[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 44 (Thursday, April 18, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2990-S2991]
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. 348, S. Con. Res. 66.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the concurrent 
resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 66) to express the 
     sense of the Congress that the Public Safety Officer Medal of 
     Valor should be awarded to public safety officers killed in 
     the line of duty in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 
     September 11, 2001.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.

[[Page S2991]]

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
concurrent resolution and 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 (S. Con. Res. 66) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 66

       Whereas the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 
     2001 (Public Law 107-12, 115 Stat. 20)--
       (A) allows the President to award, and present in the name 
     of Congress, a Medal of Valor to a public safety officer 
     cited by the Attorney General of the United States, upon the 
     recommendation of the Medal of Valor Review Board, for 
     extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty; and
       (B) provides that the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor 
     shall be the highest national award for valor by a public 
     safety officer;
       Whereas on September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked and 
     destroyed 4 civilian aircraft, crashing 2 of the planes into 
     the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and a 
     third into the Pentagon in suburban Washington, DC;
       Whereas thousands of innocent Americans were killed or 
     injured as a result of these attacks, including rescue 
     workers, police officers, and firefighters at the World Trade 
     Center and at the Pentagon;
       Whereas these attacks destroyed both towers of the World 
     Trade Center, as well as adjacent buildings, and seriously 
     damaged the Pentagon;
       Whereas police officers, firefighters, public safety 
     officers, and medical response crews were thrown into 
     extraordinarily dangerous situations, responding to these 
     horrendous events and acting heroically, without concern for 
     their own safety, trying to help and to save as many of the 
     lives of others as possible in the impact zones, in spite of 
     the clear danger to their own lives; and
       Whereas these attacks were by far the deadliest terrorist 
     attacks ever launched against the United States: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) because of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the 
     limit on the number of Public Safety Officer Medals of Valor 
     should be waived, and a medal should be awarded under the 
     Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2001 to any 
     public safety officer, as defined in that Act, who was killed 
     in the line of duty; and
       (2) the Medal of Valor Review Board should give strong 
     consideration to the acts of bravery by other public safety 
     officers in responding to these events.

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