[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 802 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.802

                      One Hundred Seventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
             the third day of January, two thousand and one


                                 An Act


 
  To authorize the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor 
Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF MEDAL.

    After September 1, 2001, 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 shall be the highest national 
award for valor by a public safety officer.

SEC. 3. MEDAL OF VALOR BOARD.

    (a) Establishment of Board.--There is established a Medal of Valor 
Review Board (hereinafter 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) Chairman.--The Chairman of the Board shall be elected 
        by the members of the Board from among the members of the 
        Board.
            (B) Meetings.--The Board shall conduct its first meeting 
        not later than 90 days after the appointment of the last member 
        appointed of the initial group of members appointed to the 
        Board. Thereafter, the Board shall meet at the call of the 
        Chairman of the Board. The Board shall meet not less often than 
        twice each year.
            (C) 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 those applications received by the National 
Medal of Valor Office. Not more often than once each year, the Board 
shall present to the Attorney General the name or names of those it 
recommends as Medal of Valor recipients. In a given year, the Board 
shall not be required to select any recipients but may not select more 
than 5 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 Members.--(1) 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) All members of the Board who serve as officers or employees of 
the United States, a State, or a 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 I 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. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
        (1) Public safety officer.--The term ``public safety officer'' 
    means a person serving a public agency, with or without 
    compensation, as a firefighter, law enforcement officer, or 
    emergency services officer, as determined by the Attorney General. 
    For the purposes of this paragraph, the term ``law enforcement 
    officer'' includes a person who is a corrections or court officer 
    or a civil defense officer.
        (2) State.--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. 6. 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. 7. NATIONAL MEDAL OF VALOR OFFICE.

    There is established within the Department of Justice a National 
Medal of Valor Office. The Office shall provide staff support to the 
Board to establish criteria and procedures for the submission of 
recommendations of nominees for the Medal of Valor and for the final 
design of the Medal of Valor.

SEC. 8. CONFORMING REPEAL.

    Section 15 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 
(15 U.S.C. 2214) is amended--
        (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following new 
    subsection (a):
    ``(a) Establishment.--There is hereby established an honorary award 
for the recognition of outstanding and distinguished service by public 
safety officers to be known as the Director's Award For Distinguished 
Public Safety Service (`Director's Award').'';
        (2) in subsection (b)--
            (A) by striking paragraph (1); and
            (B) by striking ``(2)'';
        (3) by striking subsections (c) and (d) and redesignating 
    subsections (e), (f), and (g) as subsections (c), (d), and (e), 
    respectively; and
        (4) in subsection (c), as so redesignated--
            (A) by striking paragraph (1); and
            (B) by striking ``(2)''.

SEC. 9. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.

    The Board shall consult with the Institute of Heraldry within the 
Department of Defense regarding the design and artistry of the Medal of 
Valor. The Board may 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.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.