Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act
The Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act would require the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to create a five-year program—the Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program—to identify Jewish servicemembers buried overseas in U.S. military cemeteries who are currently marked with non-Jewish religious markers (often Latin Crosses) and to contact their surviving family members or descendants. The program would be carried out by contracting with a qualifying nonprofit organization (a 501(c)(3)) for up to five consecutive fiscal years, with annual funding of $500,000 and a priority given to organizations with relevant expertise. The bill also defines who counts as a “covered member” and would extend a pension-related deadline in federal law by roughly 14 months (from November 30, 2031 to January 31, 2032). If enacted, the measure would formalize an effort to correct historical misrepresentations of Jewish heritage on grave markers and honor the contributions of American-Jewish servicemembers.
Key Points
- 1Establishes the Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Program within the ABMC to identify covered members and contact survivors/descendants.
- 2Duration: the program would run for the first five fiscal years after enactment.
- 3Contracting mechanism: ABMC would contract annually with a nonprofit organization (a 501(c)(3)) to perform the program, with each contract set at $500,000 for one year, and priority given to capable organizations with relevant expertise.
- 4Definitions:
- 5- Covered member = a deceased Armed Forces member who was Jewish, buried in a U.S. military cemetery outside the United States, and whose grave marker indicates the member was not Jewish.
- 6- Nonprofit organization = an entity described in IRC 501(c)(3) and tax-exempt under 501(a).
- 7Pension-related extension: Amends Section 5503(d)(7) of title 38, U.S.C., by moving the cutoff date from November 30, 2031 to January 31, 2032.
- 8Purpose and findings focus on correcting misidentifications in burial markers and recognizing the heritage of Jewish servicemembers who fought for the United States.