II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 160

To amend title 5, United States Code, to require the issuance of a prisonerof-war medal to civilian employees of the Federal Government who are

forcibly detained or interned by an enemy government or a hostile force

under wartime conditions.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 21, 1997

Mr. INOUYE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To amend title 5, United States Code, to require the issuance

of a prisoner-of-war medal to civilian employees of the

Federal Government who are forcibly detained or interned by an enemy government or a hostile force under

wartime conditions.

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

3 SECTION 1. PRISONER-OF-WAR MEDAL FOR CIVILIAN EM4 PLOYEES OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

5 (a) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE PRISONER-OF-WAR

6 MEDAL.—(1) Subpart A of part III of title 5, United
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1 States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 23 the

2 following new chapter:

3 ‘‘CHAPTER 25—MISCELLANEOUS AWARDS

‘‘Sec.

‘‘2501. Prisoner-of-war medal: issue.

4 ‘‘§ 2501. Prisoner-of-war medal: issue

5 ‘‘(a) The President shall issue a prisoner-of-war

6 medal to any person who, while serving in any capacity

7 as an officer or employee of the Federal Government, was

8 forcibly detained or interned, not as a result of such per9 son’s own willful misconduct—

10 ‘‘(1) by an enemy government or its agents, or

11 a hostile force, during a period of war; or

12 ‘‘(2) by a foreign government or its agents, or

13 a hostile force, during a period other than a period

14 of war in which such person was held under cir15 cumstances which the President finds to have been

16 comparable to the circumstances under which mem17 bers of the armed forces have generally been forcibly

18 detained or interned by enemy governments during

19 periods of war.

20 ‘‘(b) The prisoner-of-war medal shall be of appro21 priate design, with ribbons and appurtenances.

22 ‘‘(c) Not more than one prisoner-of-war medal may

23 be issued to a person under this section or section 1128

24 of title 10. However, for each succeeding service that
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1 would otherwise justify the issuance of such a medal, the

2 President (in the case of service referred to in subsection

3 (a) of this section) or the Secretary concerned (in the case

4 of service referred to in section 1128(a) of title 10) may

5 issue a suitable device to be worn as determined by the

6 President or the Secretary, as the case may be.

7 ‘‘(d) For a person to be eligible for issuance of a pris8 oner-of-war medal, the person’s conduct must have been

9 honorable for the period of captivity which serves as the

10 basis for the issuance.

11 ‘‘(e) If a person dies before the issuance of a prisoner12 of-war medal to which he is entitled, the medal may be

13 issued to the person’s representative, as designated by the

14 President.

15 ‘‘(f) Under regulations to be prescribed by the Presi16 dent, a prisoner-of-war medal that is lost, destroyed, or

17 rendered unfit for use without fault or neglect on the part

18 of the person to whom it was issued may be replaced with19 out charge.

20 ‘‘(g) In this section, the term ‘period of war’ has the

21 meaning given such term in section 101(11) of title 38.’’.

22 (2) The table of chapters at the beginning of part

23 III of such title is amended by inserting after the item

24 relating to chapter 23 the following new item:

‘‘25. Miscellaneous Awards ............................................................. 2501’’.
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1 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Section 2501 of title 5, United

2 States Code, as added by subsection (a), applies with re3 spect to any person who, after April 5, 1917, is forcibly

4 detained or interned as described in subsection (a) of such

5 section.

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