[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3642 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.3642

                       One Hundred Sixth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
             the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand


                                 An Act


 
To authorize the President to award posthumously a gold medal on behalf 
   of the Congress to Charles M. Schulz in recognition of his lasting 
   artistic contributions to the Nation and the world, and for other 
                                purposes.

    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) Charles M. Schulz was born on November 26, 1922, in St. 
    Paul, Minnesota, the son of Carl and Dena Schulz.
        (2) Charles M. Schulz served his country in World War II, 
    working his way up from infantryman to staff sergeant and 
    eventually leading a machine gun squad. He kept morale high by 
    decorating fellow soldiers' letters home with cartoons of barracks 
    life.
        (3) After returning from the war, Charles M. Schulz returned to 
    his love for illustration, and took a job with ``Timeless Topix''. 
    He also took a second job as an art instructor. Eventually, his 
    hard work paid off when the Saturday Evening Post began purchasing 
    a number of his single comic panels.
        (4) It was in his first weekly comic strip, ``L'il Folks'', 
    that Charlie Brown was born. That comic strip, which was eventually 
    renamed ``Peanuts'', became the sole focus of Charles M. Schulz's 
    career.
        (5) Charles M. Schulz drew every frame of the ``Peanuts'' 
    strip, which ran 7 days a week, since it was created in October 
    1950. This is rare dedication in the field of comic illustration.
        (6) The ``Peanuts'' comic strip appeared in 2,600 newspapers 
    around the world daily until January 3, 2000, and on Sundays until 
    February 13, 2000, and reached approximately 335,000,000 readers 
    every day in 20 different languages, making Charles M. Schulz the 
    most successful comic illustrator in the world.
        (7) Charles M. Schulz's television special, ``A Charlie Brown 
    Christmas'', has run for 34 consecutive years. In all, more than 60 
    animated specials have been created based on ``Peanuts'' 
    characters. Four feature films, 1,400 books, and a hit Broadway 
    musical about the ``Peanuts'' characters have also been produced.
        (8) Charles M. Schulz was a leader in the field of comic 
    illustration and in his community. He paved the way for other 
    artists in this field over the last 50 years and continues to be 
    praised for his outstanding achievements.
        (9) Charles M. Schulz gave back to his community in many ways, 
    including owning and operating Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa 
    Rosa, California. The arena has become a favorite gathering spot 
    for people of all ages. Charles M. Schulz also financed a yearly 
    ice show that drew crowds from all over the San Francisco Bay Area.
        (10) Charles M. Schulz gave the Nation a unique sense of 
    optimism, purpose, and pride. Whether through the Great Pumpkin 
    Patch, the Kite Eating Tree, Lucy's Psychiatric Help Stand, or 
    Snoopy's adventures with the Red Baron, ``Peanuts'' embodied human 
    vulnerabilities, emotions, and potential.
        (11) Charles M. Schulz's lifetime of work linked generations of 
    Americans and became a part of the fabric of our national culture.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Award Authorized.--The President is authorized to award 
posthumously, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal of appropriate 
design to Charles M. Schulz in recognition of his lasting artistic 
contributions to the Nation and the world.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the award 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 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.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.