Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1968 To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Shirley Chisholm. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 28, 2019 Mr. JEFFRIES (for himself, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. WATERS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. BRINDISI, Mr. BROWN of Mary- land, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. COX of Cali- fornia, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Ms. DEAN, Mr. DELGADO, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. FUDGE, Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms. HILL of California, Ms. NORTON, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KING of New York, Mrs. LAW- RENCE, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. LEE of Ne- vada, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. MORELLE, Mrs. MURPHY, Mr. NADLER, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. OCASIO-COR- TEZ, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PLASKETT, Ms. PRESSLEY, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. ROSE of New York, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. STANTON, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. TRONE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mis- sissippi, Mr. TONKO, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. ZELDIN, Mr. CLEAVER, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. SPEIER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. GABBARD, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. MENG, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1968.IH H1968 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1968 IH of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Shirley Chisholm. 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 ‘‘Shirley Chisholm Con- 4 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds as follows: 7 (1) In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first 8 African-American woman elected to Congress where 9 she served until 1982. 10 (2) Shirley Chisholm inspired and led the 11 march of political achievement by African-Americans 12 and women in the three decades since she ran for 13 the Presidency of the United States. 14 (3) Her election to Congress and her candidacy 15 for the Presidency raised the profile and aspirations 16 of all African-Americans and women in the field of 17 politics. 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1968.IH H1968 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1968 IH (4) Shirley Chisholm was recognized for her ac- 1 tivism, independence, and groundbreaking achieve- 2 ments in politics during and after the civil rights 3 era. 4 (5) Shirley Chisholm was born in Brooklyn, 5 New York, on November 30, 1924, attended Brook- 6 lyn College, and earned a Master’s degree from Co- 7 lumbia University. 8 (6) Shirley Chisholm worked in education and 9 social services before being elected to the New York 10 State Assembly in 1964. 11 (7) Shirley Chisholm established the Unity 12 Democratic Club in 1960, which played a significant 13 role in rallying Black and Hispanic voters in New 14 York City. 15 (8) In 1969, Shirley Chisholm began her service 16 in the 91st Congress, representing Brooklyn’s 12th 17 Congressional District in the United States House of 18 Representatives. 19 (9) During her service in the House of Rep- 20 resentatives, Shirley Chisholm promoted the employ- 21 ment of women in Congress and was vocal in her 22 support of civil rights, women’s rights, and the poor, 23 while fervently opposing the Vietnam War. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1968.IH H1968 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1968 IH (10) In 1972, Shirley Chisholm was the first 1 African-American to seek the nomination of a major 2 party for President of the United States. 3 (11) Shirley Chisholm was a co-founder of the 4 National Organization for Women. 5 (12) An historic figure in American political 6 history, Shirley Chisholm died at the age of 80 in 7 Ormond Beach, Florida, on New Year’s Day 2005. 8 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 9 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 10 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem- 11 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 12 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of the Con- 13 gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo- 14 ration of Shirley Chisholm, in recognition of her activism, 15 independence, and groundbreaking achievements in poli- 16 tics, her election as the first African-American woman in 17 the Congress, and her campaign to be the first African- 18 American to gain the nomination of a major political party 19 for President of the United States. 20 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 21 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 22 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec- 23 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1968.IH H1968 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1968 IH devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec- 1 retary. 2 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 4 gold medal referred to in subsection (a), the gold 5 medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, 6 where it will be displayed as appropriate and made 7 available for research. 8 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 9 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 10 make the gold medal received under this Act avail- 11 able for display elsewhere, particularly at other loca- 12 tions and events associated with Shirley Chisholm. 13 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 14 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 15 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 16 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 17 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 18 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 19 and the cost of the gold medal. 20 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 21 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu- 22 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 23 51 of title 31, United States Code. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1968.IH H1968 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1968 IH (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 1 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 2 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1968.IH H1968 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS