H. R. 802
One Hundred Seventh Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and one
An Act
To authorize the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Safety Officer Medal
of Valor Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF MEDAL.
After September 1, 2001, the President may award, and present
in the name of Congress, a Medal of Valor of appropriate design,
with ribbons and appurtenances, to a public safety officer who
is cited by the Attorney General, upon the recommendation of
the Medal of Valor Review Board, for extraordinary valor above
and beyond the call of duty. The Public Safety Medal of Valor
shall be the highest national award for valor by a public safety
officer.
SEC. 3. MEDAL OF VALOR BOARD.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD.—There is established a Medal
of Valor Review Board (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the
‘‘Board’’), which shall be composed of 11 members appointed in
accordance with subsection (b) and shall conduct its business in
accordance with this Act.
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—
(1) MEMBERS.—The members of the Board shall be individ-
uals with knowledge or expertise, whether by experience or
training, in the field of public safety, of which—
(A) two shall be appointed by the majority leader of
the Senate;
(B) two shall be appointed by the minority leader of
the Senate;
(C) two shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House
of Representatives;
(D) two shall be appointed by the minority leader of
the House of Representatives; and
(E) three shall be appointed by the President, including
one with experience in firefighting, one with experience
in law enforcement, and one with experience in emergency
services.
(2) TERM.—The term of a Board member shall be 4 years.
(3) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the membership of the
Board shall not affect the powers of the Board and shall be
filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
H. R. 802—2
(4) OPERATION OF THE BOARD.—
(A) CHAIRMAN.—The Chairman of the Board shall be
elected by the members of the Board from among the
members of the Board.
(B) MEETINGS.—The Board shall conduct its first
meeting not later than 90 days after the appointment of
the last member appointed of the initial group of members
appointed to the Board. Thereafter, the Board shall meet
at the call of the Chairman of the Board. The Board shall
meet not less often than twice each year.
(C) VOTING AND RULES.—A majority of the members
shall constitute a quorum to conduct business, but the
Board may establish a lesser quorum for conducting
hearings scheduled by the Board. The Board may establish
by majority vote any other rules for the conduct of the
Board’s business, if such rules are not inconsistent with
this Act or other applicable law.
(c) DUTIES.—The Board shall select candidates as recipients
of the Medal of Valor from among those applications received by
the National Medal of Valor Office. Not more often than once
each year, the Board shall present to the Attorney General the
name or names of those it recommends as Medal of Valor recipients.
In a given year, the Board shall not be required to select any
recipients but may not select more than 5 recipients. The Attorney
General may in extraordinary cases increase the number of recipi-
ents in a given year. The Board shall set an annual timetable
for fulfilling its duties under this Act.
(d) HEARINGS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may hold such hearings, sit
and act at such times and places, administer such oaths, take
such testimony, and receive such evidence as the Board con-
siders advisable to carry out its duties.
(2) WITNESS
EXPENSES.—Witnesses requested to appear
before the Board may be paid the same fees as are paid to
witnesses under section 1821 of title 28, United States Code.
The per diem and mileage allowances for witnesses shall be
paid from funds appropriated to the Board.
(e) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The Board may
secure directly from any Federal department or agency such
information as the Board considers necessary to carry out its duties.
Upon the request of the Board, the head of such department or
agency may furnish such information to the Board.
(f) INFORMATION TO BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL.—The Board shall
not disclose any information which may compromise an ongoing
law enforcement investigation or is otherwise required by law to
be kept confidential.
SEC. 4. BOARD PERSONNEL MATTERS.
(a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—(1) Except as provided in
paragraph (2), each member of the Board shall be compensated
at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic
pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section
5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel
time) during which such member is engaged in the performance
of the duties of the Board.