S. 1200
A BILL
To direct the Secretaries of the
military departments to conduct a review of military service records to
determine whether certain Jewish American war veterans, including those
previously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Air Force
Cross, should be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Be
it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled,
This
Act may be cited as the `Jewish War Veterans Act of 2001'.
(a)
REVIEW REQUIRED- The Secretary of each military department shall review the
service records of each Jewish American war veteran described in subsection (b)
to determine whether or not that veteran should be awarded the Medal of Honor.
(b)
COVERED JEWISH AMERICAN WAR VETERANS- The Jewish American war veterans whose
service records are to be reviewed under subsection (a) are the following:
(1)
Any Jewish American war veteran who was previously awarded the Distinguished
Service Cross, the Navy Cross, or the Air Force Cross.
(2)
Any other Jewish American war veteran whose name is submitted to the Secretary
concerned for such purpose by the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of
America before the end of the one-year period beginning on the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(c)
CONSULTATIONS- In carrying out the review under subsection (a), the Secretary
of each military department shall consult with the Jewish War Veterans of the
United States of America and with such other veterans service organizations as
the Secretary considers appropriate.
(d)
RECOMMENDATION BASED ON REVIEW- If the Secretary concerned determines, based
upon the review under subsection (a) of the service records of any Jewish
American war veteran, that the award of the Medal of Honor to that veteran is
warranted, the Secretary shall submit to the President a recommendation that
the President award the Medal of Honor to that veteran.
(e)
AUTHORITY TO AWARD MEDAL OF HONOR- A Medal of Honor may be awarded to a Jewish
American war veteran in accordance with a recommendation of the Secretary
concerned under subsection (d).
(f)
WAIVER OF TIME LIMITATIONS- An award of the Medal of Honor may be made under
subsection (e) without regard to--
(1)
section 3744, 6248, or 8744 of title 10, United States Code, as applicable; and
(2)
any regulation or other administrative restriction on--
(A)
the time for awarding the Medal of Honor; or
(B)
the awarding of the Medal of Honor for service for which a Distinguished
Service Cross, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross, or any other decoration has been
awarded.
(g) JEWISH AMERICAN WAR VETERAN DEFINED- In this section, the term `Jewish American war veteran' means any person who served in the Armed Forces during World War II or a later period of war and who identified himself or herself as Jewish on his or her military personnel records.