To direct the Secretary of Defense to issue a medal to certain veterans who died after their service in the Vietnam War as a direct result of that service, or who were presumptively exposed to ionizing radiation, herbicide agents, or chemical agents during their service in the Armed Forces.

May 16, 2005

Mr. FILNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

To direct the Secretary of Defense to issue a medal to certain veterans who died after their service in the Vietnam War as a direct result of that service, or who were presumptively exposed to ionizing radiation, herbicide agents, or chemical agents during their service in the Armed Forces.

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 `In Memory Medal For Forgotten Veterans Act'.

SEC. 2. MEDAL TO HONOR VETERANS WHO DIED AS A RESULT OF THEIR SERVICE IN THE VIETNAM WAR OR WHO WERE PRESUMPTIVELY EXPOSED TO IONIZING RADIATION, HERBICIDE AGENTS, OR CHEMICAL AGENTS.

(a) Medal Authorized- There is established a medal, to be known as the `Jesus (Chuchi) Salgado Medal', to be issued by the Secretary of Defense to any of the following:

(1) VETERANS WHO DIED AS A RESULT OF THEIR SERVICE IN THE VIETNAM WAR- A veteran of the Vietnam War who died after serving in the war, but whose death is determined by the Secretary of Defense to be a direct result of that service, and whose name is not eligible for placement on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial authorized under Public Law 96-297 (16 U.S.C. 431 note).

(2) VETERANS EXPOSED TO IONIZING RADIATION- A radiation-exposed veteran who is eligible (or was at the time of death eligible) to receive benefits from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section 1710(e)(1)(B) of title 38, United States Code, attributable to the presumption of service-connection under section 1112(c)(1) of that title.

(3) VETERANS EXPOSED TO HERBICIDE AGENTS- A veteran of service in the Republic of Vietnam who is eligible (or was at the time of death eligible) to receive benefits from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section 1710(e)(1)(A) of title 38, United States Code, attributable to the presumption of service-connection under section 1116(f) of that title.

(4) VETERANS EXPOSED TO CERTAIN CHEMICAL AGENTS- A veteran who served on active duty in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War who is entitled (or was at the time of death entitled) to receive compensation from the United States under section 1110 of title 38, attributable to the presumption of service-connection under section 1118(a) of that title.

(b) Application and Design- The Jesus (Chuchi) Salgado Medal shall be issued upon receipt by the Secretary of Defense of an application for such medal, submitted in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary prescribes. The medal shall be of an appropriate design approved by the Secretary.

(c) Issuance to Representative of Deceased- If a person described in subsection (a) dies before being issued the Jesus (Chuchi) Salgado Medal, the medal shall be issued to the next-of-kin or representative of such person, as designated by the Secretary of Defense.

(d) Assistance From the Department of Veterans Affairs- The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall make available to the Secretary of Defense such records, and otherwise provide such assistance, as the Secretary of Defense may require for purposes of this section.

(e) Definitions- In this section:

(1) RADIATION-EXPOSED VETERAN- The term `radiation-exposed veteran' has the meaning given to that term in section 1112(c)(3)(A) of title 38, United States Code.

(2) VETERAN OF SERVICE IN THE REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM- The term `veteran of service in the Republic of Vietnam' means a veteran who served on active duty in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on February 28, 1961, and ending on May 7, 1975.

END