[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10722]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        STOLEN VALOR ACT OF 2011

  (Mr. HECK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HECK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to join 
with me in restoring the honor and valor of our military heroes by 
cosponsoring my bill, H.R. 1775, the Stolen Valor Act of 2011.
  While yesterday our attention was focused on the Supreme Court health 
care ruling, lost in the media frenzy was the story of how the Court 
also struck down the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, concluding that the 
broad nature of the law infringed upon the guaranteed protection of 
free speech provided by the First Amendment of our Constitution.
  The Court determined that the act ``sought to control and suppress 
all false statements on this one subject, without regard as to whether 
the lie was made for the purpose of material gain.'' The Stolen Valor 
Act of 2011 resolves these constitutional issues by clearly defining 
that the objective of the law is to target and punish those who 
misrepresent their service with the intent of profiting personally or 
financially. Defining the intent helps ensure that this law will pass 
constitutional scrutiny.
  Mr. Speaker, the need to protect the honor, service, and sacrifice of 
our veterans and military personnel is just as strong today as it was 
in 2005. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 1775 so that we can 
restore the honor and protect the valor of our military heroes.

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