109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1998

AN ACT

To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance protections relating to the reputation and meaning of the

Medal of Honor and other military decorations and

awards, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stolen Valor Act of

5 2005’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) Fraudulent claims surrounding the receipt

4 of the Medal of Honor, the distinguished-service

5 cross, the Navy cross, the Air Force cross, the Pur6 ple Heart, and other decorations and medals award7 ed by the President or the Armed Forces of the

8 United States damage the reputation and meaning

9 of such decorations and medals.

10 (2) Federal law enforcement officers have lim11 ited ability to prosecute fraudulent claims of receipt

12 of military decorations and medals.

13 (3) Legislative action is necessary to permit law

14 enforcement officers to protect the reputation and

15 meaning of military decorations and medals.

16 SEC. 3. ENHANCED PROTECTION OF MEANING OF MILI17 TARY DECORATIONS AND MEDALS.

18 (a) EXPANSION OF GENERAL CRIMINAL OFFENSE.—

19 Subsection (a) of section 704 of title 18, United States

20 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘manufactures, or sells’’ and

21 inserting ‘‘purchases, attempts to purchase, solicits for

22 purchase, mails, ships, imports, exports, produces blank

23 certificates of receipt for, manufactures, sells, attempts to

24 sell, advertises for sale, trades, barters, or exchanges for

25 anything of value’’.
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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CRIMINAL OFFENSE RELAT2 ING TO FALSE CLAIMS ABOUT RECEIPT OF DECORATIONS

3 AND MEDALS.—Such section 704 is further amended—

4 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub5 section (c);

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(b) FALSE CLAIMS ABOUT RECEIPT OF MILITARY

9 DECORATIONS OR MEDALS.—Whoever falsely represents

10 himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been

11 awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress

12 for the Armed Forces of the United States, any of the

13 service medals or badges awarded to the members of such

14 forces, the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such badge,

15 decoration, or medal, or any colorable imitation of such

16 item shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more

17 than six months, or both.’’; and

18 (3) in paragraph (1) of subsection (c), as redes19 ignated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, by in20 serting ‘‘or (b)’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’.

21 (c) ENHANCED PENALTY FOR OFFENSES INVOLVING

22 CERTAIN OTHER MEDALS.—Such section 704 is further

23 amended by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(d) ENHANCED PENALTY FOR OFFENSES INVOLV25 ING CERTAIN OTHER MEDALS.—If a decoration or medal
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1 involved in an offense described in subsection (a) or (b)

2 is a distinguished-service cross awarded under section

3 3742 of title 10, a Navy cross awarded under section 6242

4 of title 10, an Air Force cross awarded under section 8742

5 of section 10, a silver star awarded under section 3746,

6 6244, or 8746 of title 10, a Purple Heart awarded under

7 section 1129 of title 10, or any replacement or duplicate

8 medal for such medal as authorized by law, in lieu of the

9 punishment provided in the applicable subsection, the of10 fender shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more

11 than 1 year, or both.’’.

12 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subsection (c) of

13 such section 704, as so redesignated, is further

14 amended—

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘ENHANCED PENALTY FOR

16 OFFENSES INVOLVING’’ before ‘‘CONGRESSIONAL

17 MEDAL OF HONOR’’; and

18 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the

19 following:

20 ‘‘(2) CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR DE21 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘Congressional

22 Medal of Honor’ means—

23 ‘‘(A) a medal of honor awarded under sec24 tion 3741, 6241, or 8741 of title 10 or section

25 491 of title 14;
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1 ‘‘(B) a duplicate medal of honor issued

2 under section 3754, 6256, or 8754 of title 10

3 or section 504 of title 14; or

4 ‘‘(C) a replacement of a medal of honor

5 provided under section 3747, 6253, or 8747 of

6 title 10 or section 501 of title 14.’’.

Passed the Senate September 7 (legislative day, September 6), 2006.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1998

AN ACT

To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance

decorations and awards, and for other purposes.ing of the Medal of Honor and other militaryprotections relating to the reputation and mean-