Sponsor
Riley M. Moore
Representative · R-WV
The bill provides formal recognition to veterans and eligible families for U.S.–Mexico border service through a new medal and application process, at modest cost and with potential delays and no guaranteed issuance to all next-of-kin.
Veterans and retired service members who served on the U.S.–Mexico border will be formally recognized with a new campaign medal, giving official acknowledgment of their service.
Next-of-kin of qualifying deceased service members can receive the medal, offering closure and recognition to families of the deceased.
The Department of Defense must prepare and disseminate a clear application form, creating an accessible process for eligible people to request the medal.
Issuance to next-of-kin is permissive rather than mandatory, so some families of qualifying deceased members may not receive the medal if the Department declines to issue it.
Verifying past service and processing applications will create an administrative burden on the Department of Defense that could delay medal issuance for some applicants.
Designing, producing, and administratively implementing a new medal will incur costs for the Department of Defense, ultimately borne by taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Representative · R-WV
Creates and directs DoD to design, produce, and issue the Faithful Patriot Campaign Medal to qualifying service members and optionally to next-of-kin.
Official title: To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish the Faithful Patriot Campaign Medal.
Introduced July 25, 2025 by Riley M. Moore · Last progress July 25, 2025
Creates a new military service medal called the Faithful Patriot Campaign Medal for members of the Armed Forces and veterans who served on the U.S.–Mexico border during Operation Faithful Patriot or a subsequent operation at that border. The Secretary of Defense must design and produce the medal, offer it to qualifying retired or former service members upon request, may issue it to next-of-kin of deceased qualifying individuals, and must provide an application form for requests.