National Civilian Medals Improvement Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8937 To amend requirements for awarding the National Medal of Science, the National Medal of Arts, and the National Technology and Innovation Medal, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 10, 2020 Ms. ESHOO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend requirements for awarding the National Medal of Science, the National Medal of Arts, and the National Technology and Innovation Medal, and for other pur- poses. 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 ‘‘National Civilian Med- 4 als Improvement Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8937.IH H8937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8937 IH SEC. 2. THE NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE AWARD. 1 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish a National 2 Medal of Science to provide recognition for individuals who 3 make outstanding contributions in the physical, biological, 4 mathematical, engineering, behavioral, and social 5 sciences.’’, approved August 25, 1959 (42 U.S.C. 1881), 6 is amended— 7 (1) in the title, by striking ‘‘engineering, behav- 8 ioral, and social’’ and inserting ‘‘and engineering 9 sciences’’; and 10 (2) by amending section 2 to read as follows: 11 ‘‘SEC. 2. AWARD OF THE NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE. 12 ‘‘(a) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The President shall 13 award the National Medal of Science to an individual or 14 a group who in the judgment of the President is deserving 15 of special recognition by reason of outstanding contribu- 16 tions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathe- 17 matical, or engineering sciences on the basis of— 18 ‘‘(1) information and evidence the President de- 19 termines appropriate; and 20 ‘‘(2) recommendations received from— 21 ‘‘(A) the President’s Committee on the Na- 22 tional Medal of Science (or a successor of such 23 committee); 24 ‘‘(B) the Director of the National Science 25 Foundation; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8937.IH H8937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8937 IH ‘‘(C) the President of the National Acad- 1 emy of Sciences; 2 ‘‘(D) the Director of the Office of Science 3 and Technology Policy; and 4 ‘‘(E) the Director of the National Insti- 5 tutes of Health. 6 ‘‘(b) NUMBER; ANNUAL REQUIREMENT.—Annually, 7 the President shall award at least 1 medal, and the Presi- 8 dent may not award more than 5 medals in any calendar 9 year. 10 ‘‘(c) CITIZENSHIP.— 11 ‘‘(1) CITIZENSHIP OF AN INDIVIDUAL.—An in- 12 dividual may be awarded the medal only if at the 13 time the award is made such individual— 14 ‘‘(A) is a citizen or other national of the 15 United States; or 16 ‘‘(B) is an alien lawfully admitted to the 17 United States for permanent residency who— 18 ‘‘(i) has filed an application or peti- 19 tion for naturalization in the manner pre- 20 scribed by section 334 of the Immigration 21 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1445); and 22 ‘‘(ii) is eligible for naturalization. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8937.IH H8937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8937 IH ‘‘(2) CITIZENSHIP OF A GROUP.—A group may 1 be awarded the medal only if such group is orga- 2 nized or incorporated in the United States. 3 ‘‘(d) CEREMONIES.— 4 ‘‘(1) DATE REQUIREMENT.—The presentation 5 of the award under subsection (a) shall be made by 6 the President, during the month of April of each cal- 7 endar year, with such ceremonies as the President 8 may determine proper. 9 ‘‘(2) INVITATION TO CONGRESS AND THE SU- 10 PREME COURT.—The President shall invite appro- 11 priate Members of Congress and all Justices of the 12 Supreme Court to attend the presentation under 13 paragraph (1). 14 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 15 ‘‘(1) POSTHUMOUS LIMITATION.—The Presi- 16 dent may not award the National Medal of Science 17 posthumously. 18 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFICIALS.—The Presi- 19 dent may not award the National Medal of Science 20 to— 21 ‘‘(A) the Vice President, the head of an 22 Executive department, or a Member of Con- 23 gress; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8937.IH H8937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8937 IH ‘‘(B) the spouse, child, son-in-law, or 1 daughter-in-law of an individual described in 2 subparagraph (A), as determined under applica- 3 ble common law.’’. 4 SEC. 3. THE NATIONAL MEDAL OF ARTS AWARD. 5 Section 13 of the National Foundation on the Arts 6 and the Humanities Act Amendments of 1983 (20 U.S.C. 7 955b) is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘subsection 9 (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘this section’’; 10 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol- 11 lows: 12 ‘‘(b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The President shall 13 award the National Medal of Arts, on the basis of rec- 14 ommendations from the National Council on the Arts, to 15 an individual or a group who in the judgment of the Presi- 16 dent is deserving of special recognition by reason of out- 17 standing contributions to the excellence, growth, support, 18 and availability of the arts in the United States.’’; 19 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub- 20 section (g); and 21 (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol- 22 lowing: 23 ‘‘(c) NUMBER; ANNUAL REQUIREMENT.—Annually, 24 the President shall award at least 1 National Medal of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8937.IH H8937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8937 IH Arts, and the President may not award more than 5 of 1 such medals in any calendar year. 2 ‘‘(d) CITIZENSHIP.— 3 ‘‘(1) CITIZENSHIP OF AN INDIVIDUAL.—An in- 4 dividual may be awarded the National Medal of Arts 5 only if at the time the award is made such indi- 6 vidual— 7 ‘‘(A) is a citizen or other national of the 8 United States; or 9 ‘‘(B) is an alien lawfully admitted to the 10 United States for permanent residency who— 11 ‘‘(i) has filed an application or peti- 12 tion for naturalization in the manner pre- 13 scribed by section 334 of the Immigration 14 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1445); and 15 ‘‘(ii) is eligible to become a citizen of 16 the United States. 17 ‘‘(2) CITIZENSHIP OF A GROUP.—A group may 18 be awarded the National Medal of Arts only if such 19 group is organized or incorporated in the United 20 States. 21 ‘‘(e) CEREMONIES.— 22 ‘‘(1) DATE REQUIREMENT.—The presentation 23 of the award under subsection (a) shall be made by 24 the President, during the month of October of each 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8937.IH H8937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8937 IH calendar year, with such ceremonies as the President 1 may determine proper. 2 ‘‘(2) INVITATION TO CONGRESS AND THE SU- 3 PREME COURT.—The President shall invite appro- 4 priate Members of Congress and all Justices of the 5 Supreme Court to attend the presentation under 6 paragraph (1). 7 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 8 ‘‘(1) POSTHUMOUS LIMITATION.—The Presi- 9 dent may not award the National Medal of Arts 10 posthumously. 11 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFICIALS.—The Presi- 12 dent may not award the National Medal of Arts to— 13 ‘‘(A) the Vice President, the head of an 14 Executive department, or a Member of Con- 15 gress; or 16 ‘‘(B) the spouse, child, son-in-law, or 17 daughter-in-law of an individual described in 18 subparagraph (A), as determined under applica- 19 ble common law.’’. 20 SEC. 4. THE NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION 21 MEDAL. 22 Section 16 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno- 23 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3711) is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8937.IH H8937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8937 IH (1) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol- 1 lows: 2 ‘‘(b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The President shall 3 award the National Technology and Innovation Medal to 4 an individual or a group who in the judgment of the Presi- 5 dent is deserving of special recognition by reason of out- 6 standing contributions to the promotion of technology or 7 technological manpower for the improvement of the eco- 8 nomic, environmental, or social well-being of the United 9 States on the basis of— 10 ‘‘(1) information and evidence the President de- 11 termines appropriate; and 12 ‘‘(2) recommendations from— 13 ‘‘(A) the National Medal of Technology 14 and Innovation Nomination Evaluation Com- 15 mittee (or a successor of such committee); 16 ‘‘(B) the Director of the United States 17 Patent and Trademark Office; 18 ‘‘(C) the Director of the Office of Science 19 and Technology Policy; 20 ‘‘(D) the Director of the National Institute 21 of Standards and Technology; and 22 ‘‘(E) the Director of the National Science 23 Foundation.’’; 24 (2) by striking subsection (c); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8937.IH H8937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8937 IH (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol- 1 lowing: 2 ‘‘(c) NUMBER; ANNUAL REQUIREMENT.—Annually, 3 the President shall award at least 1 National Technology 4 and Innovation Medal, and the President may not award 5 more than 5 of such medals in any calendar year. 6 ‘‘(d) CITIZENSHIP.— 7 ‘‘(1) CITIZENSHIP OF AN INDIVIDUAL.—An in- 8 dividual may be awarded the National Technology 9 and Innovation Medal only if at the time the award 10 is made such individual— 11 ‘‘(A) is a citizen or other national of the 12 United States; or 13 ‘‘(B) is an alien lawfully admitted to the 14 United States for permanent residency who— 15 ‘‘(i) has filed an application or peti- 16 tion for naturalization in the manner pre- 17 scribed by section 334 of the Immigration 18 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1445); and 19 ‘‘(ii) is eligible to become a citizen of 20 the United States. 21 ‘‘(2) CITIZENSHIP OF A GROUP.—A group may 22 be awarded the National Technology and Innovation 23 Medal only if such group is organized or incor- 24 porated in the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8937.IH H8937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8937 IH ‘‘(e) CEREMONIES.— 1 ‘‘(1) DATE REQUIREMENT.—The presentation 2 of the award under subsection (a) shall be made by 3 the President, during the month of April of each cal- 4 endar year, with such ceremonies as the President 5 may determine proper. 6 ‘‘(2) INVITATION TO CONGRESS AND THE SU- 7 PREME COURT.—The President shall invite appro- 8 priate Members of Congress and all Justices of the 9 Supreme Court to attend the presentation under 10 paragraph (1). 11 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 12 ‘‘(1) POSTHUMOUS LIMITATION.—The Presi- 13 dent may not award the National Technology and 14 Innovation Medal posthumously. 15 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFICIALS.—The Presi- 16 dent may not award the National Technology and 17 Innovation Medal to— 18 ‘‘(A) the Vice President, the head of an 19 Executive department, or a Member of Con- 20 gress; or 21 ‘‘(B) the spouse, child, son-in-law, or 22 daughter-in-law of an individual described in 23 subparagraph (A), as determined under applica- 24 ble common law.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8937.IH H8937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8937 IH SEC. 5. THE NATIONAL HUMANITIES MEDAL. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Na- 2 tional Humanities Medal, which shall be a medal of such 3 design as is determined appropriate by the President. 4 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The President shall award 5 the National Humanities Medal, on the basis of rec- 6 ommendations from the National Council on the Human- 7 ities, to an individual or a group who in the judgment of 8 the President is deserving of special recognition by reason 9 of outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, 10 support, and availability of the humanities in the United 11 States. 12 (c) NUMBER; ANNUAL REQUIREMENT.—Annually, 13 the President shall award at least 1 National Humanities 14 Medal, and the President may not award more than 5 of 15 such medals in any calendar year. 16 (d) CITIZENSHIP.— 17 (1) CITIZENSHIP OF AN INDIVIDUAL.—An indi- 18 vidual may be awarded the National Humanities 19 Medal only if at the time the award is made such 20 individual— 21 (A) is a citizen or other national of the 22 United States; or 23 (B) is an alien lawfully admitted to the 24 United States for permanent residency who— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8937.IH H8937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8937 IH (i) has filed an application or petition 1 for naturalization in the manner prescribed 2 by section 334 of the Immigration and Na- 3 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1445); and 4 (ii) is eligible to become a citizen of 5 the United States. 6 (2) CITIZENSHIP OF A GROUP.—A group may 7 be awarded the National Humanities Medal only if 8 such group is organized or incorporated in the 9 United States. 10 (e) CEREMONIES.— 11 (1) DATE REQUIREMENT.—The presentation of 12 the award under subsection (a) shall be made by the 13 President, during the month of October of each cal- 14 endar year, with such ceremonies as the President 15 may determine proper. 16 (2) INVITATION TO CONGRESS AND THE SU- 17 PREME COURT.—The President shall invite appro- 18 priate Members of Congress and all Justices of the 19 Supreme Court to attend the presentation under 20 paragraph (1). 21 (f) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 22 (1) POSTHUMOUS LIMITATION.—The President 23 may not award the National Humanities Medal post- 24 humously. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8937.IH H8937 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 8937 IH (2) CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFICIALS.—The Presi- 1 dent may not award the National Humanities Medal 2 to— 3 (A) the Vice President, the head of an Ex- 4 ecutive department, or a Member of Congress; 5 or 6 (B) the spouse, child, son-in-law, or daugh- 7 ter-in-law of an individual described in subpara- 8 graph ( [Text truncated for display. 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