I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 991 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to recognize the dependent children 
of members of the Armed Forces who are serving on active duty or 
who have served on active duty through the presentation of an official 
lapel button. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 13, 2015 
Mr. LATTA (for himself, Mr. MCKINLEY, and Mr. WITTMAN) 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 
dependent children of members of the Armed Forces 
who are serving on active duty or who have served on 
active duty through the presentation of an official lapel 
button. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Children of Military 
Service Members Commemorative Lapel Pin Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE RECOGNITION OF DE-
PENDENT CHILDREN OF MEMBERS OF THE 
ARMED FORCES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PRESENTATION OF LAPEL 
BUTTON.—Chapter 57 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 1126 the following new 
section: 
‘‘§ 1126a. Children of military service members com-
memorative lapel button: eligibility and 
presentation 
‘‘(a) DESIGN AND ELIGIBILITY.—A lapel button, to 
be known as the children of military service members com-
memorative lapel button, shall be designed, as approved 
by the Secretary of Defense, to identify and recognize an 
eligible child dependent of a member of the armed forces 
who serves on active duty for a period of more than 30 
days. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION AND PRESENTATION.—The Sec-
retary of Defense shall establish an application process by 
which a member referred to in subsection (a) can request 
a children of military service members commemorative 
lapel button for the member’s eligible child dependents. 
Upon processing of the application and payment of the 
fee required by subsection (c), the Secretary concerned 
shall present a children of military service members com-
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memorative lapel button to eligible child dependents of a 
member. 
‘‘(c) COST.—Presentation of a children of military 
service members commemorative lapel button is condi-
tioned upon the payment of an amount sufficient to cover 
the cost of manufacture and distribution of the lapel but-
ton. 
‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF BUTTONS.—(1) 
Not more than one children of military service members 
commemorative lapel button may be presented to an eligi-
ble child dependent of a member, regardless of the number 
of times the member serves on active duty. 
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if a person is 
an eligible child dependent of more than one member, the 
eligible child dependent may receive a children of military 
service members commemorative lapel button on behalf of 
each member of whom the person is a dependent. 
‘‘(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if a children of 
military service members commemorative lapel button pre-
sented under this section has been lost, destroyed, or ren-
dered unfit for use without fault or neglect on the part 
of the eligible child dependent to whom it was furnished, 
the Secretary concerned may replace the lapel button upon 
application and payment of an amount sufficient to cover 
the cost of manufacture and presentation. 
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‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE CHILD DEPENDENT DEFINED.—The 
term ‘eligible child dependent’ means a dependent of a 
member of the armed forces described in subparagraph 
(D) or (I) of section 1072(2) of this title. 
‘‘(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. Children of military service members commemorative lapel button: eligi-
bility and presentation.’’. 
(c) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EXPEDITED IMPLEMEN-
TATION.—It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary 
of Defense should take appropriate actions to expedite— 
(1) the design and manufacture of the children 
of military service members commemorative lapel 
button authorized by section 1126a of title 10, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a); and 
(2) the establishment and implementation of 
mechanisms to facilitate the issuance of the children 
of military service members commemorative lapel 
button. 
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(d) RETROACTIVE AVAILABILITY OF CHILDREN OF 
MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS COMMEMORATIVE LAPEL 
BUTTON.— 
(1) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of Defense 
shall make the children of military service members 
commemorative lapel button authorized by section 
1126a of title 10, United States Code, as added by 
subsection (a), available to any person who can 
prove to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the 
person satisfied, at any time before the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the definition contained in 
subsection (e) of such section 1126a of eligible child 
dependent of a member of the Armed Forces who 
served on active duty for a period of more than 30 
days. 
(2) APPLICATION PROCESS.—The Secretary of 
Defense shall provide a mechanism by which a per-
son eligible under paragraph (1), or a person acting 
on behalf of the person, may apply to the Secretary 
of Defense for a children of military service mem-
bers commemorative lapel button. 
(3) NOTIFICATION
OF
CERTAIN
MEMBERS.— 
The Secretary of Defense shall notify members of 
the Armed Forces who served on active duty for a 
period of more than 30 days since September 11, 
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2001, of the availability of the children of military 
service members commemorative lapel button under 
this subsection. To the extent practicable, such no-
tice shall be provided not later than 60 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(4) DEADLINE
FOR
APPLICATION.—Applica-
tions for a children of military service members com-
memorative lapel button under this subsection must 
be submitted to the Secretary of Defense not later 
than one year after the date on which the Secretary 
first announces, in the Federal Register and by such 
other means as the Secretary considers appropriate, 
the availability of the lapel button. 
(5) COSTS, LIMITATIONS, AND EXCEPTIONS.— 
Subsections (c) and (d) of section 1126a of title 10, 
United States Code, shall apply with respect to the 
presentation of a children of military service mem-
bers commemorative lapel button under this sub-
section. 
Æ 
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