Remove the Stain Act

This bill would take back each Medal of Honor that was given to U.S. soldiers for actions at Wounded Knee Creek on December 29, 1890. It says the military must remove those names from the official Medal of Honor Roll. It also says no one has to return the physical medal and no federal benefits will be taken away because of this change .

The bill explains why this matters. At Wounded Knee, hundreds of Lakota men, women, and children were killed, many while unarmed, and even U.S. soldiers were hurt by their own side’s fire. Despite this, 20 Medals of Honor were awarded for that day. The bill says keeping those medals in place harms the meaning of the nation’s highest military award and the honor of those who truly earned it .

• Who is affected: Soldiers who received Medals of Honor for Wounded Knee; their names would be removed from the Medal of Honor Roll. Current benefits to any individuals are not cut, and no one must return a medal .
• What changes: The Medals of Honor given for Wounded Knee are rescinded because the event was a massacre of mostly unarmed people, and awarding medals for it harms the award’s integrity .
• When: The changes take effect after the law is enacted, with the military directed to carry them out .