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[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1673 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1673

  To authorize the award of the Iraqi Liberation Medal as a campaign 
 medal for members of the Armed Forces who serve in Southwest Asia in 
                connection with Operation Iraqi Freedom.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2003

  Mr. Bingaman (for himself, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Bayh) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To authorize the award of the Iraqi Liberation Medal as a campaign 
 medal for members of the Armed Forces who serve in Southwest Asia in 
                connection with Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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

SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF AWARD OF IRAQI LIBERATION MEDAL AS CAMPAIGN 
              MEDAL FOR SERVICE IN SOUTHWEST ASIA IN OPERATION IRAQI 
              FREEDOM.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) According to President George W. Bush, Operation Iraqi 
        Freedom was ``fought for the cause of liberty, and for the 
        peace of the world...'' and ``to free a nation by breaking a 
        dangerous and aggressive regime''.
            (2) The military victory in Iraq has been characterized by 
        President George W. Bush as one of the ``swiftest advances in 
        heavy arms in history''.
            (3) There are more than 130,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, 
        and Marines of the United States serving in the Iraqi Theater 
        of Operations, far from family and friends, and for an unknown 
        duration.
            (4) Since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, almost 
        300 members of the Armed Forces of the United States have died 
        in Iraq and nearly 1,500 have been wounded in action.
            (5) Congress has authorized and Presidents have issued 
        specific decorations recognizing the sacrifice and service of 
        the members of the Armed Forces of the United States in the 
        Korean War, the Vietnam conflict, and the liberation of Kuwait.
            (6) Current Department of Defense guidance authorizes the 
        award of only one expeditionary medal for overseas duty in 
        Afghanistan, the Philippines, and Iraq.
            (7) The conflict in Iraq is significant enough in scope and 
        sacrifice to warrant a specific military decoration for the 
        liberation of Iraq.
    (b) Authorization of Award of Campaign Medal.--The Secretary 
concerned may award a campaign medal of appropriate design, with 
ribbons and appurtenances, to any person who serves in any capacity 
with the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia region in connection with 
Operation Iraqi Freedom.
    (c) Name of Medal.--The campaign medal authorized by subsection (b) 
shall be known as the ``Iraqi Liberation Medal''.
    (d) Prohibition on Concurrent Award of Global War on Terrorism 
Expeditionary Medal.--A person who is awarded the campaign medal 
authorized by subsection (b) for service described in that subsection 
may not also be awarded the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal 
for that service.
    (e) Other Limitations.--The award of the campaign medal authorized 
by subsection (b) shall be subject to such limitations as the President 
may prescribe.
    (f) Regulations.--(1) Each Secretary concerned shall prescribe 
regulations on the award of the campaign medal authorized by subsection 
(b).
    (2) The regulations prescribed under paragraph (1) shall not go 
into effect until approved by the Secretary of Defense.
    (3) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the regulations 
prescribed under paragraph (1) are uniform, so far as practicable.
    (g) Secretary Concerned Defined.--In this section, the term 
``Secretary concerned'' means the following:
            (1) The Secretary of the Army with respect to matters 
        concerning members of the Army.
            (2) The Secretary of the Navy with respect to matters 
        concerning members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard 
        when it is operating as a service in the Navy.
            (3) The Secretary of the Air Force with respect to matters 
        concerning members of the Air Force.
            (4) The Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to 
        matters concerning members of the Coast Guard when it is not 
        operating as a service in the Navy.
                                 <all>
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