[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 44 (Thursday, April 18, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page 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. 349, S. Con. Res. 75.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the concurrent 
resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 75) to express the 
     sense of the Congress that the Public Safety Officer Medal of 
     Valor should be presented to public safety officers killed or 
     seriously injured as a result of the terrorist attacks 
     perpetrated against the United States on September 11, 2001, 
     and to those who participated in the search, rescue, and 
     recovery efforts in the aftermath of those attacks.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  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 (S. Con. Res. 75) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 75

       Whereas on September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked and 
     destroyed 4 civilian aircraft, crashing 2 of them into the 
     towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third 
     into the Pentagon, and a fourth in rural southwest 
     Pennsylvania;
       Whereas thousands of innocent Americans and many foreign 
     nationals were killed and injured as a result of the surprise 
     terrorist attacks, including the passengers and crews of the 
     4 aircraft, workers in the World Trade Center and the 
     Pentagon, firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency 
     assistance personnel, and bystanders;
       Whereas hundreds of public safety officers were killed and 
     injured as a result of the terrorist attacks, many of whom 
     would perish when the twin towers of the World Trade Center 
     collapsed upon them after they rushed to the aid of innocent 
     civilians who were imperiled when the terrorists first 
     launched their attacks;
       Whereas thousands more public safety officers continued to 
     risk their own lives and long-term health in sifting through 
     the aftermath and rubble of the terrorist attacks to rescue 
     those who may have survived and to recover the dead;
       Whereas the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 
     2001 (Public Law 107-12, 115 Stat. 20) authorizes the 
     President to award and present in the name of Congress, a 
     Medal of Valor to public safety officers for extraordinary 
     valor above and beyond the call of duty;
       Whereas the Attorney General of the United States has 
     discretion to increase the number of recipients of the Medal 
     of Valor under that Act beyond that recommended by the Medal 
     of Valor Review Board in extraordinary cases in any given 
     year;
       Whereas the terrorist attacks against the United States on 
     September 11, 2001 and their aftermath constitute the single 
     most deadly assault on our American homeland in our Nation's 
     history; and
       Whereas those public safety officers who perished and were 
     injured, and all those who participated in the efforts to 
     rescue whomever may have survived the terrorist attacks and 
     recover those whose lives were taken so suddenly and 
     violently are the first casualties and veterans of America's 
     new war against terrorism, which was unanimously authorized 
     by the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Senate Joint 
     Resolution 23, enacted September 14, 2001): Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the President should award and present in the name of 
     Congress a Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor to every 
     public safety officer who was killed or seriously injured as 
     a result of the terrorist attacks perpetrated against the 
     United States on September 11, 2001, and to deserving public 
     safety officer who participated in the search, rescue, and 
     recovery efforts in the aftermath of those attacks; and
       (2) such assistance and compensation as may be needed 
     should be provided to the public safety officers who were 
     injured or whose health was otherwise adversely affected as a 
     result of their participation in the search, rescue, and 
     recovery efforts undertaken in the aftermath of the terrorist 
     attacks of September 11, 2001.

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