{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-van-hollen-secure-key-provisions-of-valor-medals-review-act-in-defense-authorization-bill", "Blunt, Van Hollen Secure Key Provisions of Valor Medals Review Act in Defense Authorization Bill", "2019-12-11", "2019", "2019-12", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Roy Blunt", "B000575", "www.blunt.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  Today, U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and\r\nChris Van Hollen (Md.) announced that key provisions of the World War I Valor\r\nMedals Review Act have been included in the House and Senate-negotiated\r\nNational Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The senators' provisions would\r\nrequire the Department of Defense (DOD) to undertake a review of valor medals\r\nawarded to minority veterans during WWI to determine whether any should receive\r\nthe Medal of Honor. The language encourages DOD to conduct this review in\r\nconsultation with the Valor Medals Review Task Force, a joint project of the\r\nCongressionally-established World War I Centennial Commission and Park University's George\r\nS. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War, which has conducted extensive\r\nresearch to identify WWI veteran service records for this review. Service members of all races,\r\nreligions, and backgrounds fought in WWI, but the Medal of Honor was not\r\nawarded to minority veterans until the 1990s. Congress has authorized more\r\nrecent reviews for minority service members from World War II to the present,\r\nbut the only review undertaken for WWI took place in 1919  and no minority veterans received the Medal of Honor as a result of that review. Righting this\r\nhistorical wrong is long overdue. Minority WWI veterans who\r\ndemonstrated the highest acts of bravery deserve to be recognized with the\r\nMedal of Honor, said Blunt. While we can't undo the discrimination\r\nthese heroes faced in their lifetimes, we can do the right thing now by making\r\nsure they receive the honor they're due. I appreciate the important efforts by\r\nthe Valor Medals Review Task Force, with the support of Park University, to\r\nensure veterans who were wrongly denied our nation's highest military honor\r\nwill finally be acknowledged for their heroic actions.  Hundreds of thousands of\r\nminority Veterans served their country during World War I, and their efforts\r\nwere essential to our victory. But for far too long, their sacrifice has not\r\nreceived the recognition it deserves, said Van Hollen. William Butler,\r\nan African American Veteran from Salisbury, was recognized with the Croix de\r\nGuerre with Palm, the Distinguished Service Cross, and a recommendation for the\r\nMedal of Honor  but he never received that medal before his death. This\r\nlegislation is designed to ensure that cases like William Butler's will get a\r\nfair review. I was proud to fight for the inclusion of these crucial provisions\r\nin the NDAA so that William Butler and countless others have the opportunity to\r\nbe honored.Blunt and Van Hollen originally introduced\r\nthis legislation in April of this year. They have since repeatedly\r\nfought for its inclusion in the NDAA by introducing an amendment and sending a letter\r\nto the conference negotiators. The negotiated House and Senate NDAA\r\nConference Agreement will now go to the House and Senate floors for a final\r\nvote, before proceeding to the president's desk. U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth\r\n(Ill.), Tim Scott (S.C.), and Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) are original\r\ncosponsors of the Senate bill, and U.S. Representative French Hill (Ark.) has\r\nintroduced the House companion legislation.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThis\r\nbipartisan effort reflects the finest traditions of the Senate and their deep\r\ncommitment to serve those who serve us. We appreciate the leadership and\r\nsupport of Senators Van Hollen, Blunt and others to formalize this Valor Medals\r\nReview, said Park University President Greg Gunderson, Ph.D.\r\nPark University's George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War looks\r\nforward to working carefully and diligently over the next five years to review\r\nindividual service records of these World War I heroes.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-van-hollen-secure-key-provisions-of-valor-medals-review-act-in-defense-authorization-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.957031898200512, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}