I
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3544
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 9, 2009
Mr. Filner introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide guidelines for the establishment of new national cemeteries by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
National Cemeteries Expansion Act of
2009
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Establishment of new national cemeteries by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Section 2404 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
In selecting a location for the establishment of a new national cemetery under this chapter, the Secretary shall give priority to a location where at least 110,000 veterans reside within a 75-mile radius of the location.
In conducting an annual performance measure of the percentage of veterans who are served by any cemetery, the Secretary shall—
use census tracts, rather than counties, as the primary geographic unit to test and identify potential locations for new national cemeteries and to determine the percentage of veterans served;
use methods to avoid the double counting of veterans in overlapping service areas; and
count veterans who reside in counties bisected by a service area using a proportional overlay method.
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