Veteran Burial Timeliness and Death Certificate Accountability Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2309 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2309

 To direct a physician or nurse practitioner employed by the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs to certify the death of a veteran not later than 48
hours after such physician or nurse practitioner learns of such death,
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 16, 2025

Mr. Boozman (for himself and Ms. Hassan) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To direct a physician or nurse practitioner employed by the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs to certify the death of a veteran not later than 48
hours after such physician or nurse practitioner learns of such death,
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veteran Burial Timeliness and Death
Certificate Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) States and counties have reported significant delays in
        the signing of death certificates for veterans who pass away
        from natural causes.
            (2) Such delays, caused by the refusal of, or postponement
        by, physicians of the Department of Veterans Affairs have, in
        some cases, lasted as long as eight weeks.
            (3) Such delays prevent the timely burial of deceased
        veterans and access to survivor benefits.

SEC. 3. TIMELY CERTIFICATION OF THE DEATH OF A VETERAN.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) VA physician or nurse practitioner.--Subject to
        paragraph (2), a physician or nurse practitioner employed by
        the Secretary of Veterans Affairs who is the primary care
        provider of a veteran who dies of natural causes shall certify
        the death of such veteran not later than 48 hours after such
        physician or nurse practitioner learns of such death.
            (2) Coroner or medical examiner.--If a physician or nurse
        practitioner described in paragraph (1) cannot comply with such
        paragraph with respect to a death described in such paragraph,
        a coroner or medical examiner in the jurisdiction where such
        death occurred may certify such death.
    (b) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of
        the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
        Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of
        the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House
        of Representatives a report regarding compliance with
        subsection (a).
            (2) Elements.--Each report required under paragraph (1)
        shall include, with respect to the year preceding the date of
        the report, the following elements:
                    (A) The percentage of cases in which a physician or
                nurse practitioner employed by the Secretary complied
                with subsection (a)(1).
                    (B) The number of cases in which such a physician
                or nurse practitioner could not so comply.
                    (C) An identification of the most common reasons
                why such a physician or nurse practitioner could not so
                comply.
    (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall require any
employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs, including a physician
or nurse practitioner, to take an action not in compliance with the
laws, regulations, or requirements of the appropriate jurisdiction in
which the employee is licensed or practicing, or in which a death may
need to be certified.
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