I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 802
To authorize the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 28, 2001
Mr. SMITH of Texas (for himself, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. GREEN
of Wisconsin, and Mr. KELLER) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To authorize the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, and
for other purposes.
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 ‘‘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 Gen-
eral, upon the recommendation of the Medal of Valor Re-
view 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 offi-
cer.
SEC. 3. MEDAL OF VALOR BOARD.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD.—There is estab-
lished 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 individuals 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 Presi-
dent, including one with experience in fire-
fighting, one with experience in law enforce-
ment, 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 member-
ship of the Board shall not affect the powers of the
Board and shall be filled in the same manner as the
original appointment.
(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 con-
duct business, but the Board may establish a
lesser quorum for conducting hearings sched-
uled 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 in-
consistent with this Act or other applicable law.
(c) DUTIES.—The Board shall select candidates as
recipients of the Medal of Valor from among those applica-
tions received by the National Medal Office. Not more
often than once each year, the Board shall present to the
Attorney General the name or names of those it rec-
ommends 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 recipients in a given year. The Board shall set an an-
nual 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, ad-
minister such oaths, take such testimony, and re-
ceive such evidence as the Board considers 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 mile-
age 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 nec-
essary to carry out its duties. Upon the request of the
Board, the head of such department or agency may fur-
nish 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 equiva-
lent 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.
(2) All members of the Board who serve as officers
or employees of the United States, a State, or a local gov-
ernment, shall serve without compensation in addition to
that received for those services.
(b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Board
shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu
of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agen-
cies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United
States Code, while away from their homes or regular
places of business in the performance of service for the
Board.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER.—The term ‘‘pub-
lic safety officer’’ means a person serving a public
agency, with or without compensation, as a fire-
fighter, law enforcement officer, or emergency serv-
ices officer, as determined by the Attorney General.
For the purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘‘law
enforcement officer’’ includes a person who is a cor-
rections or court officer or a civil defense officer.
(2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of
the several States of the United States, the District
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Attor-
ney General such sums as may be necessary to carry out
this Act.
SEC. 7. NATIONAL MEDAL OF VALOR OFFICE.
There is established within the Department of Justice
a national medal of valor office. The office shall provide
staff support to the Board to establish criteria and proce-
dures for the submission of recommendations of nominees
for the Medal of Valor and for the final design of the
Medal of Valor.
SEC. 8. CONFORMING REPEAL.
Section 15 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Con-
trol Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2214) is amended—
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the
following new subsection (a):
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established
an honorary award for the recognition of outstanding and
distinguished service by public safety officers to be known
as the Secretary’s Award For Distinguished Public Safety
Service (‘Secretary’s Award’).’’;
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) by striking paragraph (1); and
(B) by striking ‘‘(2)’’;
(3) by striking subsections (c) and (d) and re-
designating subsections (e), (f), and (g) as sub-
sections (c), (d), and (e), respectively; and
(4) in subsection (c), as so redesignated—
(A) by striking paragraph (1); and
(B) by striking ‘‘(2)’’.
SEC. 9. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.
The Board shall consult with the Institute of Her-
aldry within the Department of Defense regarding the de-
sign and artistry of the Medal of Valor. The Board may
also consider suggestions received by the Department of
Justice regarding the design of the medal, including those
made by persons not employed by the Department.
Æ