Stolen Valor Act of 2013

Stolen Valor Act of 2013

Long title	An Act To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to fraudulent representations about having received military decorations or medals.
Enacted by	the 113th United States Congress
Effective	June 3, 2013
Citations
Public law	Pub. L. 113–12 (text) (PDF)
Statutes at Large	127 Stat. 448
Codification
Titles amended	18
U.S.C. sections amended	18 U.S.C. § 704: 18 U.S.C. § 704(a) 18 U.S.C. § 704(b) 18 U.S.C. § 704(c)(1) 18 U.S.C. § 704(d)
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 258 by Joe Heck (R–NV) on January 15, 2013 Committee consideration by United States House Committee on the Judiciary, United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations Passed the House on May 20, 2013 (390–3 Roll Call Vote 161) Passed the Senate on May 22, 2013 (Unanimous consent) Signed into law by President Barack Obama on June 3, 2013

The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 (Pub. L. 113–12 (text) (PDF); H.R. 258) is a United States federal law that was passed by the 113th United States Congress. The law amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a person to fraudulently claim having received a valor award specified in the Act, with the intention of obtaining money, property, or other tangible benefit by convincing another that they received the award.

The law is a revised version of a previous statute with roughly the same name that had been struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States in United States v. Alvarez (2012). In that case, the Supreme Court ruled the arrest and prosecution of a citizen for wearing and claiming to have received unearned military awards, who did so without criminal intent, under the 2005 law violates their constitutional right to freedom of speech.