacrifice
of American men and women who fought to preserve our freedom
and now rest in American cemeteries overseas.
For nearly a decade, ABMC has partnered with Operation
Benjamin--a nonprofit organization of the type that is
described in the proposed bill--to identify American-Jewish
servicemembers who were mistakenly buried under Latin crosses
and replace those crosses with headstones bearing the Star of
David. ABMC is proud to bear witness to Operation Benjamin's
many successes and looks forward to embracing many new
endeavors of properly honoring the religion and heritage of
servicemember sacrifice in the causes of democracy and freedom
as outlined in S. 1318--Fallen Servicemembers Religious
Heritage Restoration Act.
Thank you for the opportunity to expand on ABMC's promise
to honor those entrusted to our care by preserving their legacy
of service and sacrifice for generations to come. Through this
proposed bill and appropriated funding, ABMC will ensure that
``time will not dim the glory of their deeds.''
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
Pursuant to paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules
of the Senate, the Committee finds no changes in existing law
made by S. 1318, as ordered reported.
[all]