III
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 243
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
OCTOBER 31, 2001
Received and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Public Safety
Officer Medal of Valor should be presented to the public
safety officers who have perished and select other public
safety officers who deserve special recognition for out-
standing valor above and beyond the call of duty in
the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the United
States on September 11, 2001.
Whereas on September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked and de-
stroyed 4 civilian aircraft, crashing 2 of them into the
towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a
third into the Pentagon, and a fourth in rural southwest
Pennsylvania;
Whereas thousands of innocent Americans and many foreign
nationals were killed and injured as a result of these
HCON 243 RFS
surprise terrorist attacks, including the passengers and
crews of the 4 aircraft, workers in the World Trade Cen-
ter and the Pentagon, firefighters, law enforcement offi-
cers, emergency assistance personnel, and bystanders;
Whereas hundreds of public safety officers were killed and in-
jured as a result of these terrorist attacks because they
immediately rushed to the aid of innocent civilians who
were imperiled when the terrorists first launched their at-
tacks, many of whom would perish when the twin towers
of the World Trade Center collapsed upon them;
Whereas thousands more public safety officers are risking
their own lives and long-term health in sifting through
the aftermath and rubble of these terrorist attacks to re-
cover the dead;
Whereas the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of
2001 (Public Law 107–12; 115 Stat. 20) authorizes the
President to award and present, in the name of Congress,
a Medal of Valor to public safety officers for extraor-
dinary valor above and beyond the call of duty;
Whereas the Attorney General of the United States has dis-
cretion to increase the number of recipients of the Medal
of Valor under that Act beyond that recommended by the
Medal of Valor Review Board in extraordinary cases in
any given year;
Whereas the terrorist attacks in the United States of Sep-
tember 11, 2001, and their aftermath constitute the sin-
gle most deadly assault on our American homeland in our
Nation’s history; and
Whereas those public safety officers who have perished and
those who lead the efforts to rescue innocent civilians
from the terrorist attacks, are the first casualties and
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veterans of America’s new war against terrorism, which
was authorized by the authorization for use of military
force enacted September 14, 2001: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that—
(1) the President should award and present, in
the name of Congress, a Public Safety Officer Medal
of Valor to those public safety officers who were
killed in the terrorist attacks in the United States
on September 11, 2001; and
(2) the President should award and present a
Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor to those public
safety officers who have earned special recognition
for outstanding valor above and beyond the call of
duty as named—
(A) in consultation with the Mayor of the
City of New York and Governor of the State of
New York for the attacks on New York—
(i) Commissioner of the New York
City Police Department;
(ii) Commissioner of the New York
City Fire Department; and
(iii) Executive Director of the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey;
(B) in consultation with the Chair of the
Washington Metropolitan Council of Govern-
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ments, including the sitting Chairs of the Police
and Fire Chief Committees; and the Fort Myer
Federal Fire Chief, and the Governor of the
Commonwealth of Virginia for the attack at the
Pentagon—
(i) Fire Chief of Arlington County,
Virginia; and
(ii) Police Chief of Arlington County,
Virginia; and
(C) in consultation with the Governor of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the
plane crash in Pennsylvania—
(i) Commandant of the Pennsylvania
State Police; and
(ii) Adjutant General of the Pennsyl-
vania National Guard,
or any of their designees, for their heroic actions on
September 11, 2001, and thereafter during the res-
cue and recovery missions.
Passed the House of Representatives October 30,
2001.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.