Willie O’Ree Congressional Gold Medal Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2504 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O’Ree, in recognition of his extraordinary contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 2, 2019 Mr. QUIGLEY (for himself, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. KATKO, Mr. EMMER, Mr. COO- PER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. MOORE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. STAUBER, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. PETERS, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. BRINDISI, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. RUSH, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. COLLINS of New York, Mr. KIND, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LEWIS, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. DELGADO, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. BERGMAN, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. SIRES, Mr. HAGEDORN, and Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O’Ree, in recognition of his extraordinary contributions and com- mitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational oppor- tunity. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2504.IH H2504 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2504 IH 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 ‘‘Willie O’Ree Congres- 4 sional Gold Medal Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Willie O’Ree was the first Black player to 8 compete in the National Hockey League (NHL), ap- 9 pearing for the Boston Bruins on January 18, 1958, 10 in the throes of the civil rights movement in the 11 United States helping to end racial segregation in 12 the premier professional ice hockey league; he is 13 widely referred to as the ‘‘Jackie Robinson of Hock- 14 ey’’. 15 (2) Willie O’Ree was born October 15, 1935, in 16 Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada; he is the 17 youngest of 13 children and a descendant of Paris 18 O’Ree, whose name appears in the famous historical 19 document ‘‘The Book of Negroes’’. 20 (3) Willie O’Ree was raised by his parents in 21 Fredericton, a predominantly White town where 22 hockey was deeply rooted within the culture. O’Ree 23 was a standout athlete on the ice and the baseball 24 diamond. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2504.IH H2504 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2504 IH (4) At age 21, O’Ree was being scouted by pro- 1 fessional baseball teams and seriously considered 2 baseball as a career. Upon experiencing the seg- 3 regated South for the first time while appearing for 4 a minor league tryout, his dream changed and his 5 attention turned solely to ice hockey. 6 (5) While playing amateur hockey, Willie was 7 struck in his right eye with a puck and lost his eye- 8 sight. He was told by doctors to abandon his hockey 9 career; instead, never disclosing the extent of his in- 10 jury, he pursued his dream of playing professional 11 hockey. 12 (6) At the age of 22, O’Ree was called up from 13 the Quebec Aces of the Quebec Hockey League 14 (QHL) to play for the NHL’s Boston Bruins at a 15 time when only 6 teams existed in the league. O’Ree 16 was unaware he had broken the color barrier at the 17 top level of the sport until he read it in the news- 18 paper the following day. 19 (7) Blind in 1 eye and a victim of racism at 20 times throughout his career, O’Ree persevered and 21 played professional hockey for 22 years, tallying over 22 1,000 points. 23 (8) In 1996, 17 years after O’Ree retired from 24 professional hockey, the National Hockey League 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2504.IH H2504 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2504 IH hired O’Ree as the first-ever Diversity Ambassador. 1 Having already changed the game forever through 2 his courage and convictions, O’Ree gives new defini- 3 tion to what it means to be a trailblazer. 4 (9) In this role as Diversity Ambassador with 5 the NHL, O’Ree set out to grow the sport by pro- 6 viding access, opportunity, and motivation for chil- 7 dren of all races, ethnicities, origins, and abilities. 8 With O’Ree providing a vivid example of what is 9 possible and serving as a relentless supporter of chil- 10 dren pursuing their dreams, more than 30 nonprofit 11 youth organizations, dubbed Hockey is for Everyone 12 programs, were developed across North America, 13 each committed to offering minority and under- 14 served children an opportunity to play hockey, 15 leveraging the sport to build character, foster posi- 16 tive values, and develop important life skills. 17 (10) Through Hockey is for Everyone pro- 18 grams, more than 120,000 boys and girls have been 19 positively impacted. O’Ree has devoted nearly 2,500 20 days on the ground with the youth participants, vis- 21 iting more than 500 schools, community centers, and 22 rinks to speak to hockey’s core values and beliefs: 23 stay in school; set goals for yourself; remain com- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2504.IH H2504 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2504 IH mitted and disciplined; and always respect your 1 teammates, coaches, and parents. 2 (11) Hockey is for Everyone programs have 3 provided important opportunities for youth to par- 4 take in physical fitness. Today in the United States, 5 fewer than half of the children ages 6–11 engage in 6 the recommended amount of physical activity, and 7 that number is lower for low-income families. O’Ree 8 has stood as a champion of youth athletic participa- 9 tion and its health benefits for decades. 10 (12) Hockey is for Everyone programs provide 11 numerous off-ice services to youth: SAT and aca- 12 demic tutoring, mentoring, nutrition education, col- 13 lege counseling, community service opportunities, 14 and more. The program has excelled at using hockey 15 as a vehicle to improve the social and emotional 16 wellness of youth and improve students’ academic 17 performances both in primary school and beyond. 18 (13) O’Ree was also named a Member of the 19 Order of Canada in 2008 and, in 2018, the City of 20 Boston released an official Proclamation recognizing 21 January 18, the anniversary of the day he broke 22 into the game, as ‘‘Willie O’Ree Day’’. 23 (14) In November 2018, 60 years after O’Ree 24 entered the NHL, he was inducted into the Hockey 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2504.IH H2504 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2504 IH Hall of Fame in the ‘‘builder’’ category in recogni- 1 tion of his efforts to grow the game, using his posi- 2 tion and the platform of hockey to improve the lives 3 of children throughout North America. 4 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 5 (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 6 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 7 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 8 award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal 9 of appropriate design to Willie O’Ree, in recognition of 10 his extraordinary contributions and commitment to hock- 11 ey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity. 12 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 13 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 14 Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec- 15 retary’’) shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, 16 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec- 17 retary. 18 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 19 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre- 20 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 21 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 22 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 23 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2504.IH H2504 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2504 IH SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 1 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national med- 2 als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 3 Code. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2504.IH H2504 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS