COVID–19 Vaccine Developers Gold Medal Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2011 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to honor the contributions of all of those whose efforts led to the successful development of life saving vaccines to combat the novel coronavirus. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 10, 2021 Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. BLUNT) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To award a Congressional Gold Medal to honor the contribu- tions of all of those whose efforts led to the successful development of life saving vaccines to combat the novel coronavirus. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Vaccine 4 Developers Gold Medal Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2011.IS S2011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2011 IS (1) Researchers, scientists, doctors, epidemiolo- 1 gists, and others around the world have worked tire- 2 lessly and collaboratively to develop lifesaving vac- 3 cines to combat the coronavirus by reducing the like- 4 lihood of transmission, building immune resiliency, 5 avoiding hospitalizations, and reducing the likelihood 6 of death. 7 (2) Through the academic, research and ana- 8 lytic expertise of universities and their faculty, re- 9 searchers, and students, their efforts contributed to 10 providing valuable information to the public on the 11 severity of the coronavirus worldwide and, in some 12 cases, contributed to vaccine development. 13 (3) Several of the resulting vaccines represent 14 historic breakthroughs in biopharmaceutical tech- 15 nology, which are predicated on years of leading re- 16 search conducted in laboratories and hospitals that 17 benefit from the significant financial investment of 18 United States taxpayers through the Department of 19 Health and Human Services, the National Institutes 20 of Health, including the National Institute of Allergy 21 and Infectious Diseases, and the Biomedical Ad- 22 vanced Research and Development Authority. 23 (4) These professionals worked under record 24 timelines to develop safe, effective vaccines dem- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2011.IS S2011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2011 IS onstrated in trials and granted emergency use au- 1 thorization by the Food and Drug Administration, 2 outpacing the typical vaccine development timeframe 3 of 5 to 10 years and beating the previous record by 4 3 years. 5 (5) These remarkable achievements in medical 6 science will have positive implications for future vac- 7 cine development, helping to combat new viruses, 8 leading to improvements in health and well-being. 9 (6) The tremendous efforts in vaccine develop- 10 ment can be celebrated and attributed to building di- 11 verse teams, including the notable efforts of many 12 individuals across the planet. 13 (7) Vaccines authorized for emergency use in 14 the United States benefitted greatly from global co- 15 operation, strategic partnerships, and collaboration 16 with publicly funded agencies and research capabili- 17 ties of the academic community. 18 (8) As a result of the collaborative efforts, peo- 19 ple around the world are benefitting from the ad- 20 ministration of vaccines, although work remains to 21 support governments around the world in ensuring 22 vaccines are equitably distributed. 23 (9) The United States, including through co- 24 operation with bilateral and multilateral partner- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2011.IS S2011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2011 IS ships, can help scale up manufacturing and distribu- 1 tion to all corners of the globe. 2 (10) The vaccines developed are contributing to 3 the safety of people of the United States, rebuilding 4 the United States economy, and the reunion of fami- 5 lies. 6 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDALS. 7 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 8 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem- 9 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 10 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a single 11 gold medal of appropriate design in recognition of all those 12 whose efforts led to the successful development of vaccines 13 that received emergency use authorizations to respond to 14 the coronavirus. 15 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the 16 awards under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treas- 17 ury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike 18 a gold medal described in that subsection with suitable 19 emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by 20 the Secretary. 21 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the award of the gold 23 medal under subsection (a), the medal shall be given 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2011.IS S2011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2011 IS to the Smithsonian Institution where the medal shall 1 be— 2 (A) available for display, as appropriate; 3 and 4 (B) made available for research. 5 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 6 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 7 make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 8 available for— 9 (A) the purpose of education, research, and 10 the encouragement of science, technology, engi- 11 neering, and math professions through the 12 Smithsonian Science Education Center; and 13 (B) on display at a physical Smithsonian 14 museum or on loan, as appropriate, so that the 15 medal may be displayed elsewhere. 16 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 17 Under regulations that the Secretary may promul- 18 gate, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 19 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3 at a price 20 sufficient to cover the cost of the medals, including labor, 21 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2011.IS S2011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2011 IS SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 1 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 2 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 3 of title 31, United States Code. 4 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 5 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 6 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 7 items. 8 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 9 SALE. 10 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 11 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 12 Public Enterprise Fund such sums as may be necessary 13 to pay for the costs of the medal authorized under section 14 3. 15 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 16 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 17 4 shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public En- 18 terprise Fund. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:37 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2011.IS S2011 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS