{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://kennedy.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2310", "Kennedy\u2019s Honoring Our Heroes Act Passes the House of Representatives", "2025-09-17", "2025", "2025-09", "Republican", "Senate", "LA", "John Kennedy", "K000393", "kennedy.house.gov", "kennedy", "https://kennedy.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Legislation to Guarantee Burial Honors for U.S. Veterans Received Strong Bipartisan Support\n\nBill Now Heads to the Senate for Consideration\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 The House of Representatives has passed Congressman Tim Kennedy\u2019s legislation, H.R. 2721, the Honoring Our Heroes Act. If enacted into law, this legislation would correct a long-standing inequity in how the Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes veterans who have passed away. The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate for final passage.\n\n(Congressman Kennedy\u2019s remarks here.)\n\n\u201cAs Members of Congress, we have a moral obligation to fully honor the heroes who fought for this country,\u201d said Congressman Kennedy. \u201cThe families left behind are simply asking our government to properly recognize the bravery and dedication of their loved ones \u2013 Americans who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedoms we all hold dear.\u201d\n\nUnder current federal law, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) does not provide government-issued headstones for veterans who died before November 1, 1990, leaving their families unable to secure this honor for their loved ones. Kennedy\u2019s legislation establishes a seven-year pilot program to allow eligible family members to request a VA headstone for veterans who died on or after December 7, 1941, when America entered World War II, provided they have not already received a marker, medallion, or headstone.\n\nFor decades, loved ones of veterans who served their country honorably have faced the painful reality of being denied this final recognition because of an arbitrary cutoff date. By expanding eligibility, the Honoring Our Heroes Act ensures that families will now have the opportunity to see their relatives remembered with the same dignity and respect as their fellow veterans.\n\nPassage of the bill marks an important step toward fairness for military families in Western New York and nationwide. It guarantees that service is honored consistently, regardless of when a veteran passed away, and it gives families the chance to properly memorialize those who answered the call to serve. For the thousands of families who have waited years for this recognition, this legislation represents not just policy change, but a long-overdue acknowledgment of sacrifice and service.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T15:07:37Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://kennedy.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2310"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.012242864817381, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}