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The Purple Heart: Background and Issues for Congress
Introduction
Requirements for military awards and decorations can change over time. New events and changes
in military, political, or social conditions can generate debate over who is eligible for various
military awards. These changes tend to be controversial, especially with veterans groups.
Congress has considered several pieces of legislation that would change who would be eligible to
receive the Purple Heart, and under what conditions.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have greatly increased the number of servicemembers receiving
the Purple Heart award' as well as the potential conditions under which they receive the award.
Increasingly acknowledged conditions, such as traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), as well as accidents and other events while deployed, bring up new
questions as to when a servicemember deserves a Purple Heart. The July 17, 2015, shooting of
servicemembers at a Marine recruiting office and a naval reserve center in Chattanooga, TN,
again prompted questions about applying the Purple Heart to terrorist attacks versus criminal acts.
Veterans groups often voice their views when Congress or the President proposes making changes
to expand eligibility for the Purple Heart. These groups argue, for example, that a servicemember
who acquires PTSD may not always deserve the same recognition as a servicemember killed or
wounded in direct combat.2 While others contend that these medical conditions can debilitate
servicemembers just as much as physical injuries and can have lasting effects on servicemembers'
lives. Determining which actions and events make a servicemember qualified for receiving a
Purple Heart, and whether expanding eligibility does a disservice to those who have already
earned the award, are contentious elements of this debate.
Although Congress has traditionally left many military award requirements to the executive
branch, the Constitution does allow Congress to act in this area, and events have prompted
changes regarding eligibility for the Purple Heart.3 On December 19, 2014, Congress passed The
Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for
Fiscal Year 2015. Section 571 of the NDAA for FY2015 expanded eligibility by redefining what
should be considered an attack by a "foreign terrorist organization" for purposes of determining
eligibility for the Purple Heart. As a result, servicemembers wounded and killed in the 2009
shootings in Little Rock, AR, and at Fort Hood, TX, were awarded Purple Hearts in 2015.
Congressional offices often receive questions about Purple Heart eligibility from constituents,
especially when eligibility rules change. The number of these questions is likely to increase as
servicemembers return from conflicts around the world and if eligibility requirements are again
changed. This report will examine the history of the Purple Heart and changes in eligibility over
time as well as current issues facing Congress.
1 According to estimates by the Military Order of the Purple Heart as of April 1, 2015, there are approximately 35,431
Purple Heart recipients from the war in Iraq and 21,910 from Afghanistan including Operation New Dawn, and other
casualties. See Military Order of the Purple Heart, "Purple Heart Recipients," on PDF p. 7 at
http://www.purpleheart.org/DownLoads/Bank/MOPHInformationalBrochures/MOPHToday.pdf.
2 Gene Beresin, "Why Are We Denying Purple Hearts to Veterans with PTSD?" Huffington Post (updated) May 3,
2015, at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gene-beresin/why-are-we-denying-purpleb_6786318.html.
3 U.S. Constitution, Art. I, 8, clause 14.Congressional Research Service
1
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Torreon, Barbara Salazar. The Purple Heart: Background and Issues for Congress, report, June 21, 2018; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1213103/m1/4/: accessed June 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.