I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5233 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to recognize the contributions made 

by the spouses of members of the Armed Forces who serve in combat 

through the presentation of an official lapel button, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2010 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER (for herself, Mr. JONES, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

FORBES, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. HINOJOSA, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. 

OWENS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to recognize the 

contributions made by the spouses of members of the 

Armed Forces who serve in combat through the presentation of an official lapel button, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE RECOGNITION OF 

2 SPOUSES OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 

3 FORCES. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PRESENTATION OF LAPEL

5 BUTTONS.—Chapter 57 of title 10, United States Code, 

6 is amended by inserting after section 1126 the following 

7 new section: 

8 ‘‘§ 1126a. Spouse of combat veteran lapel button: eli9 gibility and presentation 

10 ‘‘(a) DESIGN AND ELIGIBILITY.—A lapel button, to 

11 be known as the spouse-of-a-combat-veteran lapel button, 

12 shall be designed, as approved by the Secretary of De13 fense, to identify and recognize the spouse of a member 

14 of the armed forces who is serving or has served in a com15 bat zone for a period of more than 30 days. 

16 ‘‘(b) PRESENTATION.—The Secretary concerned may 

17 authorize the use of appropriated funds to procure spouse18 of-a-combat-veteran lapel buttons and to provide for their 

19 presentation to eligible spouses of members. 

20 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION TO TIME PERIOD REQUIREMENT.— 

21 The 30-day periods specified in subsections (a) and (b) 

22 do not apply if the member is killed or wounded in the 

23 combat zone before the expiration the period. 

24 ‘‘(d) LICENSE TO MANUFACTURE AND SELL LAPEL

25 BUTTONS.—Section 901(c) of title 36 shall apply with reVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:57 May 07, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5233.IH H5233

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1 spect to the spouse-of-a-combat-veteran lapel button au2 thorized by this section. 

3 ‘‘(e) COMBAT ZONE DEFINED.—In this section, the 

4 term ‘combat zone’ has the meaning given that term in 

5 section 112(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

6 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

7 issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 

8 this section. The Secretary shall ensure that the regula9 tions are uniform for each armed force to the extent prac10 ticable.’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

12 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

13 after the item relating to section 1126 the following new 

14 item: 

‘‘1126a. Spouse-of-a-combat-veteran lapel button: eligibility and presentation.’’. 

15 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—It is the Sense of Congress 

16 that, as soon as practicable once the spouse-of-a-combat17 veteran lapel button become available, the Secretary of 

18 Defense— 

19 (1) should widely announce the availability of 

20 spouse-of-a-combat-veteran lapel buttons through 

21 military and public information channels; and 

22 (2) should encourage commanders at all levels 

23 to conduct ceremonies recognizing the support pro24 vided by spouses of members of the Armed Forces 

25 and to use the ceremonies as an opportunity for 


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1 members to present their spouses with a spouse-of2 a-combat-veteran lapel button. 

Æ 


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