The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“PUBLIC MEDAL OF VALOR ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S1582 on Feb. 26, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PUBLIC MEDAL OF VALOR ACT
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased to cosponsor the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act, S. 39, which was introduced by Senator Stevens. I thank him for his hard work on this important piece of legislation.
I supported and cosponsored the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act in the last Congress as well. I was disappointed that this legislation did not become law then. In April and May, 1999, I made sure that the Senate acted on this bill. On April 22, 1999, the Senate Judiciary Committee took up that measure in regular order and reported it unanimously. At that time I congratulated Senator Stevens for introducing the measure and thanked him for his leadership. I noted that we had worked together on a number of law enforcement matters and that the senior Senator from Alaska is a stalwart supporter of the men and women who put themselves at risk to protect us all. I said that I looked forward to enactment of this measure and to seeing the extraordinary heroism of our police, firefighters and correctional officers recognized with the Medal of Valor.
On May 18, 1999, I was privileged to be on the floor of the Senate when we proceeded to consider S. 39 and passed it unanimously. I took that occasion to commend Senator Stevens and all who had worked so hard to move this measure in a timely way. That was during National Police Week nearly two years ago. The measure was sent to the House of Representatives where it lay dormant for the remainder of the 106th Congress.
Instead, the House, in the last Congress, insisted that the Senate take up, fix and pass the House-passed version of this measure, H.R. 46, if it were to become law. House members indicated that they were prepared to accept most of the Senate-passed text, but insisted that it be enacted under the House bill number. In order to get this important measure to the President, we did that on December 15, 2000. We discharged the House-passed version of that bill from the Judiciary Committee, adopting a complete substitute, and sent it back to the House. Unfortunately, the House failed to act on our good faith effort last year, and the Public Medal of Valor was never enacted.
This year, I have again worked with Senator Stevens, Senator Hatch, and others to get this important bill passed. I urge my colleagues to work towards improvements to ensure that the Medal of Valor Board will work effectively and efficiently with the National Medal of Valor Office within the Department of Justice. Our legislation should establish both of these entities. It is essential that they work well together to design the Medal of Valor and to create the criteria and procedures for recommendations of nominees for the award. The men and women who will be honored by the Medal of Valor for their brave deeds deserve nothing less. I hope the Senate will quickly act on these changes to this important measure.
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