[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3557 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3557

   To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the 
    Congress to John Cardinal O'Connor, Archbishop of New York, in 
   recognition of his accomplishments as a priest, a chaplain, and a 
                             humanitarian.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2000

    Mr. Fossella (for himself, Mr. Bliley, Mr. Oxley, Mr. King, Mr. 
   Reynolds, Mr. Sweeney, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Sherwood, Mr. DeLay, Mr. 
Crowley, Mr. Shimkus, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Mr. Meeks of New York, 
   Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Owens, Mr. Quinn, Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. 
 Ehlers, Mr. Engel, Mr. Saxton, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Gibbons, 
   Mr. Rangel, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Largent, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Lampson, Mr. 
Pitts, Mr. Holden, Mr. Gillmor, Mr. Tiahrt, Mr. Ehrlich, Mr. Camp, Mr. 
Blunt, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Tancredo, Mr. Coyne, Mr. 
Forbes, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. 
Costello, Mr. Gilman, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Wamp, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Lazio, 
Mr. McHugh, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Knollenberg, Mr. Souder, Mr. 
 Doyle, Mr. Vitter, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Tauzin, Mr. Hyde, Mr. Dickey, and 
    Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin) introduced the following bill; which was 
      referred to the Committee on Banking and Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the 
    Congress to John Cardinal O'Connor, Archbishop of New York, in 
   recognition of his accomplishments as a priest, a chaplain, and a 
                             humanitarian.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) His Eminence John Cardinal O'Connor is a man of deep 
        compassion, great intellect, and tireless devotion to both 
        spiritual guidance and humanitarianism.
            (2) John Joseph O'Connor was born on January 15, 1920, in 
        southwest Philadelphia, the son of Thomas J. O'Connor and Mary 
        Gomple O'Connor.
            (3) John Cardinal O'Connor joined the Navy Chaplains Corps 
        in June 1952 during the Korean Conflict, served with elements 
        of both the Navy and the Marine Corps, and saw combat action in 
        Vietnam. He later served as chaplain of the United States Naval 
        Academy and was appointed as Chief of Chaplains of the Navy 
        with the grade of rear admiral, from which position he retired 
        four years later, in May 1979. He was ordained a Bishop by Pope 
        John Paul II on May 27, 1979. He then served as Vicar General 
        of the Military Ordinariate (now the Archdiocese for the 
        Military Services) until 1984.
            (4) John Cardinal O'Connor became Bishop of Scranton, 
        Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1983, was named Archbishop of the 
        Catholic Archdiocese of New York on January 31, 1984, and was 
        elevated to the rank of Cardinal by Pope John Paul II on May 
        25, 1985.
            (5) John Cardinal O'Connor has demonstrated an unwavering 
        commitment to public and parochial school education. He has 
        supported and strengthened Catholic schools in their mission to 
        provide a quality education to students of all races, ethnic 
        backgrounds, and religions in the Archdiocese of New York and 
        throughout the Nation.
            (6) John Cardinal O'Connor has provided comfort and care to 
        the sick, the elderly, and the disabled and provided millions 
        of people with spiritual and emotional support. He lead the 
        effort to open New York State's first AIDS-only unit at St. 
        Claire's Hospital, remaining a frequent visitor and volunteer 
        at the hospital.
            (7) Throughout his life, John Cardinal O'Connor has also 
        served on behalf of the poor and the oppressed, as exemplified 
        by his assistance on behalf of famine victims in Ethiopia and 
        victims in war-torn Bosnia-Herzegovina.
            (8) Throughout his career, John Cardinal O'Connor has been 
        a strong advocate of interfaith healing and understanding, 
        particularly among individuals of the Catholic and Jewish 
        faiths, and has played a significant role in helping to 
        establish diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Israel.
            (9) John Cardinal O'Connor took the inspiring words of the 
        Declaration of Independence--``Life, Liberty and the pursuit of 
        Happiness''--and transformed them into a statement of purpose. 
        He has dedicated his life's work to protecting and defending 
        these inalienable rights of all people.
            (10) John Cardinal O'Connor celebrated his 80th birthday on 
        January 15, 2000, and has displayed remarkable courage and the 
        true power of his faith in carrying on his life's work in the 
        face of life-threatening illness.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized to 
present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal of appropriate design 
to John Cardinal O'Connor, Archbishop of New York, in recognition of 
his accomplishments as a priest, a soldier, and a humanitarian.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the presentation 
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 
in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal 
with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by 
the Secretary.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

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

SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

    The medals struck under this Act are national medals for purposes 
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. FUNDING AND PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    (a) Authorization.--There is hereby authorized to be charged 
against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund an amount not to 
exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of the medals authorized by this 
Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States 
Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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