[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 39 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th 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 22, 2001
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.
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