I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1419 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the award of a 

military service medal to members of the Armed Forces who served 

honorably during the Cold War, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2017 

Mr. YOUNG of Iowa (for himself, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. JONES, Miss RICE of New 

York, Mr. MASSIE, Mr. CURBELO of Florida, and Mr. RYAN of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the 

award of a military service medal to members of the 

Armed Forces who served honorably during the Cold 

War, 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 ‘‘Cold War Service 

5 Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COLD WAR SERVICE MEDAL. 

7 (a) MEDAL AUTHORIZED.— 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1419 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 57 of title 10, 

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following new section: 

4 ‘‘§ 1136. Cold War Service Medal 

5 ‘‘(a) MEDAL AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary con6 cerned may issue a service medal, to be known as the ‘Cold 

7 War Service Medal’, to persons eligible to receive the 

8 medal under subsection (c). 

9 ‘‘(b) DESIGN.—The Cold War Service Medal shall be 

10 of an appropriate design approved by the Secretary of De11 fense, with ribbons, lapel pins, and other appurtenances. 

12 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—Subject to subsection (d), 

13 a person eligible to be issued the Cold War Service Medal 

14 is any person who— 

15 ‘‘(1) served on active duty in the armed forces 

16 for not less than 24 consecutive months during the 

17 Cold War; 

18 ‘‘(2) was deployed as a member of the armed 

19 forces outside the continental United States for a 

20 period of at least 30 days during the Cold War; 

21 ‘‘(3) was a member of a reserve component of 

22 the armed forces and called or ordered to active duty 

23 to participate in exercises or operations directly re24 lated to the Cold War, as determined by the Sec25 retary of Defense; or 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1419 IH

1 ‘‘(4) performed such other service in the armed 

2 forces during the Cold War as the Secretary of De3 fense may prescribe for purposes of this section. 

4 ‘‘(d) REQUIRED CHARACTERIZATION OF SERVICE.— 

5 In the case of a person described in subsection (c) who 

6 is already discharged or released from the armed forces, 

7 the person is eligible for the Cold War Service Medal only 

8 if the discharge or release was under honorable conditions 

9 after service in the armed forces characterized as honor10 able. 

11 ‘‘(e) ONE MEDAL AUTHORIZED.—Not more than one 

12 Cold War Service Medal may be issued to any person. 

13 ‘‘(f) ISSUANCE TO NEXT-OF-KIN.—If a person de14 scribed in subsection (c) is deceased, the Secretary con15 cerned may provide for issuance of the Cold War Service 

16 Medal to the next-of-kin of the person. 

17 ‘‘(g) REPLACEMENT.—Under regulations prescribed 

18 by the Secretary concerned, a Cold War Service Medal 

19 may be replaced without charge if lost, destroyed, or ren20 dered unfit for use without fault or neglect on the part 

21 of the person to whom it was issued. 

22 ‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—The issuance of a Cold War 

23 Service Medal shall be subject to such regulations as the 

24 Secretaries concerned shall prescribe for purposes of this 

25 section. The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that any 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1419 IH

1 regulations prescribed under this subsection are uniform 

2 to the extent practicable. 

3 ‘‘(i) COLD WAR DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

4 ‘Cold War’ means the period beginning on September 2, 

5 1945, and ending on December 26, 1991.’’. 

6 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec7 tions at the beginning of chapter 57 of such title is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following new 

9 item: 

‘‘1136. Cold War Service Medal.’’. 

10 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that the Secretary of Defense should take appro12 priate actions to expedite— 

13 (1) the design of the Cold War Service Medal 

14 provided for by section 1136 of title 10, United 

15 States Code (as added by subsection (a)); and 

16 (2) the establishment and implementation of 

17 mechanisms to facilitate the issuance of the Cold 

18 War Service Medal to persons eligible for the 

19 issuance of the medal under such section. 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS