Greg LeMond Congressional Gold Medal Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2570 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Greg LeMond in recognition of his service to the United States as an athlete, activist, role model, and community leader. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 Ms. SINEMA (for herself and Mr. ALEXANDER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Hous- ing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Greg LeMond in recognition of his service to the United States as an athlete, activist, role model, and community leader. 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 ‘‘Greg LeMond Congres- 4 sional Gold Medal Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2570.IS S2570 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2570 IS (1) Gregory James LeMond (referred to in this 1 section as ‘‘Greg’’) was born in Lakewood, Cali- 2 fornia, on June 26, 1961. 3 (2) Greg began cycling at 14 years of age, win- 4 ning an astonishing 11 straight races to begin his 5 career. 6 (3) At the 1979 Junior World Championships, 7 Greg took home a full suite of medals, including 8 gold, silver, and bronze, emerged victorious in the 9 road race, and placed in both team and track pur- 10 suit events. 11 (4) At 18 years of age, Greg became the young- 12 est cyclist in the history of the sport to be selected 13 for the United States Men’s Olympic team. 14 (5) Greg emerged victorious in the 1980 Circuit 15 de la Sarthe, becoming the first individual from the 16 United States, and the youngest rider ever, to win 17 a major pro-am cycling event on the European con- 18 tinent. 19 (6) At 19 years of age, Greg signed his first 20 professional contract. 21 (7) In 1982, Greg made the first of several re- 22 markable recoveries, returning from a broken collar- 23 bone to win the silver medal at the World Cham- 24 pionships in Great Britain. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2570.IS S2570 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2570 IS (8) The Tour de France, the world’s pre- 1 eminent cycling competition, was first held more 2 than a century ago, in 1903. 3 (9) The Tour de France takes place over 23 4 days, covers an extraordinary 2,200 miles, winds 5 through multiple mountain ranges, spans multiple 6 nations, and is viewed as comparable to running a 7 marathon every day for 3 consecutive weeks. 8 (10) Greg first competed in the Tour de France 9 in 1984, when he finished third, and finished second 10 the following year, but, in both years, he deputized 11 himself to his teammates by sacrificing a chance to 12 win himself to boost those teammates toward vic- 13 tory. 14 (11) Greg emerged victorious in the 1986 Tour 15 de France, ascending the fabled Alpe D’Huez, de- 16 feating the field by more than 3 full minutes, and 17 becoming the first individual from the United States, 18 and the first non-European, to win cycling’s most 19 prestigious race. 20 (12) In 1987, while recovering from a broken 21 wrist and collarbone, Greg was tragically shot during 22 a turkey hunting accident. After the accident, Greg 23 was in intensive care, required the removal of more 24 than 40 shotgun pellets from his abdomen, was 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2570.IS S2570 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2570 IS deemed unlikely to ever ride a bicycle again, and 1 likely survived only due to the abnormal strength of 2 his cardiovascular system. 3 (13) After the accident described in paragraph 4 (12), Greg mounted the greatest comeback in the 5 history of American sports, taking home an aston- 6 ishing victory at the 1989 Tour de France and win- 7 ning by 8 seconds in the closest finish in the history 8 of that race, even though, after surviving life-threat- 9 ening gunshot wounds, he had endured multiple sur- 10 geries, including tendon repair and an appendec- 11 tomy. 12 (14) Greg won a third Tour de France victory 13 in 1990. 14 (15) Greg is the only individual from the 15 United States to win the Tour de France. 16 (16) Greg has vocally spoken out to champion 17 healthy sport among athletes of all ages and com- 18 petition levels. 19 (17) Greg and his wife, Kathy, are active in nu- 20 merous nonprofit causes, including promoting 21 healthy sport and assisting victims of sexual abuse 22 and various childhood illnesses. 23 (18) Cycling offers young people a healthy, ac- 24 tive, outdoor hobby. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2570.IS S2570 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2570 IS (19) Greg completed his professional career 1 having won 2 World Championships, 3 Tour de 2 France championships, and 22 titles overall. 3 (20) More than any other cyclist, Greg personi- 4 fied the ‘‘breakaway’’ culture of cycling in the 5 United States in the 1970s and 1980s, was viewed 6 universally as the epitome of a young person on a 7 bicycle, and attempted to accomplish feats no other 8 individual from the United States had achieved. 9 (21) Greg has not only reached the pinnacle of 10 international sport, but has devoted his time and re- 11 sources to assisting his fellow athletes. 12 (22) Greg has demonstrated the commitment to 13 excellence, generosity, community, and tenacity that 14 makes him an example for all to follow. 15 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 16 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 17 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem- 18 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 19 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 20 medal of appropriate design to Greg LeMond, in recogni- 21 tion of his contributions to the United States as an ath- 22 lete, activist, role model, and community leader. 23 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 24 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2570.IS S2570 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2570 IS of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec- 1 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 2 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec- 3 retary. 4 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 5 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 6 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 7 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 8 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 9 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 10 and the cost of the gold medal. 11 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 12 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu- 13 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 14 51 of title 31, United States Code. 15 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 16 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 17 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2570.IS S2570 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS