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CIVIC HERALD
HR 3497 · 119th Congress · HouseEnacted

Medal of Sacrifice Act

In plain language: This bill directs the President to establish a formal "Medal of Sacrifice" to honor local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement officers and first responders killed in the line of duty. An unpaid 12-member presidential commission will oversee the award process, advise on ceremony standards, and investigate cases to bar individuals who violated agency policies or committed official wrongdoing from receiving it. The legislation specifically designates three fallen deputies to receive the initial medals.

Provisional: our plain-language summary, pending review.

Provisionalunreviewed: impact, issue tags, provisions, stakeholders, summary
People affected—The bill names 3 specific initial recipients (Deputies Waller, Diaz, and Paez) and establishes general eligibility for fallen law enforcement officers and first responders, but the total number of recipients is not determinable from the text.
Fiscal magnitude—CBO cost estimate published (H.R. 3497, Medal of Sacrifice Act of 2025, 2026-01-28); dollar figure pending review extraction — see receipt
Reach8provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
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Issues

What this bill touches.

Policing & funding−15

The sign shows the bill's direction on each issue (+ toward, − away); the number is its magnitude. Color never encodes good or bad, and never party.

Who it affects

Who it helps · who it burdens.

Who it helps

  • Fallen law enforcement officers, first responders, and their surviving familiesEligible to be posthumously honored with a presidential Medal of Sacrifice recognizing their service and sacrifice in the line of duty.provisional
  • Families of Deputies Ralph Butch Waller, Ignacio Dan Diaz, and Luis PaezSpecifically designated by statute to receive the initial awards of the Medal of Sacrifice.provisional

Who it burdens

  • Members of the Commission on the Medal of SacrificeMust serve unpaid five-year terms to investigate eligibility disputes, advise on award criteria and design, promote the medal, and decide how awards are presented.provisional

Who opposes it

  • Fallen officers and first responders subject to findings of wrongdoingExplicitly disqualified from receiving the Medal of Sacrifice if their employing agency determined they acted outside the scope of their duties or violated official policies, unless cleared upon investigation by the Commission.provisional

Dollar-level funding (FEC sector totals) is coming in a later phase.

What it does

The provisions, in plain language.

  1. Directs the President to issue a Medal of Sacrifice honoring federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement officers and first responders killed in the line of duty.

    Sec. 2(a), (b)(1)provisional

  2. Disqualifies officers and first responders from receiving the medal if their agency found they engaged in wrongdoing or violated official policies, and tasks the Commission with investigating and making final eligibility determinations in those cases.

    Sec. 2(b)(2)provisional

  3. Establishes an unpaid, 12-member presidential commission composed of law enforcement officers, first responders, and related experts serving five-year terms.

    Sec. 2(c)(1)–(4)provisional

  4. Awards the initial Medals of Sacrifice to fallen deputies Ralph Butch Waller, Ignacio Dan Diaz, and Luis Paez.

    Sec. 2(c)(6)provisional

How your members of Congress line up

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Timeline

How it moved.

  1. May 28, 2026Became Public Law No: 119-94.
  2. May 28, 2026Became Public Law No: 119-94.
  3. May 28, 2026Signed by President.
  4. May 28, 2026Signed by President.
  5. May 20, 2026Presented to President.
  6. May 20, 2026Presented to President.
  7. May 11, 2026Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S2204; text: CR S2204)
  8. May 11, 2026Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  9. Feb 2, 2026Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  10. Feb 2, 2026On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H1925-1926)
  11. Feb 2, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H1925-1926)
  12. Jan 27, 2026Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 119-466.
  13. Jan 27, 2026Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 119-466.
  14. Dec 18, 2025Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by Voice Vote.
  15. May 19, 2025Introduced in House
  16. May 19, 2025Introduced in House

The original text

Read it for yourself.

Read the original text →

Sources & provenance

Congress.govrefreshed 17 days ago

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