Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act - Authorizes the President to award a medal to be known as the "Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Congressional Medal," to the personal representative or next of kin of individuals killed as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in recognition of their sacrifice and to honor their deaths.
Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike three medals, to be representative of and in honor of, respectively: (1) victims of the attack at the World Trade Center, including civilians, public safety officers, emergency workers, and hijack victims; (2) victims aboard United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania; and (3) victims at the Pentagon, including the hijack victims.
Declares eligible for such medal any individual who died on or after September 11, 2001, as a direct result of that act of terrorism within the United States.
States the medals are national medals.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1423 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1423
To provide for a medal of appropriate design to be awarded by the
President to the next of kin or other representative of those
individuals killed as a result of the terrorist attacks of September
11, 2001.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 19, 2005
Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Specter, Mr. Santorum, Mr.
Baucus, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Biden, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Dayton, Mr.
Dodd, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Inouye,
Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr.
Leahy, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. Pryor) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for a medal of appropriate design to be awarded by the
President to the next of kin or other representative of those
individuals killed as a result of the terrorist attacks of September
11, 2001.
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 ``Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) since September 11, 2001, the United States has been
engaged in a war different from any other in the history of our
Nation;
(2) in the eyes of the terrorists, we are all the enemy,
and the term ``innocent civilian'' has no meaning for such
terrorists;
(3) the deaths by airplane at the World Trade Center, at
the Pentagon, and in rural Pennsylvania represent an escalation
of direct terrorist attacks on civilians;
(4) the officers, emergency workers, and other employees of
State and local government agencies, including the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey, and of the United States
Government and others, who responded to the attacks on the
World Trade Center in New York City and perished as a result of
the tragic events of September 11, 2001 (including those who
are missing and presumed dead), took heroic and noble action on
that day;
(5) the officers, emergency rescue workers, and employees
of local and United States Government agencies, who responded
to the attack on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., took heroic
and noble action to evacuate the premises and prevent further
casualties of Pentagon employees;
(6) the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93,
recognizing the potential danger that the aircraft that they
were aboard posed to large numbers of innocent Americans,
American institutions, and the symbols of American democracy,
took heroic and noble action to ensure that the aircraft could
not be used as a weapon; and
(7) given the unprecedented nature of the attacks against
the United States of America and the need to properly
demonstrate the support of the country for the victims of
terrorism, it is fitting that their sacrifice be recognized
with the award of an appropriate medal.
SEC. 3. FALLEN HEROES OF 9/11 CONGRESSIONAL MEDALS.
(a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized, on
behalf of Congress, to award to the personal representative or next of
kin of each individual referred to in subsection (c), a medal of
appropriate design, such medal to be known as the ``Fallen Heroes of 9/
11 Congressional Medal'', in recognition of the sacrifice made by each
such individual, and to honor their deaths on and following September
11, 2001.
(b) Design and Striking.--
(1) In general.--For purposes of the presentations referred
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (in this
Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike 3 medals, of
such content and with such suitable emblems, devices, and
inscriptions as the Secretary determines to be appropriate to
be representative of and in honor of, respectively--
(A) victims of the attack at the World Trade
Center, including civilians, public safety officers,
emergency workers, and hijack victims;
(B) victims aboard United Airlines Flight 93 that
crashed in Pennsylvania; and
(C) victims at the Pentagon, including the hijack
victims.
(2) Consultation.--Before making a final determination with
respect to the design of the medal under this subsection, the
Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Defense and such
other parties as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate.
(c) Eligibility to Receive Medal.--
(1) In general.--Any individual who died on or after
September 11, 2001, as a direct result of the act of terrorism
within the United States on that date, shall be eligible for a
medal authorized by subsection (a).
(2) Determination.--Eligibility under paragraph (1) shall
be determined by the Secretary, in consultation with such other
officers of the United States Government and State and local
officials as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
(a) Recipients of Duplicate Medals.--The Secretary shall strike
duplicates of the medals struck pursuant to section 3 for presentation
to each precinct house, firehouse, emergency response station, or other
duty station or place of employment to which each person referred to in
subsection (b) was assigned on September 11, 2001, for permanent
display in each such place in a manner befitting the memory of such
person.
(b) Public Safety, Emergency, and Other Workers.--Persons referred
to in this subsection are officers, emergency workers, and other
employees of State and local government agencies, including the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey, and of the United States
Government and others, who responded to the attacks on the World Trade
Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, and perished as a direct
result of that act of terrorism (including those who are missing and
presumed dead).
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF LISTS OF RECIPIENTS.
(a) Initial Lists.--Before the end of the 120-day period beginning
on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish--
(1) a list of the names of individuals eligible to receive
a medal under section 3(c)(1), during the period beginning on
September 11, 2001, and ending on the date of enactment of this
Act; and
(2) a list of the eligible recipients of a duplicate medal
under section 4.
(b) Subsequent Eligibility.--If any individual becomes eligible for
a medal under section 3(c)(1), or any other recipient becomes eligible
for a duplicate medal under section 4, the Secretary shall promptly add
the name of that individual or recipient to the appropriate list
established pursuant to subsection (a).
SEC. 6. SALES OF DUPLICATE MEDALS TO THE PUBLIC TO DEFRAY COSTS.
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates of the medals struck under
this Act, at a price sufficient to cover the costs thereof, including
labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
SEC. 7. NATIONAL MEDALS.
The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
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