§15202 Medal of Valor Board

Summary

Creates a Medal of Valor Review Board of 11 people who have public safety experience. Members serve 4-year terms. Appointments are: two each from the Senate majority and minority leaders, two each from the House Speaker and House minority leader, and three by the President (one with firefighting experience, one with law enforcement experience, and one with emergency services experience). Vacancies are filled the same way. The members elect a chair. The Board must hold its first meeting within 90 days after the last initial member is named, then meet when the chair calls it and at least twice a year. A majority makes a quorum, though the Board can set a smaller hearing quorum and make other rules by majority vote. The Board reviews applications from the National Medal of Valor Office and, no more than once a year, recommends names to the Attorney General. It may choose up to 5 recipients (individuals or groups) in a year but may choose none; the Attorney General can raise that number in extraordinary cases. The Board can hold hearings, take testimony, collect evidence, and request information from federal agencies. Witnesses may be paid the same fees as under 28 U.S.C. 1821, with per diem and mileage paid from the Board’s funds. The Board must keep secret anything that would harm an ongoing law enforcement investigation or is otherwise legally confidential.