[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 206 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 206

     To award a congressional gold medal to the late James Cagney.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 1997

   Mr. King introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Banking and Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To award a congressional gold medal to the late James Cagney.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) James Cagney was one of the most talented and popular 
        stars of the American screen, exemplifying in the characters he 
        portrayed the indomitable spirit and deep patriotism of all 
        Americans in general, and New Yorkers in particular.
            (2) James Cagney's film career had numerous highlights--
        ``Angels With Dirty Faces'', ``Each Dawn I Die'', ``The 
        Fighting 69th'', ``Public Enemy'', and ``White Heat''--topped 
        by his Academy Award winning performance as George M. Cohan in 
        ``Yankee Doodle Dandy''.
            (3) During the Second World War, James Cagney devoted a 
        great deal of his considerable talent and energy in support of 
        the war effort by volunteering for the USO and by serving as 
        president of the Screen Actors Guild and as chairman of the 
        Hollywood Victory Committee.
            (4) James Cagney coordinated the appearances of more than 
        25,000 of his fellow Hollywood stars and joined them in USO 
        tours to entertain American servicemen and women both in the 
        United States and abroad, including tours at military bases in 
        England where he performed up to 12 shows a day in spite of the 
        possibility of German air raids.
            (5) James Cagney's vital role in organizing and overseeing 
        the Hollywood Victory Caravan, which sold more than 
        $12,000,000,000 in war bonds, had an immeasurable and crucial 
        impact on the United States victory in the Second World War.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized to 
present, on behalf of the Congress, to the family of the late James 
Cagney a gold medal of appropriate design, in recognition of his great 
patriotism and his contribution to American culture.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation referred 
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall strike a gold 
medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined 
by the Secretary.
    (c) Gifts and Donations.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury may accept, 
        use, and disburse gifts or donations of property or money to 
        carry out this section.
            (2) Appropriation authorized.--No amount is authorized to 
        be appropriated to carry out this section.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary of the Treasury may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 under such 
regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient to 
cover the cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of 
machinery, and overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.

SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    The medals struck pursuant to this Act are--
            (1) national medals, for purposes of chapter 51 of title 
        31, United States Code; and
            (2) numismatic items, for purposes of section 5134 of such 
        title.

SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF ANY PROFIT TO LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.

    The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer, from the Numismatic 
Public Enterprise Fund to the Library of Congress, an amount equal to 
the amount by which the sum of any gifts and donations received by the 
Secretary in accordance with section 2(c)(1) and any proceeds from the 
sale of duplicate medals pursuant to section 3 exceeds the total amount 
of the costs incurred by the Secretary in carrying out this Act.
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