Stolen Valor Act of 2005

Stolen Valor Act of 2005 - Amends the federal criminal code to expand the prohibition against wearing, manufacturing, or selling military decorations or medals without legal authorization to prohibit purchasing, soliciting, mailing, shipping, importing, exporting, producing blank certificates of receipt for, advertising, or exchanging such decorations or medals without authorization.

Prohibits falsely representing oneself as having been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces or any of the service medals or badges.

Increases penalties for violations if the offense involves a Distinguished Service Cross, an Air Force Cross, a Navy Cross, a silver star, or a Purple Heart.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3352 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3352

To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to protections for 
              the Medal of Honor, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 19, 2005

 Mr. Salazar introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to protections for 
              the Medal of Honor, 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 ``Stolen Valor Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) fraudulent claims surrounding receipt of the Medal of 
        Honor, the Distinguished-Service Cross, the Air Force Cross, 
        the Navy Cross, the Purple Heart, or any other medal or 
        decoration awarded by Congress or the armed forces damage the 
        reputation and meaning of these medals;
            (2) Federal law enforcement officers are currently limited 
        in their ability to prosecute fraudulent claims of receipt of 
        military medals; and
            (3) changes to the current statute are necessary to allow 
        law enforcement personnel to protect the reputation and meaning 
        of these medals.

SEC. 3. MILITARY MEDAL PROTECTIONS.

    Section 704 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by inserting ``purchases, attempts to purchase, 
                solicits for purchase, mails, ships, imports, exports, 
                produces blank certificates of receipt,'' after 
                ``wears''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``attempts to sell, advertises for 
                sale, trades, barters or exchanges for anything of 
                value'' after ``sells'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ``or (b)'' after 
        ``subsection (a)''
            (3) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c);
            (4) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) False Claims About Receipt of Military Medals.--Whoever 
falsely represents himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have 
been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the 
armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or 
badges awarded to the members of such forces, or the ribbon, button, or 
rosette of any such badge, decoration or medal, or any colorable 
imitation thereof shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not 
more than six months, or both.''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Other Medals.--If a decoration or medal involved in an 
offense under subsection (a) or (b) is a Distinguished Service Cross 
awarded under Section 3742 of title 10, an Air Force Cross awarded 
under section 8742 of section 10, a Navy cross awarded under section 
6242 of title 10, a silver star awarded under section 3746, 6244, or 
8746 of title 10, or a Purple Heart awarded under section 1129 of title 
10, or any replacement or duplicate medal as authorized by statute, in 
lieu of the punishment provided in that subsection, the offender shall 
be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.''.
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