II 115th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1283 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 25, 2017 Mr. Markey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To authorize the award of a military service medal to members of the Armed Forces who were exposed to ionizing radiation as a result of participation in the testing of nuclear weapons or under other circumstances.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Atomic Veterans Service Medal Act . 2. Atomic Veterans Service Medal (a) Service medal required The Secretary of Defense shall design and produce a military service medal, to be known as the Atomic Veterans Service Medal , to honor retired and former members of the Armed Forces who are radiation-exposed veterans. (b) Distribution of medal (1) Issuance to retired and former members At the request of a radiation-exposed veteran, the Secretary of Defense shall issue the Atomic Veterans Service Medal to the veteran. (2) Issuance to next-of-kin In the case of a radiation-exposed veteran who is deceased, the Secretary may provide for issuance of the Atomic Veterans Service Medal to the next-of-kin of the person. (3) Application The Secretary shall prepare and disseminate as appropriate an application by which radiation-exposed veterans and their next-of-kin may apply to receive the Atomic Veterans Service Medal. (c) Radiation exposed veteran defined In this section, the term radiation-exposed veteran has the meaning given such term in section 1112(c)(3) of title 38, United States Code.