U.S. Code > Title 38 Veterans' Benefits > PART II—GENERAL BENEFITS (§§ 1101—2413) > CHAPTER 24—NATIONAL CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS (§§ 2400—2413) > § 2408. Aid to States for establishment, expansion, and improvement of veterans’ cemeteries

§ 2408. Aid to States for establishment, expansion, and improvement of veterans’ cemeteries

(a)
(1) Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary may make a grant to any State for the following purposes:
(A) Establishing, expanding, or improving a veterans’ cemetery owned by the State.
(B) Operating and maintaining such a cemetery.
(2) A grant under paragraph (1) may be made only upon submission of an application to the Secretary in such form and manner, and containing such information, as the Secretary may require.
(b) A grant under this section for a purpose described in subsection (a)(1)(A) shall be subject to the following conditions:
(1) The amount of such a grant may not exceed—
(A) in the case of the establishment of a new cemetery, the sum of:
(i) the cost of improvements to be made on the land to be converted into a cemetery; and
(ii) the cost of initial equipment necessary to operate the cemetery; and
(B) in the case of the expansion or improvement of an existing cemetery, the sum of:
(i) the cost of improvements to be made on any land to be added to the cemetery; and
(ii) the cost of any improvements to be made to the existing cemetery.
(2) If the amount of such a grant is less than the amount of costs referred to in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), the State receiving the grant shall contribute the excess of such costs over the grant.
(3) If a State that has received such a grant to establish, expand, or improve a veterans’ cemetery ceases to own such cemetery, ceases to operate such cemetery as a veterans’ cemetery, or uses any part of the funds provided through such grant for a purpose other than that for which the grant was made, the United States shall be entitled to recover from such State the total of all grants made under this section to such State in connection with such cemetery.
(c)
(1) In addition to the conditions specified in subsection (b) of this section, any grant to a State under this section to assist such State in establishing a veterans’ cemetery shall be made on the condition that such cemetery shall conform to such standards and guidelines relating to site selection, planning, and construction as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe. In prescribing regulations for the purposes of the preceding sentence, the Secretary shall take into account the standards and guidelines for site selection, planning, and construction that are applicable to cemeteries under the control of the National Cemetery Administration, including those provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section 2404 of this title.
(2) The Secretary may by regulation prescribe such additional terms and conditions for grants under this section as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(d)
(1) In addition to the conditions specified in subsections (b) and (c), any grant made to a State under this section shall be made subject to the condition specified in paragraph (2).
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the condition described in this paragraph is that, after the date of the receipt of the grant, such State prohibit the interment or memorialization in that cemetery of a person described in section 2411 (b) of this title, subject to the receipt of notice described in subsection (a)(2) of such section, except that for purposes of this subsection—
(A) such notice shall be furnished to an appropriate official of such State; and
(B) a finding described in subsection (b)(3) of such section shall be made by an appropriate official of such State.
(e)
(1) Amounts appropriated to carry out this section shall remain available until expended. If all funds from a grant under this section have not been utilized by a State for the purpose for which the grant was made within three years after such grant is made, the United States shall be entitled to recover any such unused grant funds from such State.
(2) In any fiscal year, the aggregate amount of grants awarded under this section for the purposes specified in subsection (a)(1)(B) may not exceed $5,000,000.
(f)
(1) The Secretary may make grants under this subsection to any tribal organization to assist the tribal organization in establishing, expanding, or improving veterans’ cemeteries, or in operating and maintaining such cemeteries, on trust land owned by, or held in trust for, the tribal organization.
(2) Grants under this subsection shall be made in the same manner, and under the same conditions, as grants to States are made under the preceding provisions of this section.
(3) For purposes of this subsection:
(A) The term “tribal organization” has the meaning given that term in section 3765 (4) of this title.
(B) The term “trust land” has the meaning given that term in section 3765 (1) of this title.