Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 87.djvu/112

 80

PUBLIC LAW 93-43-JUNE18, 1973

23 USC 901. 72 Stat. 1170; 75 Stat. 218.

s/statrVole!^'

8ostlT^29^^^' 38 USC 902.

Ante, p. 75.

Ante,

p. 76.

80 Stat. 548.

[87 STAT.

SEC. 5. (a) Chapter 23 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by— (1) amending section 903 to read as follows: "§ 903. Death in Veterans' Administration facility; plot allowance " (a) Where death occurs in a Veterans' Administration facility to which the deceased was properly admitted for hospital or domiciliary c^'^^ under section 610 or 611 of this title, the Administrator— " (1) shall pay the actual cost (not to exceed $250) of the burial and funeral or, within such limits, may make contracts for such services without regard to the laws requiring advertisement for proposals for supplies and services for the Veterans' Administration; and "(2) shall, when such a death occurs in a State, transport the body to the place of burial in the same or any other State. " (b) I n addition to the foregoing, if such a veteran, or a veteran eligible for a burial allowance under section 902 of this title, is not buried in a national cemetery or other cemetery under the jurisdiction of the United States, the Administrator, in his discretion, having due regard for the circumstances in each case, may pay a sum not exceeding $150, as a plot or interment allowance to such person as he prescribes. I n any case where any part of the plot or interment expenses have been paid or assumed by a State, any agency or political subdivision of a State, or the employer of the deceased veteran, no claim for such allowance shall be allowed for more than the difference between the entire amount of the expenses incurred and the amount paid or assumed by any or all of the foregoing entities."; and (2) adding at the end of such chapter the following new sections: "§ 906. Headstones and markers " (a) The Administrator shall furnish, when requested, appropriate Government headstones or markers at the expense of the United States for the unmarked graves of the following: "(1) Any individual buried in a national cemetery or in a post cemetery. "(2) Any individual eligible for burial in a national cemetery (but not buried there), except for those persons or classes of persons enumerated in section 1002(4), (5), and (6) of this title. "(3) Soldiers of the Union and Confederate Armies of the Civil War. " (b) The Administrator shall furnish, when requested, an appropriate memorial headstone or marker to commemorate any veteran dying in the service, and whose remains have not been recovered or identified or were buried at sea, for placement by the applicant in a national cemetery area reserved for such purposes under the provisions of section 1003 of this title, or in any private or local cemetery. "§ 907. Death from service-connected disability "In any case in which a veteran dies as the result of a serviceconnected disability or disabilities, the Administrator, upon the request of the survivors of such veteran, shall pay the burial and funeral expenses incurred in connection with the death of the veteran in an amount not exceeding the amount authorized to be paid under section 8134(a) of title 5 in the case of a Federal employee whose death occurs as the result of an injury sustained in the performance of duty. Funeral and burial benefits provided under this section shall be in lieu of any benefits authorized under sections 902 and 903 (a)(1) and (b) of this title."

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