A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation to give the Department of Veterans affairs retroactive authority to disinter the remains of veterans from national cemeteries who would have been deemed ineligible for such a burial under current law.

The VA currently has the authority to disinter the remains of veterans and service members who have committed serious crimes. But under current law, the VA can only reconsider eligibility for burial in national cemeteries for cases dating back to 2013.

Families and victims’ advocates seeking disinterments for crimes committed prior need to secure a specific act of Congress.

“Rather than setting an arbitrary cutoff for disinterment requests, this legislation will help ensure that the process is available to everyone,” said U.S. Sen.

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