Such criminalization of speech itself smacks of Orwellian authoritarianism - not the sort of constit

After the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional under the First Amendment, it left the door open to liars and frauds who sought gain from their falsehoods. A new and improved act shuts that door by making it a crime to lie about military honors discount on plane tickets when there is "intent to defraud."
What this means is that anyone who concocts a tall tale about a Medal of Honor or other honor with the intention of obtaining discount on plane tickets money, property or other tangible benefit as a result of his or her false claim could be charged.
This updated bill, written by Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada, is meant to be a better version than the one which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down last year in overturning the conviction of Xavier Alvarez of Pomona.
Alvarez claimed, shortly after his election to a local water district board, that he had won the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. military decoration, when in fact he had not even served in the military.
It was the most despicable lie from a habitual liar. Eventually Alvarez became the first person convicted under the federal Stolen Valor Act of 2005, which made it a crime to falsely discount on plane tickets claim receipt of military honors, particularly the Medal of Honor.
Alvarez's attorneys challenged his conviction all the way to the highest court, and won. The crux of the decision was a slippery-slope argument: that allowing the federal government to decree such speech to be a Advertisement criminal offense, even if whispered one person to another, "would endorse government authority to compile discount on plane tickets a list of subjects about which false statements are punishable," as Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion said.
Such criminalization of speech itself smacks of Orwellian authoritarianism - not the sort of constitutional democracy discount on plane tickets that real military heroes have fought and died for. As much as Alvarez deserves scorn and disgust, the Supreme Court decision was correct.
(Incidentally, Alvarez did have to resign his water board seat upon a separate conviction for defrauding the water district -- by claiming discount on plane tickets his ex-wife was still his spouse discount on plane tickets and signing her up for district-paid medical coverage.)
The obvious question, of course, is whether Alvarez discount on plane tickets could have been convicted under this narrower federal Stolen Valor Act of 2013, should it pass. Probably, no - at least for the particular discount on plane tickets offense that earned him the conviction under the old act.
But it's likely he could have been convicted under the newer acts for another discount on plane tickets reported incident: He allegedly made the same Medal of Honor claim when speaking to the Pomona Police Officers Association as he campaigned for his water district discount on plane tickets seat. If he used that lie to help him win the elected office, which carries with it monetary gain and some prestige, that should qualify as intent to defraud.
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