Congress creates Medal of Sacrifice for fallen police and first responders.

What it does

The bill sets up a Medal of Sacrifice. The President will award it to fallen law enforcement officers and first responders. A Commission of 12 people will design the medal. The Commission will decide who gets it. Three named deputies will be the first recipients.

Who it affects

Fallen law enforcement officers and first responders are honored with this medal. Their families receive formal recognition of their sacrifice. Commission members serve unpaid five-year terms.

One thing to notice

The bill names three specific deputies as the first recipients. The President decides when the Commission's work is done.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

36 cosponsors: 27 Republicans, 9 Democrats.

• May 19, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• May 19, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary and Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
• Dec 18, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Dec 18, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by Voice Vote”
• Feb 2, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H1925-1926)”
• Feb 2, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Jordan moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
• May 11, 2026 — Passed both chambers · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S2204; text: CR S2204)”
• May 20, 2026 — Sent to president · Congress.gov: “Presented to President”
• May 28, 2026 — Signed into law · Congress.gov: “Became Public Law No: 119-94”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

2 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 2 reports from Jun 2026 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $90,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 52 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 41% of bills with any report.

Brian Mast, who sponsored the bill, received $347,366 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Peace Officers Research Association of California — $50,000 in 1 report
• Sergeants Benevolent Association of New York City — $40,000 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• Medal of Sacrifice — An award given by the President to honor law enforcement and first responders killed in the line of duty.
• Commission — A group of 12 people from law enforcement and first responder groups who design the medal and choose recipients.
• first responders — People like firefighters and paramedics who arrive first to help in emergencies.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.