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HR 7260

National Cemetery Administration Annual Report Act of 2026

119th Congress Introduced by Ryan Mackenzie and 1 co-sponsor

The bill requires the VA to publish an annual, comprehensive National Cemetery Administration report to Congress detailing interments, operations, and planning.

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
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Bill Summary · HR 7260

Purpose and intent

  • HR 7260, the National Cemetery Administration Annual Report Act of 2026, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide Congress with an annual, comprehensive report on the National Cemetery Administration (NCA).
  • The goal is to increase transparency and accountability by detailing NCA activities, operations, and planning related to national and related cemeteries.

Key provisions and changes

  • Creation of new reporting requirement:
    • Adds a new Section 2415 to Chapter 24 of title 38, United States Code.
    • Mandates that, not later than one year after enactment and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs must submit an annual report to the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs regarding NCA activities.
  • Required contents of each annual report (period covered by the report):
    1. Interments:
      • Total number of interments carried out, disaggregated by:
      • Open national cemeteries under NCA control (and in which they occurred).
      • Category of eligible person as described in section 2402(a) of title 38.
      • Interments of casketed and cremated remains.
    2. Customer satisfaction:
      • An assessment of the level of customer satisfaction with NCA.
    3. Cemetery maps:
      • A map of each national cemetery under NCA control, and maps of veterans' cemeteries owned by states/counties or tribal lands receiving grants under section 2408.
    4. Burial options:
      • Description of each open national cemetery’s burial options available to eligible individuals.
    5. Veterans interred in non-federal cemeteries:
      • Number interred in state/county or tribal-owned cemeteries funded by section 2408 grants.
    6. Honors and markers:
      • Number of Presidential memorial certificates, headstones, burial markers, and medallions furnished by NCA, disaggregated by eligible category and cemetery location.
    7. Construction projects:
      • Summary of major and minor construction projects completed during the period.
      • Description of planned major/minor projects for the first fiscal year after the period.
    8. Unclaimed remains:
      • Total number of interments of unclaimed remains, disaggregated by open national cemetery.
    9. Grants under programs:
      • Description of each grant made during the period under:
      • Section 2408 of title 38.
      • Section 1 of Public Law 116-107.
      • For each grant: recipient, amount, and purposes.
    10. Additional matters:
      • Any other matters the Secretary determines appropriate to include.
  • Public accessibility:
    • Reports must be made available in digital form on a VA public website.

Who and what is affected

  • Departments/Entities:
    • Department of Veterans Affairs, specifically the National Cemetery Administration.
  • Beneficiaries and stakeholders:
    • Eligible veterans and family members served by NCA cemeteries.
    • States, counties, and tribal organizations receiving grants under section 2408 (for state/tribal cemetery projects and interment support).
  • Congress:
    • The House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs would receive the annual reports and use them for oversight and policy discussions.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Enactment timing:
    • The Act specifies that the initial report is due not later than one year after enactment, followed by annual reporting.
  • Publication:
    • Each report must be published digitally on a public VA website.

Additional context

  • The bill is relatively descriptive in its reporting requirements, emphasizing interment data, user satisfaction, cemetery infrastructure, burial options, grants, and unclaimed remains.
  • It does not appear to create new spending authorities or authorize new programs beyond mandating reporting, but it could influence oversight, budgeting, and future policy discussions by providing standardized data.

Sponsors and status (as of provided text):
- Introduced January 27, 2026, by Rep. Mackenzie with Rep. McGarvey as a co-sponsor.
- Progress: Committee markings and votes noted, with a recent step indicating “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote” on May 14, 2026.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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