Veteran Burial Timeliness and Death Certificate Accountability Act
Take action
Record your position on this measure.
Create an account to record your position, submit testimony, or contact your legislator.
Progress
Where this bill stands in the legislative process.
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To President
- Became Law
Overview
This bill aims to ensure veterans receive timely death certificates and are buried promptly. It requires VA physicians or nurse practitioners to certify a veteran’s death within 48 hours of learning of the death, with a coroner or medical examiner serving as an alternative if the VA provider cannot meet the deadline. The bill also mandates the VA to report annually on compliance with these certification requirements, detailing the number of cases where deadlines were met and those where they were not, along with the reasons for the delays.
Key provisions
- VA physicians or nurse practitioners must certify a veteran’s death within 48 hours of learning of the death.
- A coroner or medical examiner can certify the death if the VA provider cannot meet the 48-hour deadline.
- The VA must submit an annual report to Congress detailing compliance with the certification requirements.
- The report will include the percentage of compliant cases and the number of non-compliant cases.
- The report will also identify the most common reasons for non-compliance.
- The bill applies to veterans who die from natural causes.
Who is affected
- Veterans
- Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) physicians and nurse practitioners
- Coroners and medical examiners
- Families of deceased veterans
- Congressional Committees on Veterans’ Affairs
Notable changes
Bill text
Read the latest version inline or switch to a previous version.
Text extraction is in progress. View the official source.
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
150 on record
Primary sponsor
Cosponsors
Arguments
Reasons offered for and against this legislation.
Arguments in favor
No arguments in favor have been submitted.
Submit yoursArguments opposed
No arguments opposed have been submitted.
Submit yours