[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3238 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3238

   To provide for a medal of appropriate design to be awarded by the 
     President to the next of kin or other representative of those 
 individuals killed as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 
  11, 2001, and to the memorials established at the 3 sites that were 
                         attacked on that day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 21, 2010

 Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Casey, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. 
Menendez, and Mrs. Gillibrand) introduced the following bill; which was 
read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for a medal of appropriate design to be awarded by the 
     President to the next of kin or other representative of those 
 individuals killed as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 
  11, 2001, and to the memorials established at the 3 sites that were 
                         attacked on that day.

    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 ``Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the tragic deaths at the World Trade Center, at the 
        Pentagon, and in rural Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, have 
        forever changed our Nation;
            (2) the officers, emergency workers, and other employees of 
        State and local government agencies, including the Port 
        Authority of New York and New Jersey, and of the United States 
        Government and others, who responded to the attacks on the 
        World Trade Center in New York City and perished as a result of 
        the tragic events of September 11, 2001 (including those who 
        are missing and presumed dead), took heroic and noble action on 
        that day;
            (3) the officers, emergency rescue workers, and employees 
        of local and United States Government agencies, who responded 
        to the attack on the Pentagon in Washington, DC, took heroic 
        and noble action to evacuate the premises and prevent further 
        casualties of Pentagon employees;
            (4) the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93, 
        recognizing the potential danger that the aircraft that they 
        were aboard posed to large numbers of innocent Americans, 
        American institutions, and the symbols of American democracy, 
        took heroic and noble action to ensure that the aircraft could 
        not be used as a weapon; and
            (5) given the unprecedented nature of the attacks against 
        the United States of America and the need to properly 
        demonstrate the support of the country for those who lost their 
        lives to terrorism, it is fitting that their sacrifice be 
        recognized with the award of an appropriate medal.

SEC. 3. FALLEN HEROES OF 9/11 CONGRESSIONAL MEDALS.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized, on 
behalf of Congress, to award a medal of appropriate design, such medal 
to be known as the ``Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Congressional Medal'', to--
            (1) the personal representative or next of kin of each 
        individual referred to in subsection (c), in recognition of the 
        sacrifice made by each such individual, and to honor their 
        deaths on and following September 11, 2001;
            (2) the Flight 93 National Memorial Project in 
        Pennsylvania;
            (3) the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New 
        York; and
            (4) the Pentagon Memorial Project at the Pentagon.
    (b) Design and Striking.--
            (1) In general.--For purposes of the presentations referred 
        to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (in this 
        Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike 3 designs of 
        medals, with such suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions 
        as the Secretary determines to be appropriate to be 
        representative of and in honor of, respectively--
                    (A) those who lost their lives in the attack at the 
                World Trade Center, including civilians, public safety 
                officers, emergency workers, and the passengers and 
                crew of Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175;
                    (B) the passengers and crew aboard United Airlines 
                Flight 93 that was brought down in rural Pennsylvania 
                near Shanksville, Somerset County; and
                    (C) those who lost their lives at the Pentagon, 
                including the passengers and crew of American Airlines 
                Flight 77.
            (2) Consultation.--Before making a final determination with 
        respect to the design of the medal under this subsection, the 
        Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Defense and such 
        other parties as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate.
            (3) Content of medals.--The medals struck for purposes of 
        subsection (a)(1) shall be silver medals, and the medals struck 
        for purposes of paragraphs (2) through (4) of subsection (a) 
        shall be gold medals.
    (c) Eligibility To Receive Medal.--
            (1) In general.--Any individual who died on or after 
        September 11, 2001, as a direct result of the acts of terrorism 
        within the United States on that date, shall be eligible for a 
        medal authorized by subsection (a).
            (2) Determination.--Eligibility under paragraph (1) shall 
        be determined by the Secretary, in consultation with such other 
        officers of the United States Government and State and local 
        officials as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    (a) Recipients of Duplicate Medals.--The Secretary shall strike 
duplicates in bronze of the medals struck pursuant to section 3 for 
presentation to each precinct house, firehouse, emergency response 
station, or other duty station or place of employment to which each 
person referred to in subsection (b) was assigned on September 11, 
2001, for permanent display in each such place in a manner befitting 
the memory of such person.
    (b) Public Safety, Emergency, and Other Workers.--Persons referred 
to in this subsection are officers, emergency workers, and other 
employees of State and local government agencies, including the Port 
Authority of New York and New Jersey, and of the United States 
Government and others, who responded to the attacks on the World Trade 
Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, and perished as a direct 
result of that act of terrorism (including those who are missing and 
presumed dead).

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF LISTS OF RECIPIENTS.

    (a) Initial Lists.--
            (1) In general.--Before the end of the 120-day period 
        beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
        shall establish, in the sole discretion of the Secretary, in 
        accordance with this Act--
                    (A) a list of the names of individuals eligible to 
                receive a medal under section 3(c)(1) (and their 
                personal representative or next of kin), during the 
                period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on 
                the date of enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) a list of the eligible recipients of a 
                duplicate medal under section 4.
            (2) Consultation.--In making determinations under this 
        section, the Secretary shall consult the lists of victims 
        maintained by the Office of the Medical Examiner of New York 
        City, the Office of the County Coroner of Somerset County, 
        Pennsylvania, the Armed Forces Medical Examiners System, and 
        such other organizations as the Secretary may determine to be 
        appropriate.
            (3) Determinations final.--The lists established under this 
        section, and the inclusion on or exclusion from such lists of 
        any person, is not subject to judicial review.
    (b) Subsequent Eligibility.--If any individual becomes eligible for 
a medal under section 3(c)(1), or any other recipient becomes eligible 
for a duplicate medal under section 4, the Secretary shall promptly add 
the name of that individual or recipient to the appropriate list 
established pursuant to subsection (a).

SEC. 6. SALES OF DUPLICATE MEDALS TO THE PUBLIC TO DEFRAY COSTS.

    Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the 
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the medals struck 
under this Act, at a price sufficient to cover the costs thereof, 
including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead 
expenses.

SEC. 7. NATIONAL MEDALS.

    The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for 
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
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