[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 44 (Thursday, April 18, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2989-S2990]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER 
                             MEDAL OF VALOR

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 347, H. Con. Res. 243.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the concurrent 
resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 243) expressing the 
     sense of the Congress that the Public Safety Officer Medal of 
     Valor should be presented to the public safety officers who 
     have perished and select other public safety officers who 
     deserve special recognition for outstanding valor above and 
     beyond the call of duty in the aftermath of the terrorist 
     attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, today in the Senate Judiciary Committee 
we passed en bloc by unanimous consent three Sense of Congress 
resolutions introduced by Representative Joe Crowley, Senator Tom 
Harkin, and Senator Ted Stevens, respectively, to honor the police 
officers, firefighters and emergency personnel who responded to the 
terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. I am pleased that the full 
Senate is now taking up these resolutions for final passage.
  I thank Senator Schumer, and, in particular, the Fraternal Order of 
Police and its president, Steve Young, for their leadership and strong 
support for honoring the fallen September 11 first responders.
  There were so many examples of bravery and courage on September 11 
and there is no doubt that the extraordinary heroism of our police 
officers,

[[Page S2990]]

firefighters and emergency personnel should be recognized.
  Last year, I was proud to work with Senator Stevens, Senator Hatch 
and other members of the committee to enact legislation, which I 
cosponsored, to authorize the President to award and present the Medal 
of Valor to public safety officers, upon the selection and 
recommendation of the Medal of Valor Review Board, for extraordinary 
valor above and beyond the call of duty.
  Well before the terrorist attacks, Congress and the President decided 
that the award would have the most meaning if firefighters and police 
and other public safety officers themselves--the peers of those who 
will be honored--made the selections of candidates.
  All 11 members of the Medal of Valor Review Board have now been 
appointed and the Board met for the first time last month. I have full 
faith that the Medal of Valor Review Board members will work quickly to 
award the Medal of Valor to their fellow public safety officers 
involved in the September 11 terrorist attacks. As chairman of the 
Senate Judiciary Committee, I certainly support awarding the Public 
Safety Medal of Valor to the fallen heros of September 11.

  Since my time as a Chittenden County States' Attorney in Vermont, I 
have taken a keen interest in law enforcement in my home State and 
around the country. Vermont has the reputation of being one of the 
safest states in which to live, work and visit, and rightly so. In no 
small part, this is due to the hard work of those who have sworn to 
serve and protect us. We should do all we can to support and protect 
them and all public safety officers nationwide.
  I am proud of my legislative record in support of the public safety 
officers in Vermont and the Nation. For example, Senator Campbell and I 
authored the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Acts of 1998 and 2000 
to create and then expand the $25 million Department of Justice program 
to provide grants to law enforcement officers to buy bulletproof vests. 
This grant program has funded almost 1,000 lifesaving vests for Vermont 
officers and more than 300,000 vests for officers across the country.
  Specifically in response to the terrorists attacks of September 11, I 
negotiated a retroactive $100,000 increase in the total benefit under 
the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program as part of the USA PATRIOT 
Act. Congress needed to act immediately to provide much-needed relief 
for the families of the brave men and women of law enforcement who 
sacrificed their own lives for their fellow Americans. Although an 
increase in the PSOB benefits can never be a substitute for the loss of 
a loved one, it was the right thing to do for the families of our 
fallen heros. In addition, I helped draft legislation to create the 
September 11 Victims Compensation Fund to provide fair and quick 
compensation to terrorist victims and their families.
  I look forward to continuing to work in a bipartisan manner with my 
Senate colleagues on legislation to support our Nation's public safety 
officers who put their lives at risk every day to protect us.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
concurrent resolution and the preamble be agreed to, en bloc; that the 
motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; and that any statements 
relating to the concurrent resolution be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 243) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.

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