[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 160 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 160

  To amend title 5, United States Code, to require the issuance of a 
 prisoner-of-war medal to civilian employees of the Federal Government 
   who are forcibly detained or interned by an enemy government or a 
                hostile force under wartime conditions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 21, 1997

  Mr. Inouye introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
           referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 5, United States Code, to require the issuance of a 
 prisoner-of-war medal to civilian employees of the Federal Government 
   who are forcibly detained or interned by an enemy government or a 
                hostile force under wartime conditions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PRISONER-OF-WAR MEDAL FOR CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES OF THE FEDERAL 
              GOVERNMENT.

    (a) Authority To Issue Prisoner-of-War Medal.--(1) Subpart A of 
part III of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
chapter 23 the following new chapter:

                   ``CHAPTER 25--MISCELLANEOUS AWARDS

``Sec.
``2501. Prisoner-of-war medal: issue.
``Sec. 2501. Prisoner-of-war medal: issue
    ``(a) The President shall issue a prisoner-of-war medal to any 
person who, while serving in any capacity as an officer or employee of 
the Federal Government, was forcibly detained or interned, not as a 
result of such person's own willful misconduct--
            ``(1) by an enemy government or its agents, or a hostile 
        force, during a period of war; or
            ``(2) by a foreign government or its agents, or a hostile 
        force, during a period other than a period of war in which such 
        person was held under circumstances which the President finds 
        to have been comparable to the circumstances under which 
        members of the armed forces have generally been forcibly 
        detained or interned by enemy governments during periods of 
        war.
    ``(b) The prisoner-of-war medal shall be of appropriate design, 
with ribbons and appurtenances.
    ``(c) Not more than one prisoner-of-war medal may be issued to a 
person under this section or section 1128 of title 10. However, for 
each succeeding service that would otherwise justify the issuance of 
such a medal, the President (in the case of service referred to in 
subsection (a) of this section) or the Secretary concerned (in the case 
of service referred to in section 1128(a) of title 10) may issue a 
suitable device to be worn as determined by the President or the 
Secretary, as the case may be.
    ``(d) For a person to be eligible for issuance of a prisoner-of-war 
medal, the person's conduct must have been honorable for the period of 
captivity which serves as the basis for the issuance.
    ``(e) If a person dies before the issuance of a prisoner-of-war 
medal to which he is entitled, the medal may be issued to the person's 
representative, as designated by the President.
    ``(f) Under regulations to be prescribed by the President, a 
prisoner-of-war medal that is lost, destroyed, or rendered unfit for 
use without fault or neglect on the part of the person to whom it was 
issued may be replaced without charge.
    ``(g) In this section, the term `period of war' has the meaning 
given such term in section 101(11) of title 38.''.
    (2) The table of chapters at the beginning of part III of such 
title is amended by inserting after the item relating to chapter 23 the 
following new item:

``25. Miscellaneous Awards..................................    2501''.
    (b) Applicability.--Section 2501 of title 5, United States Code, as 
added by subsection (a), applies with respect to any person who, after 
April 5, 1917, is forcibly detained or interned as described in 
subsection (a) of such section.
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