WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) passed bipartisan legislation to identify and research Jewish-American servicemembers interred in American cemeteries overseas who are buried beneath grave markers that do not accurately reflect their religion and heritage. The bipartisan Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act will create a 10-year program within the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to identify and conduct research on servicemembers who are incorrectly memorialized and locate and contact their surviving descendants to facilitate a grave marker change to properly represent their religious heritage.
In order to process a grave marker replacement, ABMC will replace a grave marker containing an error, such as an inaccurate religious indication, and the process must be initiated by a decedent’s next of kin with supporting evidence.
“Our fallen veterans and servicemembers made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, and we owe it to them to ensure they are honored with dignity and accuracy at their final resting place,” said Sen. Rosen. “I’m glad to see that our bipartisan legislation to make sure our servicemembers and their faith are correctly reflected at their gravesites has passed the Senate.”
“All veterans, especially Jewish-American veterans who have served and sacrificed for our nation’s freedoms, deserve to have their faith accurately represented at their final resting places,” said Sen. Moran. “This legislation makes certain that the religious heritage of those who have died for our country is rightfully represented at their gravesites and gives their families the lasting comfort of knowing their loved one’s faith is recognized and memorialized with dignity and truth. I look forward to its swift passage in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
Senator Rosen has been actively working to ensure that veterans receive the recognition and support that they need. This year, she introduced the FORGOTTEN Veterans Act, which would ensure that veterans who served at classified locations within the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) since 1951 are able to prove that they served there, and can finally get the PACT Act benefits they deserve following their exposure to radiation from nuclear tests and other toxins. Senator Rosen also introduced a bipartisan bill with Senator Moran to incentivize employers to hire student veterans for part-time work and paid internships. She has also secured funding to increase access to affordable housing for veterans, continue building Nevada’s first national veterans cemetery in Elko, and increase funding for veterans’ access to telehealth.
###
