Heck relaunches stolen valor campaign

WASHINGTON – Given an opening by the U.S. Supreme Court, Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., on Tuesday relaunched a campaign that would make it a crime for someone to lie about military service.

Justices on June 28 struck down the Stolen Valor Act, a law passed by Congress in 2005 targeting individuals who make false claims about having earned medals and other military honors. The high court said the law violated speech rights under the First Amendment.

Heck’s legislation, introduced last year as the original Stolen Valor law was being challenged in court through a California case, provides a tweak that supporters say would make it constitutionally more palatable.

The bill makes it a federal mis­demeanor punishable by a fine and a year in prison to misrepresent military service "with intent to obtain anything of value," such as federal benefits or a job reserved for a veteran. In that way it mimics accepted laws against fraud.

"If individuals are allowed to freely lie and fabricate stories of military service and awards it will cheapen the sanctity of such awards in the eye of the American people," Heck said at a news conference.

The bill would not cover minor instances such as telling fake war stories to nab free drinks at a bar.

Heck, a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, said leaders of the House Judiciary Committee are agreeable to hold a hearing on his bill, the first step toward passage.

He was joined by Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard, and by Mark Donald, a retired lieutenant who was awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest military honor, for heroism in Afghanistan in 2003.

Meanwhile Tuesday, the Pentagon said it plans to establish a searchable database of military valor awards and medals.

The idea of establishing a database is to make it easier to check on award claims, and perhaps to deter those who would make false claims, Pentagon press secretary George Little said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Follow him on Twitter @STetreaultDC.