The graves of Confederate war dead buried at federal cemeteries will likely no longer be decorated with Confederate flags following a vote Tuesday night by the House of Representatives.

The House passed an amendment that prohibits the controversial banners from being placed on any graves in federal cemeteries, The Hill reported. The matter must still be approved by the Senate.

The practice of placing Confederate flags on graves is common in places, such as Alabama, that still mark Confederate Memorial Day.

Alabama has three national veterans cemeteries, located in Montevallo, near Phenix City and in Mobile. The newest cemetery, in Montevallo, does not have any Civil War-era graves and no Confederate soldiers are buried at Fort Mitchell cemetery near Phenix City, which opened in 1987. The Mobile National Cemetery, established in 1865 after the Port of Mobile fell into Union hands under the assault of Rear Admiral David Farragut, is home to 841 Civil War dead, mostly Union soldiers. Four Confederate soldiers are interred at the cemetery, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Previously, the National Park Service allowed individuals to place Confederate flags on graves but directed staff to remove them as soon as possible following the holiday.

Tuesday's measure, introduced by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., easily passed on a voice vote.

"We can honor...history without celebrating the Confederate flag and all of the dreadful things that it symbolizes," Huffman said. "This House now has an opportunity to add its voice, by ending the promotion of the cruel, racist legacy of the Confederacy."

Another amendment by Huffman, this one to prohibit the National Park Service from entering into new contracts to sell items with images of the Confederate flag, also passed. A separate measure, introduced by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, bans the National Park Service from buying or displaying the flag outside of a historical context.

The measures come following the June slayings of nine people at a historically black church in South Carolina, a state that still flies the flag on its property. The alleged shooter, Dylann Roof, reportedly said the incident was racially motivated.

South Carolina's Senate, which must approve the removal of the flag from state grounds, voted 37-3 to take down the banner.