The document says “can”Who acts: PresidentHow: statuteSec. 1 in the PDF
What the document says
“the President is authorized to award the Medal of Honor, under section 8291 of such title, to John W. Ripley for the acts of valor described in subsection (b).”
The operative provision. It authorizes an award of the Medal of Honor under section 8291 of title 10, United States Code, to one named person, and it does so notwithstanding the time limitations in sections 8298(a) and 8300 of that title and any other time limitation on awarding medals to people who served in the Armed Forces. It amends no statute and names no deadline.
What the document actually says
“the President is authorized to award the Medal of Honor, under section 8291 of such title, to John W. Ripley for the acts of valor described in subsection (b).”
That sentence, in plain words
The President may give John W. Ripley the Medal of Honor. It is for the brave acts named below.
What this is about
There is a time limit on war medals. That limit ran out long ago. This law sets it aside for one man.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “means”Who acts: CongressHow: statuteSec. 1 in the PDF
What the document says
“The acts of valor described in this subsection are the actions of John W. Ripley, as a member of the Marine Corps, on April 2, 1972, during the Vietnam War, for which he was previously awarded the Navy Cross.”
The definition subsection (a) points to. It fixes the award to what John W. Ripley did on one date, April 2, 1972, as a member of the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and identifies those actions as the ones for which he was previously awarded the Navy Cross. It describes no part of the actions themselves.
What the document actually says
“The acts of valor described in this subsection are the actions of John W. Ripley, as a member of the Marine Corps, on April 2, 1972, during the Vietnam War, for which he was previously awarded the Navy Cross.”
That sentence, in plain words
The brave acts are what John W. Ripley did on April 2, 1972. He was a Marine then. He already won the Navy Cross for that day.
What this is about
This part names the day the medal is for. It adds no new facts. It just points to what he did.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
Both subsections of the law's only section: the authorization to award the medal despite the statutory time limits, and the description of the acts the award is for.
Nothing in the section is left out. The law is one section in two subsections and does nothing else. The approval line and the legislative history the Government Publishing Office prints after the section are held out of the indexed text.
The section sets aside time limits stated in sections 8298(a) and 8300 of title 10, United States Code, and authorizes an award under section 8291 of that title. Title 10 is not indexed here, so the site does not record what those sections say. The law authorizes an award rather than directing one, and sets no deadline, so whether the medal is awarded is not settled by the text.
