Bertie’s Respect for National Cemeteries Act

Bertie’s Respect for National Cemeteries Act aims to tighten how the National Cemetery Administration and Arlington National Cemetery handle interments for people who have committed Federal or State capital crimes, and to order the disinterment of a named individual, George E. Siple, from Indiantown Gap National Cemetery. The bill would require federal officials to take proactive steps—such as checking public records—to verify eligibility before interment or memorialization in national cemeteries and would expand the authority to disinter remains when necessary. It also codifies, with a date-of-enactment trigger, that these procedures apply to interments or memorializations occurring after the law’s enactment. A separate provision directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter George E. Siple’s remains and to notify his next of kin. In short, the bill strengthens enforcement of existing prohibitions on burying or memorializing individuals who have committed capital crimes in national cemeteries and explicitly prioritizes a disinterment action in a named case, with required kin notification.