This part sets forth the mechanism for a State or Tribal Organization to obtain a grant to establish, expand, or improve a veterans cemetery that meets VA's national shrine standards of appearance that is or will be owned by the State, or operated by a Tribal Organization on trust land, or to obtain a grant to operate or maintain a State or Tribal veterans cemetery to meet VA's national shrine standards of appearance.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 2408) [77 FR 4472, Jan. 30, 2012]

For the purpose of this part:

Establishment means the process of site selection, land acquisition, design and planning, earth moving, landscaping, construction, and provision of initial operating equipment necessary to convert a tract of land to an operational veterans cemetery.

Establishment, Expansion, and Improvement Project means an undertaking to establish, expand, or improve a site for use as a State or Tribal veterans cemetery.

Expansion means an increase in the burial capacity or acreage of an existing cemetery through the addition of gravesites and other facilities, such as committal service shelters, crypts (preplaced grave liners), and columbaria, necessary for the functioning of a cemetery.

Improvement means the enhancement of a cemetery through landscaping, construction, or renovation of cemetery infrastructure, such as building expansion and upgrades to roads and irrigation systems that is not directly related to the development of new gravesites: nonrecurring maintenance; and the addition of other features appropriate to cemeteries.

Indian Tribe means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village or Regional or Village Corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.

Operation and Maintenance Project means a project that assists a State or Tribal Organization to achieve VA's national shrine standards of appearance in the key cemetery operational areas of cleanliness, height and alignment of headstones and markers, leveling of gravesites, and turf conditions.

Secretary means the Secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

State means each of the States, Territories, and possessions of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Tribal Organization means:

(1) The recognized governing body of any Indian Tribe;

(2) Any legally established organization of Indians that is controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by such governing body or is democratically elected by the adult members of the Indian community to be served by such organization and which includes the maximum participation of Indians in all phases of its activities;

(3) The Department of Hawaiian Homelands; and

(4) Such other organizations as the Secretary may prescribe.

Trust land means any land that:

(1) Is held in trust by the United States for Native Americans;

(2) Is subject to restrictions on alienation imposed by the United States on Indian lands, including native Hawaiian homelands;

(3) Is owned by a Regional Corporation or a Village Corporation as defined in 43 U.S.C. 1602(g) and (j); or

(4) Is on any island in the Pacific Ocean if such land is, by cultural tradition, communally-owned land, as determined by the Secretary.

VA means the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the Veterans Cemetery Grants Service.

Veteran means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service who died in line of duty while in service or was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.

Veterans Cemetery Grants Service (VCGS) means the Veterans Cemetery Grants Service within VA's National Cemetery Administration.

(Authority: 25 U.S.C. 450b(l), 38 U.S.C. 101, 501, 2408, 3765) [77 FR 4472, Jan. 30, 2012]

(a) The priority groups, with Priority Group 1 having the highest priority and Priority Group 4 the lowest priority, are:

(1) Priority Group 1—Projects needed to avoid disruption in burial service that would otherwise occur at existing veterans cemeteries within 4 years of the date of the preapplication. Such projects would include expansion projects as well as improvement projects (such as construction of additional or replacement facilities) when such improvements are required to continue interment operations.

(2) Priority Group 2—Projects for the establishment of new veterans cemeteries.

(3) Priority Group 3—Expansion projects at existing veterans cemeteries when a disruption in burial service due to the exhaustion of existing gravesites is not expected to occur within 4 years of the date of the preapplication.

(4) Priority Group 4—Improvement projects for cemetery landscaping or infrastructure, such as building expansion and upgrades to roads and irrigation systems, that are not directly related to the development of new gravesites. Operation and Maintenance Projects that address NCA's national shrine standards of appearance are included in this group.

(b) Within Priority Groups 1, 2, and 3, highest priority will be given to projects in geographical locations with the greatest number of veterans who will benefit from the project as determined by VA. This prioritization system, based on veteran population data, will assist VA in maintaining and improving access to burial in a veterans cemetery to more veterans and their eligible family members. Within Priority Group 1, at the discretion of VA, higher priority may be given to a project that must be funded that fiscal year to avoid disruption in burial service.

(c) Grants for projects within Priority Group 4 will be awarded in any fiscal year only after grants for all project applications under Priority Groups 1, 2, and 3 that are ready for funding have been awarded. Within Priority Group 4, projects will be ranked in priority order based upon VA's determination of the relative importance of proposed improvements and the degree to which proposed Operation and Maintenance Projects achieve NCA national shrine standards of appearance. No more than $10 million in any fiscal year will be awarded for Operation and Maintenance Projects under Priority Group 4.

