Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senators John Fetterman (D-PA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Dave McCormick (R-PA) introduced the Dennis and Lois Krisfalusy Act, a bipartisan bill to permanently expand the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) burial benefits. This legislation would allow the VA to provide memorial headstones or markers for veterans, their spouses, and dependent children, regardless of when they passed away, ensuring military families are properly honored together.
“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 Senator 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.”
“Families of service members sacrifice and serve alongside their loved ones, but outdated restrictions prohibit the VA from providing a memorial headstone for military spouses and dependents if they passed away before 1998,” said Senator Cramer.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.”
“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,” Senator McCormick said. “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.”
The bill is named in honor of Dennis “Denny” Krisfalusy, a U.S. Air Force veteran from Washington County, Pennsylvania, who served during the Vietnam War. In 1985, Dennis and his wife, Lois Krisfalusy, tragically died during an earthquake in Mexico City, with neither of their remains recovered. Though Dennis received a memorial headstone at the Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Pennsylvania, Lois was ineligible to have her name added under current VA regulations due to an arbitrary date restriction.
The Dennis and Lois Krisfalusy Act removes these restrictions, allowing spouses like Lois to be memorialized alongside their veteran loved ones. Under current law, only spouses who died after November 11, 1998, and before October 1, 2025, are eligible for VA burial markers. This bill eliminates that limitation and permanently extends the benefit to all qualifying military families.
“On behalf of the Krisfalusy family, I would like to thank the bipartisan leadership of Senators Fetterman and Cramer, as well as Reps. Reschenthaler, Deluzio, Meuser, Kelly (PA), G.T. Thompson, and Brownley for their support to amend an issue that has impacted many military families.” said Pat Krisfalusy–Maxon, sister of Dennis Krisfalusy.“The Dennis and Lois Krisfalusy Act, named after my beloved brother and his beautiful wife, will ensure that all military families will be memorialized with their name on a military headstone regardless of when they passed away. We were saddened to learn that Lois’s name would not appear on Denny’s stone, as they were united in both marriage and death. Should this bill pass, their marker would forever memorialize their undying love for each other. As their bodies lie in an unmarked grave in Mexico City, the headstone in the Cemetery of Alleghenies will forever be a reminder to our children, and our grandchildren of their uncle’s service to our country, and the wife that stood by him. Denny will always be our hero. We are forever grateful to all that served, and to the people that made this bill happen.”
The House companion of the Dennis and Lois Krisfalusy Act was introduced by Representatives Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Dan Meuser (R-PA), G.T. Thompson (R-PA), and Julia Brownley (D-CA).
The full text of the bill is available here.
