Sponsor
Donald J. Bacon
Representative · R-NE
Representative · R-NE
The bill improves access, recognition, and centralized support for Medal of Honor recipients and their families—making interactions with DoD easier and protections more consistent—but does so at the cost of added security and administrative burdens, potential legal/operational risks, and some loss of service-level autonomy.
Medal of Honor recipients and their immediate families will get Common Access Cards (CACs) that allow unaccompanied access to all military installations including the Pentagon, making travel, visits, and official business on bases significantly easier for recipients and families.
Medal of Honor recipients and families gain a dedicated DoD Medal of Honor Liaison who serves as a single point of contact and is required to advise the Secretary on active-duty service matters for recipients, simplifying coordination with Defense/VA and helping ensure informed decisions about assignments and protections for recipients.
All services will follow standardized protocols and public affairs outreach for Medal of Honor recipients, promoting consistent recognition and treatment nationwide and reducing variability between services.
Non–active-duty Medal of Honor recipients receiving unaccompanied-access CACs could increase security and access-management burdens for installations, requiring new vetting processes and operational adjustments.
Creating and staffing a new DoD Medal of Honor Liaison office and adding related administrative duties will raise DoD administrative costs and require ongoing resources, with taxpayers ultimately bearing those expenses.
Giving CACs and expanding access privileges, combined with liaison-influenced active-duty placement recommendations, could create liability or operational questions if recipients are placed in roles (including combat) that raise fitness, legal, or risk-management concerns.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a DoD Medal of Honor Liaison office and grants Medal of Honor recipients DoD ID cards for unaccompanied access to military installations, including the Pentagon.
Official title: To amend chapter 57 of title 10, United States Code, to provide for recipients of the Medal of Honor to receive identification allowing unaccompanied access to military installations, to establish a Department of Defense Medal of Honor Liaison, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 17, 2026 by Donald J. Bacon · Last progress September 17, 2026
Creates a Department of Defense Medal of Honor Liaison office and requires DoD to issue common access cards (or successor IDs) to people listed on the Medal of Honor rolls. The ID gives those Medal of Honor recipients unaccompanied access to military installations, including the Pentagon. The bill directs the Secretary of Defense to appoint a Medal of Honor Liaison with duties to serve as a point of contact for recipients and families, coordinate across services and with the Department of Veterans Affairs, standardize Medal of Honor protocol, handle public affairs outreach, coordinate replacement decorations, and advise on recipients serving on active duty.