Red Star Service Banner Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Red Star Service Banner Act designates a new commemorative symbol recognizing U.S. service members and veterans who died by suicide and acknowledging their families' sacrifice. The design is a white field with a blue border and one centered red star, subject to approval by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Immediate family members may display the banner at home or work. Veterans organizations, businesses, public buildings, schools, libraries, places of worship, civic centers, and other appropriate public or private locations may display it to honor the dead and support surviving families. It may appear alongside other recognized service banners.
The banner may also commemorate firefighters, law-enforcement officers, emergency medical personnel, and other first responders who died by suicide, with equivalent family and public display locations. VA, coordinating with the Defense Department, may promote public awareness, but the promotion is discretionary.
The Act expressly does not establish eligibility for a VA or other federal benefit, require VA to certify or approve who may display a banner, or create a federal legal status beyond chapter 9 recognition. It authorizes no additional appropriation and requires VA to carry out the amendments with funds otherwise available. The bill does not provide a free banner, survivor payment, suicide-prevention grant, or mandatory awareness campaign.
Who Benefits and How
Families of deceased service members, veterans, firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical personnel gain an official symbol of recognition. Veterans organizations, community institutions, and businesses gain clear permission to display it. Banner manufacturers may see demand.
Who Bears the Burden and How
VA must approve the design and absorb any implementation or optional awareness costs within existing resources. The Defense Department may support outreach. Families seeking survivor benefits receive no new eligibility, assistance, or certification from the designation, and private purchasers bear banner acquisition costs.
Key Provisions
- Designates the Red Star Service Banner.
- Recognizes military suicide losses.
- Acknowledges surviving military families.
- Requires a white field, blue border, and red star.
- Requires VA approval of the design.
- Permits display in homes and workplaces.
- Permits display by veterans organizations.
- Permits display in public and community buildings.
- Allows display alongside other service banners.
- Extends recognition to first responders.
- Authorizes optional VA and Defense awareness work.
- Creates no federal benefit eligibility.
- Requires no individual display certification.
- Creates no broader federal legal status.
- Authorizes no additional appropriations.
- Uses existing VA funding.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a federally recognized Red Star Service Banner to commemorate service members, veterans, and first responders who died by suicide and their families, authorizes broad voluntary display and optional public awareness, expressly creates no benefit or individual certification system, and requires implementation from existing VA funds.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans Commemoration, Military Suicide Awareness, First Responder Recognition, Department of Veterans Affairs, Federal Symbols
Primary Purpose
Creates a federally recognized Red Star Service Banner to commemorate service members, veterans, and first responders who died by suicide and their families, authorizes broad voluntary display and optional public awareness, expressly creates no benefit or individual certification system, and requires implementation from existing VA funds.
Policy Domains
Sections 2 and 3 banner designation, design, voluntary display, public awareness, first-responder coverage, no-benefit construction, and existing-fund implementation
Identified Gains
- Families of service members lost to suicide
- Families of veterans lost to suicide
- Families of firefighters lost to suicide
- Families of police officers lost to suicide
- Families of emergency medical personnel lost to suicide
- Veterans service organizations
- Community institutions displaying the banner
- Banner manufacturers
Identified Costs
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Department of Defense
- VA programs sharing existing funds
- Families seeking federal survivor benefits
- Private banner purchasers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Mr. Bergman (for himself, Mr. Correa, Mr. Bilirakis, Mrs. Luna, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Families of service members lost to suicide, Families of veterans lost to suicide, Families seeking federal survivor benefits
Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, VA programs sharing existing funds
Families of firefighters lost to suicide, Families of first responders lost to suicide, Families of police officers lost to suicide
Families of emergency medical personnel lost to suicide
Community institutions displaying the banner
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "family"
- → Immediate family member of a person who died by suicide
- "secretary"
- → VA Secretary approving the banner design
- "organization"
- → Veterans or community institution displaying the banner
- "first_responder"
- → Firefighter, officer, or emergency medical worker commemorated by the symbol
- "defense_secretary"
- → Defense Secretary coordinating optional awareness work
Note: {'scope_ids': ['red_star_service_banner_recognition'], 'description': 'The measure recognizes loss but deliberately separates commemoration from benefits, eligibility adjudication, certification, or new appropriations; public awareness is optional and implementation must fit within existing VA resources.'}
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Federal recognition under title 36 that creates no separate benefit, program, assistance, or other legal classification.
A VA-approved white banner with a blue border and centered red star commemorating covered suicide deaths and family sacrifice.
Permission for families, organizations, businesses, governments, and community spaces to display the banner without an individual federal certification process.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology