Released on = April 9, 2006, 2:52 pm

Press Release Author = HomeOfHeroes.com

Industry = Media

Press Release Summary = Student Legislators to vote on Bill currently before U.S.
House and Senate in Model U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, DC Next Week.


Press Release Body = The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 (H.R. 3352 and S. 1998) was
introduced based upon information in a Policy Analysis Paper written by Colorado
State University-Pueblo senior Pam Sterner of Pueblo, Colorado. Pam\'s husband is
widely considered America\'s foremost authority on military awards and operates the
large website at www.HomeOfHeroes.com. Through her husband\'s work, Pam became
friends with Special Agent Thomas \"Tom\" Cottone, the F.B.I.\'s lead agent in cases
involving medals fraud, and the frustration of these two men in dealing with what
are frequently called wannabe heroes prompted her to address the wide-spread problem
in a paper she wrote for one of her Political Science classes.
Early last year Colorado Congressman John T. Salazar, upon reviewing Pam\'s paper,
requested a meeting with Pam, her husband, and Medal of Honor recipient Peter Lemon.
Following that meeting Salazar introduced H.R. 3352 in a press conference where he
was joined by B.G. Burkett, author of the acclaimed book Stolen Valor. Ironically,
introduction of the bill coincided with the release of the movie \"Wedding Crashers,\"
in which the lead characters used Purple Heart Medals to pick up dates. As a result,
the bill received wide reporting in the media, though most of the press reports
focused on the bill as a reaction to the popular movie, missing the intent of the
legislation, or the true nature of the problem of medals fraud.
In the nine months since introduction of the House Bill, hundreds of cases of medals
fraud have continued to be reported in the media and in most cases the individuals
involved have escaped punishment or prosecution due to the loopholes in Title 18
that Mrs. Sterner addresses in her paper.
Last fall Mrs. Sterner was selected to represent Colorado\'s 3d Congressional
District at the Model U.S. House of Representatives. The United States Model House
of Representatives will bring one Student Representative from each of the 440
Congressional Districts to Washington, DC for a five-day simulation of the House of
Representatives. These Student Representatives have written the bills from which a
few will be selected to be introduced during the simulation in Washington, D.C.
during the Spring Recess April 17 - 21. Though Mrs. Sterner has been assigned to the
House Finance Committee and should have written a bill related to the work of that
committee, organizers for the event requested that she introduce to the Model House,
the same bill currently pending before the Judiciary Committees of both the House
and Senate. That bill is scheduled to be debated on the House Floor and then come
for a vote by the 440 Student Delegates on the afternoon of Friday, April 21.
Mrs. Sterner will arrive in the Capitol for this week of events on Thursday, April
13, and will be available to meet with legislators or staff as her schedule with the
Model House allows. She is also available for media interviews during the period.
For more information on Stolen Valor, to read Mrs. Sterner\'s analysis of the
problem, or to view streaming media of some of her previous television interviews on
this bill, visit www.HomeOfHeroes.com/herobill.
Mrs. Sterner may be contacted at (719) 564-1755 or by email at pam@homeofheroes.com.

Web Site = http://www.homeofheroes.com/herobill/index.html

Contact Details = Doug Sterner
3111 Thatcher Avenue
Pueblo, CO 81005
(719) 564-1755
doug@homeofheroes.com