frequently worn by U.S. military retirees, veterans and civilians on public holidays, parades and veterans functions. In this regard, the order of precedence of the Cold War Victory Medal is immediately after the lowest authorized U.S. award. There are various versions of the medal privately struck by many different vendors. However, the only version which has been officially adopted by the Military Order of Foreign Wars has been the Cold War Victory Medal designed by Nadine Russell of the Institute of Heraldry. It has also been officially adopted by the American Cold War Veterans organization. The Germany Defense Veterans of America has also adopted and authorized this medal to all the members of the Germany Defense Veterans of America as this organization's wear of medals on the GDVA uniform. Bills introduced in Congress to enact authorization to wear medal Over the years bills have been introduced in five separate Congresses for the authorization of a Cold War Victory Medal or Cold War Service Medal. To date bills have successfully passed both houses but get stripped out in committee. All medal bills have been opposed by the U.S. Department of Defense, as it would overlap with service and campaign medals already issued for the Vietnam War and the Korean War, as well as the costs of issuing millions of medals to eligible veterans. On February 17, 2011, Senator Olympia Snowe (ME) and on May 24, 2011, Representative Steve Israel (NY-2) reintroduced legislation in the Senate and House, respectively, that the Secretary of Defense concerned may issue a service medal, to be known as the `Cold War Service Medal', to Cold War veterans who meet the criteria. ===Bills in the United States Senate=== List of 12 senators who have supported the enactment of the medal Bills in the U.S. House of Representatives List of 42 representatives plus 1 delegate to congress who have supported the enactment of the medal References External links American Cold War Veterans (Archived from the original at http://www.AmericanColdWarVets.org, which is no longer active.) Cold War Veterans Association (Archived from the original at http://www.coldwarveterans.com, which is no longer active.) Germany Defense Veterans of America Awards and decorations of the National Guard (United States) Cold War United States service medals