[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 39 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 39

  To provide a national medal for public safety officers who act with 
 extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 19, 1999

  Mr. Stevens introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide a national medal for public safety officers who act with 
 extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be referred to as the ``Public 
Safety Medal of Valor Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Authorization of Medal of Valor.
Sec. 3. Medal of Valor Review Board.
Sec. 4. Board personnel matters.
Sec. 5. National medal office.
Sec. 6. Definitions.
Sec. 7. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 8. Conforming repeal.
Sec. 9. Consultation requirement.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF MEDAL OF VALOR.

    The President may award, and present in the name of Congress, a 
Medal of Valor of appropriate design, with ribbons and appurtenances, 
to a public safety officer who is cited by the Attorney General, upon 
the recommendation of the Medal of Valor Review Board, for 
extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty. The Public 
Safety Medal of Valor is the highest national award for valor by a 
public safety officer.

SEC. 3. MEDAL OF VALOR REVIEW BOARD.

    (a) Establishment of Board.--There is hereby established a Medal of 
Valor Review Board (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 
``Board''), which shall be composed of 11 members appointed in 
accordance with subsection (b), and shall conduct its business in 
accordance with this Act.
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Members.--The members of the Board shall be individuals 
        with knowledge or expertise, whether by experience or training, 
        in the field of public safety, of which--
                    (A) two shall be appointed by the Majority Leader 
                of the Senate;
                    (B) two shall be appointed by the Minority Leader 
                of the Senate;
                    (C) two shall be appointed by the Speaker of the 
                House of Representatives;
                    (D) two shall be appointed by the Minority Leader 
                of the House of Representatives; and
                    (E) three shall be appointed by the President, 
                including one with experience in firefighting, one with 
                experience in law enforcement, and one with experience 
                in emergency services.
            (2) Term.--The term of a Board member shall be 4 years.
            (3) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the membership of the Board 
        shall not affect the powers of the Board and shall be filled in 
        the same manner as the original appointment.
            (4) Operation of the board.--
                    (A) Meetings.--The Board shall meet at the call of 
                the Chairman, who shall be elected by the Board, and 
                shall meet not less than twice each year. The initial 
                meeting of the Board shall be conducted not later than 
                90 days after the appointment of the last member of the 
                Board.
                    (B) Voting and rules.--A majority of the members 
                shall constitute a quorum to conduct business, but the 
                Board may establish a lesser quorum for conducting 
                hearings scheduled by the Board. The Board may 
                establish by majority vote any other rules for the 
                conduct of the Board's business, if such rules are not 
                inconsistent with this Act or other applicable law.
    (c) Duties.--The Board shall select candidates as recipients of the 
Medal of Valor from among applications received by the National Medal 
Office. Not more than once each year, the Board shall present to the 
Attorney General the name or names of persons it recommends as Medal of 
Valor recipients. In a given year, the Board is not required to select 
any recipients, but is limited to a maximum number of 10 recipients. 
The Attorney General may in extraordinary cases increase the number of 
recipients in a given year. The Board shall set an annual timetable for 
fulfilling its duties under this Act.
    (d) Hearings.--
            (1) In general.--The Board may hold such hearings, sit and 
        act at such times and places, administer such oaths, take such 
testimony, and receive such evidence as the Board considers advisable 
to carry out its duties.
            (2) Witness expenses.--Witnesses requested to appear before 
        the Board may be paid the same fees as are paid to witnesses 
        under section 1821 of title 28, United States Code. The per 
        diem and mileage allowances for witnesses shall be paid from 
        funds appropriated to the Board.
    (e) Information From Federal Agencies.--The Board may secure 
directly from any Federal department or agency such information as the 
Board considers necessary to carry out its duties. Upon the request of 
the Board, the head of such department or agency may furnish such 
information to the Board.
    (f) Information To Be Kept Confidential.--The Board shall not 
disclose any information which may compromise an ongoing law 
enforcement investigation or is otherwise required by law to be kept 
confidential.

SEC. 4. BOARD PERSONNEL MATTERS.

    (a) Compensation of Board Members.--
            (1) Non-government.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        each member of the Board shall be compensated at a rate equal 
        to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 
        prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 
        5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including 
        travel time) during which such member is engaged in the 
        performance of the duties of the Board.
            (2) Government.--All members of the Board who serve as 
        officers or employees of the United States, a State, or local 
        government, shall serve without compensation in addition to 
        that received for those services.
    (b) Travel Expenses.--The members of the Board shall be allowed 
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates 
authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter 1 of chapter 57 
of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or regular 
places of business in the performance of service for the Board.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDAL OFFICE.

    There is established within the Department of Justice a national 
medal office. The office shall generally support the Board and shall, 
with the concurrence of the Board, establish criteria and procedures 
for the submission of recommendations of nominees for the Medal of 
Valor.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``public safety officer'' means a person 
        serving a public agency, with or without compensation, as a 
        firefighter, law enforcement officer (including a corrections 
        or court officer or a civil defense officer), or emergency 
        services officer, as defined by the Attorney General in 
        implementing this Act; and
            (2) the term ``State'' means each of the several States of 
        the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
        of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and 
        the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 
such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

SEC. 8. CONFORMING REPEAL.

    Section 15 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 
is repealed.

SEC. 9. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.

    The Attorney General shall consult with the Institute of Heraldry 
within the Department of Defense regarding the design and artistry of 
the Medal of Valor. The Attorney General shall also consider 
suggestions received by the Department of Justice regarding the design 
of the medal, including those made by persons not employed by the 
Department.
                                 <all>