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 pur-
poses. 
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 Com-
mittee 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 presen-
tation of an official lapel button, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE RECOGNITION OF 
SPOUSES 
OF 
MEMBERS 
OF 
THE 
ARMED 
FORCES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PRESENTATION OF LAPEL 
BUTTONS.—Chapter 57 of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting after section 1126 the following 
new section: 
‘‘§ 1126a. Spouse of combat veteran lapel button: eli-
gibility and presentation 
‘‘(a) DESIGN AND ELIGIBILITY.—A lapel button, to 
be known as the spouse-of-a-combat-veteran lapel button, 
shall be designed, as approved by the Secretary of De-
fense, to identify and recognize the spouse of a member 
of the armed forces who is serving or has served in a com-
bat zone for a period of more than 30 days. 
‘‘(b) PRESENTATION.—The Secretary concerned may 
authorize the use of appropriated funds to procure spouse- 
of-a-combat-veteran lapel buttons and to provide for their 
presentation to eligible spouses of members. 
‘‘(c) EXCEPTION TO TIME PERIOD REQUIREMENT.— 
The 30-day periods specified in subsections (a) and (b) 
do not apply if the member is killed or wounded in the 
combat zone before the expiration the period. 
‘‘(d) LICENSE TO MANUFACTURE AND SELL LAPEL 
BUTTONS.—Section 901(c) of title 36 shall apply with re-
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spect to the spouse-of-a-combat-veteran lapel button au-
thorized by this section. 
‘‘(e) COMBAT ZONE DEFINED.—In this section, the 
term ‘combat zone’ has the meaning given that term in 
section 112(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense shall 
issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 
this section. The Secretary shall ensure that the regula-
tions are uniform for each armed force to the extent prac-
ticable.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 1126 the following new 
item: 
‘‘1126a. Spouse-of-a-combat-veteran lapel button: eligibility and presentation.’’. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—It is the Sense of Congress 
that, as soon as practicable once the spouse-of-a-combat- 
veteran lapel button become available, the Secretary of 
Defense— 
(1) should widely announce the availability of 
spouse-of-a-combat-veteran lapel buttons through 
military and public information channels; and 
(2) should encourage commanders at all levels 
to conduct ceremonies recognizing the support pro-
vided by spouses of members of the Armed Forces 
and to use the ceremonies as an opportunity for 
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members to present their spouses with a spouse-of- 
a-combat-veteran lapel button. 
Æ 
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