I like what Congressman Joe Heck's version is angling at, that the misrepresentation is made “with intent to obtain anything of value.” The Libertarian in me believes the issue devolves down to what the end result of the lie is.

A person who sits in a bar and claims to have been a Navy SEAL is a liar. If he uses that lie to get a job he has committed fraud. Currently there is no law that proscribes anyone from claiming they are a Navy SEAL, but there are several websites devoted to debunking posers and shaming them into ceasing their posing. True, some people are pathological liars and a public shaming may not work, so be it. But most posers are just extreme Walter Mittys and usually the embarrassment of being outed as a poser is enough.

My concern is the whole freedom of speech and expression versus fraudulent activities. As a libertarian I feel government has no business regulating my private activities. The less government the better. The “Stolen Valor” law needs to be recrafted to be of a fraudulent gain through false pretenses with remuneration to the aggrieved party law. That way it covers not just fraudulent MoH cases, but also someone posing as a veteran to get VA benefits, a person claiming a PhD to get a professorship, and padding a resume. What it doesn’t cover, and shouldn’t, are garrulous posers who make unsubstantiated claims at a bar or a party or like to play dress up on a socila networking site or a party.

When one gets creative on a resume it is incumbent on an employer to do the due diligence to verify an individual’s bona fides prior to hiring them. If the lies result in a job and then are discovered later that is fraud. Under the type of overarching statute I outlined above the employer could regain past wages and benefits paid. Or the VA could recoup past benefits rendered. It works in a variety of scenarios, not just specific ones in regards to decorations and service. A national database could also be set up similar to the sex offender one so future fraud by those individuals caught could be available.

To Entrophy's earlier question as to other cases in any other professions I would cite Ward Churchill, former professor at the University of Colorado. While his behavior was not, and has not, been criminalized, it did cost him as far as position and credibility.