Congress creates database to identify unclaimed veteran remains
H.R. 9006 — Locating Our Unclaimed Veterans Act · Filed by David Valadao (R-CA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced May 21, 2026 · Markup held
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What it does
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to create a centralized database to track and identify unclaimed remains of veterans. The VA will collect information from coroners, state governments, and funeral homes, and coordinate with federal agencies (Social Security Administration, FBI, Department of Defense) to match unclaimed remains to veteran records and locate next-of-kin for proper burial or memorial services.
Why we flagged it
The bill establishes a straightforward administrative system within the VA to identify and process unclaimed veteran remains through inter-agency data coordination. It is a public-service measure with no hidden commercial or political benefit.
What the text implies
- The three-year sunset clause means the system will expire unless Congress reauthorizes it, potentially disrupting ongoing identification efforts if reauthorization is delayed or forgotten.
- Data-sharing memoranda with FBI, SSA, and DoD create a centralized federal database linking veteran identity records; privacy implications of this cross-agency integration are not explicitly addressed in the bill text.
- The bill does not specify funding levels or staffing requirements, leaving implementation scope and speed uncertain.
Who it affects
Veterans and their families benefit from a systematic effort to identify and honor unclaimed remains, ensuring dignified treatment and closure. The public interest is served by ensuring no veteran is left unidentified or improperly handled. There are no apparent costs to ordinary citizens.
Named in the bill
Department of Veterans Affairs, Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Benefits, Social Security Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- May 21, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- May 21, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Veterans' Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs”
- Jun 25, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
- Jun 30, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $50,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 17 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
David Valadao, the sponsor, reported $2,024,902 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- National Funeral Directors Assn — $50,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 13, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jul 9, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 13, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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