To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Mahatma Gandhi in recognition of his contributions to the Nation by the promotion of nonviolence.

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1127 To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Mahatma Gandhi in recognition of his contributions to the Nation by the promotion of nonviolence. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 8, 2019 Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. HOLDING, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. BERA, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. JAYAPAL, and Mr. KHANNA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Ma- hatma Gandhi in recognition of his contributions to the Nation by the promotion of nonviolence. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds the following: 4 (1) Few people have had as significant and as 5 positive an impact on the world and freedom than 6 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1127.IH H1127 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1127 IH (2) Gandhi led the Indian people to independ- 1 ence from British rule in August 1947 through non- 2 violent means, staging massive peaceful demonstra- 3 tions against poverty while supporting women’s 4 rights and religious tolerance. 5 (3) Gandhi’s legacy has inspired hundreds of 6 millions of people around the world to pursue non- 7 violence as a means to achieve freedom and equality, 8 including Martin Luther King, Jr.’s movement to 9 end racial injustice in the United States and Nelson 10 Mandela’s fight to end apartheid in South Africa. 11 (4) For his efforts, Gandhi was given the title 12 of Mahatma, or ‘‘Great Soul’’ and was often called 13 Bapu in India, which means ‘‘father’’. 14 (5) Over 2,000,000 people attended Gandhi’s 15 funeral and his memory and teachings persist still 16 today. 17 (6) October 2, Gandhi’s birthday, was declared 18 as International Day of Non-Violence by the United 19 Nations to, ‘‘disseminate the message of non-vio- 20 lence, including through education and public aware- 21 ness’’ and reaffirm ‘‘the universal relevance of the 22 principle of non-violence’’ and desire ‘‘to secure a 23 culture of peace, tolerance, and understanding 24 through non-violence’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1127.IH H1127 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1127 IH (7) Ensuring that people around the globe know 1 about, understand, and adopt Gandhi’s principles of 2 ahimsa (non-violence), satyagraha (appeal to, insist- 3 ence on, or reliance on the Truth) and swaraj (self- 4 rule) are more important than ever. 5 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 6 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 7 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem- 8 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 9 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 10 medal of appropriate design, to Mahatma Gandhi, in rec- 11 ognition of his contributions to the Nation by the pro- 12 motion of nonviolence. 13 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the 14 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 15 of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 16 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em- 17 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 18 Secretary. 19 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 21 gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 22 shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 23 it shall be available for display as appropriate and 24 made available for research. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1127.IH H1127 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1127 IH (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 1 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 2 make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 3 available for display at other locations, particularly 4 such locations as are associated with Mahatma Gan- 5 dhi. 6 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 7 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre- 8 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 9 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 at 10 a price sufficient to cover the cost of the bronze medals, 11 including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 12 overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal. 13 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 14 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 15 for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1127.IH H1127 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS