Sponsors (13)
Introduced March 25, 2025 by Kweisi Mfume · Last progress March 25, 2025
The bill corrects a historic racial injustice and honors Doris Miller—boosting morale and affirming willingness to revisit past awards—while creating a precedent that could increase DoD administrative burden, generate further claims, and incur modest costs.
Military personnel and veterans — especially Black service members — are formally recognized as Doris Miller is authorized the Medal of Honor, correcting a long-standing racial omission and honoring historic heroism.
Veterans and current service members may benefit from a demonstrated willingness by the government to reassess past awards, which could prompt upgrades or reviews for similarly overlooked cases.
Service member morale and public recognition of historical equity are improved by formally upgrading Miller’s honor, signaling a commitment to acknowledging valor regardless of race.
The bill sets a precedent for waiving statutory time limits and may open the door to numerous retroactive award requests, creating ongoing administrative workload for the Department of Defense and related offices.
Families of other historically overlooked service members may expect similar corrective action, potentially generating controversy, contested requests, and dissatisfaction if not all claims are addressed.
The Department of Defense and taxpayers will incur modest administrative and ceremonial costs to process the upgrade and update records/benefits.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes the President to posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Doris Miller for valor at Pearl Harbor, waiving statutory time limits that would otherwise bar the award.
Authorizes the President to posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Doris Miller for his acts of valor during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and waives any statutory time limits that would otherwise bar that award. The bill notes Miller previously received the Navy Cross for those actions and documents the historical circumstances that delayed recognition of his heroism.