Senate passes ‘Stolen Valor’ rewrite in defense bill

The Senate included a measure to make it a crime to lie about military honors as an amendment that passed Monday evening by voice vote in the defense authorization bill.

The amendment from outgoing Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) mimicked legislation he introduced earlier this year after the Supreme Court struck down the Stolen Valor Act that Congress passed in 2006, which said that lying about military honors was a crime. The amendment passed by voice vote.

Webb’s measure would make it a crime for individuals to lie about winning military honors or about military service while obtaining a “tangible benefit,” a distinction intended to win favor with the high court.

In June, the Supreme Court tossed out the first Stolen Valor Act, ruling that it was unconstitutional because it violated the First Amendment.

Within two weeks, there were two bills introduced in Congress to replace the law by adding provisions requiring benefits to the lying.

The House passed a similar measure in September that was introduced by Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.), along with a Senate version from Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.). The two bills are similar but not identical.

The Webb amendment was not included in the House defense bill, so it would have to be adopted by the House in the House-Senate conference committee on the authorization bill.

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