I 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6151 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 16, 2010 Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. Fattah, Ms. Schwartz, and Mr. Patrick J. Murphy of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To charter an organization and establish a medal program to honor first responders in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1.

Designation of organization

(a)

Organization

The Medal of Courage and Service Corporation, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a federally chartered organization. (b)

Purpose

The purpose of the Corporation is to honor first responders in the city of Philadelphia by, acting through the Selection Committee convened under subsection (c)(2), awarding the Medal of Courage and Service to first responders in that city. (c)

Functions

(1)

In general

The Corporation shall act as the administrator of the Medal program under section 2. (2)

Selection Committee

The Corporation shall convene a Selection Committee to select first responders to receive the Medal, to be organized as follows: (A)The Selection Committee shall be composed of— (i)the Police Commissioner of Philadelphia; (ii)the Fire Commissioner of Philadelphia; (iii)the president of the Philadelphia Fire Fighters’ Union Local #22; (iv)the president of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5; and (v)4 civilian representatives, one appointed by each of the members described in clauses (i) through (iv). (B)The chairmanship of the Selection Committee shall alternate annually between the member described in subparagraph (A)(i) and the member described in subparagraph (A)(ii). (d)

Annual report

The Corporation shall submit to Congress an annual report on its activities under this Act.

2.

Medal program

(a)

Authorization of Medal

The Corporation may award, and present in the name of Congress, a Medal of Courage and Service of appropriate design to a first responder who is selected by the Selection Committee. (b)

Duties of Selection Committee

The Selection Committee shall— (1)establish criteria for awarding the Medal; (2)accept nominations of first responders from the Police and Fire Departments of Philadelphia each calendar year; and (3)select no more than 3 first responders per year to receive a Medal, except that in any year in which the Selection Committee determines, by unanimous consent, that extraordinary or extenuating circumstances exist regarding an incident, the Selection Committee may select more than 3 first responders to receive a Medal.

3.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

Corporation

The term Corporation means the Medal of Courage and Service Corporation chartered in section 1(a). (2)

First responder

The term first responder means an individual who, in the early stages of an incident, is responsible for the protection and preservation of life, property, evidence, and the environment, including emergency response providers as defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101), as well as emergency management, public health, clinical care, public works, and other skilled support personnel (such as equipment operators) that provide immediate support services during prevention, response, and recovery operations. (3)

Medal

The term Medal means the Medal of Courage and Service authorized under section 2(a). (4)

Selection Committee

The term Selection Committee means the Medal of Courage and Service Selection Committee convened under section 1(c)(2).