(d) By October 1 of each year, VA will make a list prioritizing all preapplications that were received on or before July 1 of that year and that were approved under § 39.31 or § 39.81, ranking them in their order of priority within the applicable Priority Group for funding during the fiscal year. Preapplications from previous years will be re-prioritized each year and do not need to be resubmitted.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 2408) [75 FR 34005, June 16, 2010, as amended at 87 FR 80461, Dec. 30, 2022]

Decisions required under this part will be made by the VA Director, Veterans Cemetery Grants Service (VCGS), National Cemetery Administration, unless otherwise specified in this part. The VA decisionmaker will provide to affected States and Tribal Organizations written notice of approvals, denials, or requests for additional information under this part.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 2408) [77 FR 4473, Jan. 30, 2012]

All information and documents required to be submitted to VA must be submitted to the Director of the Veterans Cemetery Grants Service, National Cemetery Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420. All forms cited in this part are available at http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/scg_grants.asp.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 2408) [77 FR 4473, Jan. 30, 2012]

A State or Tribal Organization seeking to amend a grant application must submit revised Standard Forms 424 (Application for Federal Assistance) and 424C (Budget Information) with a narrative description of, and justification for, the amendment. Any amendment of an application that changes the scope of the application or increases the amount of the grant requested, whether or not the application has already been approved, shall be subject to approval by VA in the same manner as an original application.

(The Office of Management and Budget has approved the information collection requirements in this section under control numbers 4040-0004 and 4040-0008) (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 2408) [77 FR 4473, Jan. 30, 2012]

After a grant has been awarded, upon request from the State or Tribal Organization representative, VA may approve a change in one or more line items (line items are identified in Standard Form 424C) of up to 10 percent (increase or decrease) of the cost of each line item if the change would be within the scope or objective of the project and the aggregate adjustments would not increase the total amount of the grant.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 2408) [77 FR 4473, Jan. 30, 2012]

A State or Tribal Organization representative may withdraw an application by submitting to VA a written document requesting withdrawal.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 2408) [77 FR 4473, Jan. 30, 2012]

(a) No application for a grant under this part shall be disapproved until the applicant has been afforded an opportunity for a hearing.

(b) Whenever a hearing is requested under this section, notice of the hearing, procedure for the conduct of such hearing, and procedures relating to decisions and notices shall accord with the provisions of §§ 18.9 and 18.10 of this chapter. Failure of an applicant to request a hearing under this section or to appear at a hearing for which a date has been set shall be deemed to be a waiver of the right to be heard and constitutes consent to the making of a decision on the basis of such information as is available.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 2408)

(a) In order to qualify for a grant, a State or Tribal veterans cemetery must be operated solely for the interment of veterans, their spouses, surviving spouses, minor children, unmarried adult children who were physically or mentally disabled and incapable of self-support, and eligible parents of certain deceased service members.

(b) Any grant under this part made on or after November 21, 1997, is made on the condition that, after the date of receipt of the grant, the State or Tribal Organization receiving the grant, subject to requirements for receipt of notice in 38 U.S.C. 2408 and 2411, will prohibit in the cemetery for which the grant is awarded the interment of the remains or the memorialization of any person:

(1) Who has been convicted of a Federal capital crime, as defined in 38 CFR 38.600(a), and whose conviction is final, other than a person whose sentence was commuted by the President;

(2) Who has been convicted of a State capital crime, as defined in 38 CFR 38.600(a), and whose conviction is final, other than a person whose sentence was commuted by the Governor of a State.

(3) Who has been found by an appropriate State official, as defined in 38 CFR 38.600(a), under procedures to be established by the State, to have committed a Federal or State capital crime, as defined in 38 CFR 38.600(a), but to have not been convicted of such crime by reason of unavailability for trial due to death or flight to avoid prosecution.

(4) Who has been convicted of a Federal or State crime causing the person to be a tier III sex offender for purposes of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (34 U.S.C. 20901, et seq.); who, for such crime, is sentenced to a minimum of life imprisonment or to a period of 99 years or more; and whose conviction is final (other than a person whose sentence was commuted by the President or Governor of a State).

(5) Who has been found by an appropriate State official, as defined in § 38.600(a) of this part, under procedures to be established by the State, to have committed a Federal or State crime that would cause the person to be a tier III sex offender for purposes of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (34 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.) but avoided conviction of such crime by reason of unavailability for trial due to death or flight to avoid prosecution.

(c) If a State or Tribal Organization which has received a grant under this part ceases to own the cemetery for which the grant was made, ceases to operate such cemetery as a veterans cemetery in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section, violates the prohibition in paragraph (b) of this section, 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 the State or Tribal Organization the total of all grants made to the State or Tribal Organization under this part in connection with such cemetery.

(d) If, within 3 years after VA has certified to the Department of the Treasury an approved grant application, not all funds from the grant have been used by the State or Tribal Organization for the purpose for which the grant was made, the United States shall be entitled to recover any unused grant funds from the State or Tribal Organization.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 2408, 2411) [75 FR 34005, June 16, 2010, as amended at 77 FR 4473, Jan. 30, 2012; 84 FR 5955, Feb. 25, 2019; 86 FR 43102, Aug. 6, 2021; 89 FR 31638, Apr. 25, 2024]

Neither the Secretary nor any employee of VA shall exercise any supervision or control over the administration, personnel, maintenance, or operation of any State or Tribal veterans cemetery that receives a grant under this program except as prescribed in this part.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 2408) [77 FR 4474, Jan. 30, 2012]