WASHINGTON, D.C. – In 1985, U.S. Air Force Veteran Dennis “Denny” Krisfalusy and his wife, Lois, tragically died during an earthquake in Mexico City. While neither of their remains were found, Dennis received a memorial headstone at the Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Pennsylvania. Lois was ineligible to have her name added due to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) date restriction. Under existing law, the VA can only provide burial markers or headstones for spouses and dependent children who died after Nov. 11, 1998, and before Oct. 1, 2025.

U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Dave McCormick (R-PA) introduced their bipartisan Dennis and Lois Krisfalusy Act today to eliminate this restriction and permanently expand VA burial benefits for veterans and their families.

“Families of service members sacrifice and serve alongside their loved ones, but outdated restrictions prohibit the VA from providing a memorial headstone for military spouses and dependents if they passed away before 1998,” said Cramer. “I joined Senator Fetterman in reintroducing our bipartisan Dennis and Lois Krisfalusy Act to remove this hurdle, honoring the service of these family members to our nation.”

“We can never repay the debt we owe our veterans and their families for their sacrifices to keep our country safe. We have a responsibility to honor those sacrifices regardless of when a family member died,” said Fetterman. “Lois Krisfalusy should be honored with her husband, Dennis – but arbitrary barriers are preventing that. It’s common sense that families like theirs deserve to be laid to rest together, and I’m proud to lead a bipartisan effort to correct this injustice.”

“Our veterans put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms, and we owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid,” said McCormick. “I’m proud to support this commonsense bill amending restrictions on military memorial headstones for families of veterans before 1998. Bureaucracy should not stand in the way of our veterans and their families being laid to rest honorably while also recognizing their service.”

Click here for bill text.