[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 531 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.531
One Hundred Sixth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine
An Act
To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the
Congress to Rosa Parks in recognition of her contributions to the
Nation.
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 that--
(1) Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee,
Alabama, the first child of James and Leona (Edwards) McCauley;
(2) Rosa Parks is honored as the ``first lady of civil rights''
and the ``mother of the freedom movement'', and her quiet dignity
ignited the most significant social movement in the history of the
United States;
(3) Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery,
Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man,
and her stand for equal rights became legendary;
(4) news of Rosa Parks' arrest resulted in 42,000 African
Americans boycotting Montgomery buses for 381 days, beginning on
December 5, 1955, until the bus segregation laws were changed on
December 21, 1956;
(5) the United States Supreme Court ruled on November 13, 1956,
that the Montgomery segregation law was unconstitutional, and on
December 20, 1956, Montgomery officials were ordered to desegregate
buses;
(6) the civil rights movement led to the Civil Rights Act of
1964, which broke down the barriers of legal discrimination against
African Americans and made equality before the law a reality for
all Americans;
(7) Rosa Parks is the recipient of many awards and accolades
for her efforts on behalf of racial harmony, including the
Springarn Award, the NAACP's highest honor for civil rights
contributions, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation's
highest civilian honor, and the first International Freedom
Conductor Award from the National Underground Railroad Freedom
Center;
(8) Rosa Parks has dedicated her life to the cause of universal
human rights and truly embodies the love of humanity and freedom;
(9) Rosa Parks was the first woman to join the Montgomery
chapter of the NAACP, was an active volunteer for the Montgomery
Voters League, and in 1987, cofounded the Rosa and Raymond Parks
Institute for Self-Development;
(10) Rosa Parks, by her quiet courage, symbolizes all that is
vital about nonviolent protest, as she endured threats of death and
persisted as an advocate for the simple, basic lessons she taught
the Nation and from which the Nation has benefited immeasurably;
and
(11) Rosa Parks, who has resided in the State of Michigan since
1957, has become a living icon for freedom in America.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized to award
to Rosa Parks, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal of appropriate
design honoring Rosa Parks in recognition of her contributions to the
Nation.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes 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.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck pursuant to section 2, under such regulations as the
Secretary may prescribe, and at a price sufficient to cover the costs
thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.
SEC. 4. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.
The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
SEC. 5. FUNDING.
(a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--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.