[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 26 (Monday, July 3, 2000)]
[Pages 1551-1552]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13161--Establishment of the Presidential Medal of Valor 
for Public Safety Officers

June 29, 2000

    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and 
the laws of the United States of America, it is ordered:
    Section 1.  The Presidential Medal of Valor for Public Safety 
Officers (Medal) is

[[Page 1552]]

established for the purpose of recognizing those public safety officers 
adjudged to have shown extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of 
duty in the exercise of their official duties. As used in this section, 
the term ``public safety officer'' means a person serving a public 
agency with or without compensation:
    (1) as a law enforcement officer, including police, correctional, 
probation, or parole officers;
    (2) as a firefighter or emergency responder; and
    (3) who is employed by the Government of the United States, any 
State of the United States, any officially recognized elective body 
within a State of the United States, or any Federally recognized tribal 
organization.
    Sec. 2.  Eligible recipients generally will be recommended to the 
President by the Attorney General by April 1 of each year. Pursuant to 
36 U.S.C. 136-137, the President designates May 15 of each year as 
``Peace Officers Memorial Day'' and the week in which it falls as 
``Police Week.'' Presentation of the Medal shall occur at an appropriate 
time during the commemoration of Police Week, as far as is practicable.
    Sec. 3.  The President may select for the Medal up to ten persons 
annually from among those persons recommended to the President by the 
Attorney General. In submitting recommendations to the President, the 
Attorney General may consult with experts representing all segments of 
the public safety sector, including representatives from law 
enforcement, firefighters, and emergency services.
    Sec. 4.  Those chosen for recognition shall receive a medal and a 
certificate, the designs of which shall be submitted by the Attorney 
General for the President's approval no later than December 1, 2000. The 
medal and certificate shall be prepared by the Department of Justice.
    Sec. 5.  The Medal may be given posthumously.
                                            William J. Clinton
 The White House,
 June 29, 2000.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., July 3, 2000]

Note: This Executive order was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on June 30, and it will be published in the  Federal Register  
on July 5.