There is hereby established an honorary award for the recognition of outstanding and distinguished service by public safety officers to be known as the Administrator’s Award For Distinguished Public Safety Service (“Administrator’s Award”).

The Administrator’s Award shall be presented by the Administrator of FEMA or by the Attorney General to public safety officers for distinguished service in the field of public safety.

Each Administrator’s Award shall consist of an appropriate citation.

The Administrator of FEMA and the Attorney General are authorized and directed to issue jointly such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section.

As used in this section, the term “public safety officer” means a person serving a public agency, with or without compensation, as—

(1) a firefighter;

(2) a law enforcement officer, including a corrections or court officer; or

(3) a civil defense officer.

(Pub. L. 93–498, § 15, Oct. 29, 1974, 88 Stat. 1544; Pub. L. 98–241, title II, § 202, Mar. 22, 1984, 98 Stat. 96; Pub. L. 106–503, title I, § 110(a)(2)(B)(iv), (v), (C), Nov. 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 2302; Pub. L. 107–12, § 8, May 30, 2001, 115 Stat. 22; Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title XVIII, § 1802(b), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2100.)