[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1727 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1727

 To direct the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Navy to 
    conduct a review of military service records of Jewish American 
veterans of World War I, including those previously awarded a military 
    decoration, to determine whether any of the veterans should be 
    posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 18, 2011

 Mr. Heller (for himself, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Blunt, and Mrs. McCaskill) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Navy to 
    conduct a review of military service records of Jewish American 
veterans of World War I, including those previously awarded a military 
    decoration, to determine whether any of the veterans should be 
    posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, 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 ``William Shemin Jewish World War I 
Veterans Act''.

SEC. 2. REVIEW REGARDING AWARD OF MEDAL OF HONOR TO JEWISH AMERICAN 
              WORLD WAR I VETERANS.

    (a) Review Required.--The Secretary of the Army and the Secretary 
of the Navy shall review the service records of each Jewish American 
World War I veteran described in subsection (b) to determine whether 
that veteran should be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
    (b) Covered Jewish American War Veterans.--The Jewish American 
World War I veterans whose service records are to be reviewed under 
subsection (a) are the following:
            (1) Any Jewish American World War I veteran who was 
        previously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy 
        Cross, or other military decoration for service during World 
        War I.
            (2) Any other Jewish American World War I veteran whose 
        name is submitted to the Secretary concerned for such purpose 
        by the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America 
        before the end of the one-year period beginning on the date of 
        the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Consultations.--In carrying out the review under subsection 
(a), the Secretary concerned shall consult with the Jewish War Veterans 
of the United States of America and with such other veterans service 
organizations as the Secretary considers appropriate.
    (d) Recommendation Based on Review.--If the Secretary concerned 
determines, based upon the review under subsection (a) of the service 
records of any Jewish American World War I veteran, that the award of 
the Medal of Honor to that veteran is warranted, the Secretary shall 
submit to the President a recommendation that the President award the 
Medal of Honor posthumously to that veteran.
    (e) Authority To Award Medal of Honor.--A Medal of Honor may be 
awarded posthumously to a Jewish American World War I veteran in 
accordance with a recommendation of the Secretary concerned under 
subsection (a).
    (f) Waiver of Time Limitations.--An award of the Medal of Honor may 
be made under subsection (e) without regard to--
            (1) section 3744, 6248, or 8744 of title 10, United States 
        Code; and
            (2) any regulation or other administrative restriction on--
                    (A) the time for awarding the Medal of Honor; or
                    (B) the awarding of the Medal of Honor for service 
                for which a Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or 
                other military decoration has been awarded.
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``Jewish American World War I veteran'' means 
        any person who served in the Armed Forces during World War I 
        and identified himself or herself as Jewish on his or her 
        military personnel records.
            (2) The term ``Secretary concerned'' means--
                    (A) the Secretary of the Army, in the case of the 
                Army; and
                    (B) the Secretary of the Navy, in the case of the 
                Navy and the Marine Corps.
            (3) The term ``World War I'' means the period beginning on 
        April 6, 1917, and ending on November 11, 1918.
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