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Committee backs Medal of Sacrifice Act to honor fallen first responders
Summary
The House Judiciary Committee voted to report HR 3497, the Medal of Sacrifice Act, which would authorize a presidential medal for law enforcement officers and first responders killed in the line of duty and establish a 12-member commission to advise eligibility; members adopted an amendment to include tribal and territorial officers.
The committee considered HR 3497, the Medal of Sacrifice Act, which would authorize the president to award a Medal of Sacrifice to law enforcement officers and first responders killed in the line of duty and establish a commission to advise on eligibility.
Sponsors and cosponsors across the aisle spoke in favor, recounting local line-of-duty deaths and saying the medal would provide national recognition for families. Representative Mast was thanked by members for his leadership on the bill. One member said the commission would be statutorily tasked with duties but not explicitly assigned the advisory role; a cosponsor from Kansas offered an amendment to include tribal and territorial law enforcement officers and to clarify the commission’s responsibility to advise the president on eligibility. That amendment was adopted by voice vote. The committee then voted to report the bill favorably to the House. Staff was authorized to make technical changes and members were given two days to submit views.
Next steps: Staff will consolidate the adopted amendments; the bill will be reported favorably to the House.
