[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 911 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 911

   To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the 
 Congress to John Walsh in recognition of his outstanding and enduring 
   contributions to the Nation through his work in the fields of law 
                    enforcement and victims' rights.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 7, 2001

   Mr. Barcia (for himself, Mr. Lampson, Mr. Cramer, Mrs. Kelly, Mr. 
  Knollenberg, Mr. Sandlin, Mr. Pastor, Mr. Royce, Mr. Pascrell, Ms. 
 Hooley of Oregon, Mr. Frost, Mr. McHugh, Mr. Foley, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. 
Combest, Ms. Granger, Mr. Reyes, and Mr. Shaw) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the 
 Congress to John Walsh in recognition of his outstanding and enduring 
   contributions to the Nation through his work in the fields of law 
                    enforcement and victims' rights.

    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) John Walsh, host of the television program ``America's 
        Most Wanted'', has dedicated his life to the pursuit and 
        apprehension of felons and fugitives who have committed murder, 
        rape, robbery, kidnaping, pedophilia, and other atrocious 
        crimes against the citizens of the United States.
            (2) In doing so, John Walsh has sacrificed his own personal 
        safety and freedom for the good of all citizens of the United 
        States.
            (3) On July 27, 1981, Adam Walsh, the 6-year-old son of 
        John Walsh, was abducted and brutally murdered.
            (4) John Walsh and his family have never obtained closure 
        for this heinous crime, because no person was ever charged with 
        the crime and the prime suspect ultimately died in prison.
            (5) After the death of his son, John Walsh became a 
        tireless advocate for victims' rights.
            (6) John Walsh has testified more than 35 times before the 
        Congress in support of legislation, and his efforts led to the 
        passage in 1982 of the Missing Children Act and in 1984 of the 
        Missing Children's Assistance Act, which established the 
        National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
            (7) John Walsh has lobbied for a constitutional amendment 
        that would secure victims' rights.
            (8) John Walsh, not ceasing his dedication to the safety 
        and welfare of children with the enactment of new protective 
        statutes, established a public information television program, 
        ``America's Most Wanted'', to expose the criminal activity of 
        various fugitives throughout the United States and abroad.
            (9) Four days after the debut of the program, on February 
        11, 1988, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the 
        capture in New York City of one of its 10 Most Wanted 
        fugitives, David James Roberts, as a direct result of tips from 
        viewers of the program.
            (10) On May 29, 1988, the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation, William Sessions, appeared on ``America's Most 
        Wanted'' to announce the addition of 3 new fugitives to the 
        Federal Bureau of Investigation's 10 Most Wanted list, one of 
        whom was captured within 24 hours after the announcement.
            (11) On July 17, 1988, Robert Wayne Fisher, a fugitive 
        wanted for the murder of his wife, was captured just 33 minutes 
        after John Walsh profiled him on ``America's Most Wanted''.
            (12) On May 7, 1989, John Walsh facilitated the capture of 
        a New Jersey mass murderer who had been at large for nearly 18 
        years.
            (13) On January 20, 2001, John Walsh profiled 7 escapees 
        from a maximum security prison in Texas, known as the ``Texas 
        Seven'', on ``America's Most Wanted'', which led to the 
        apprehension of 5 of the escapees 2 days later and the 2 
        remaining fugitives the following day.
            (14) John Walsh profiled 2,034 fugitives from justice on 
        ``America's Most Wanted'' as of December 3, 1998, 1,177 of whom 
        have been captured, including 647 who were captured as a direct 
        result of being profiled.
            (15) On May 10, 1990, John Walsh and ``America's Most 
        Wanted'' for the first time helped recover a missing child, 
        Nicole Ravesi, and aided in the arrest of her abductor, Kenneth 
        Cole.
            (16) In all, John Walsh has profiled 465 cases involving 
        missing or kidnapped persons, 30 of whom have been reunited 
        with their families.
            (17) John Walsh has profiled 285 criminal suspects whose 
        identities were unknown to law enforcement officials, and 6 of 
        the suspects have been identified as a result of being 
        profiled.
            (18) At the request of law enforcement officials, John 
        Walsh has also profiled 35 unidentified victims of foul play, 
        and 2 of the victims have been identified as a result of being 
        profiled.
            (19) The outstanding contributions of John Walsh to crime 
        victims and the law enforcement community have come at no cost 
        to the taxpayers of the United States.
            (20) John Walsh, through ``America's Most Wanted'' and 
        through other endeavors, continues to serve law enforcement 
        officials and crime victims through his unfailing dedication to 
        pursuing and capturing dangerous fugitives, protecting the 
        safety of children, and bringing closure to victims of crime in 
        the United States.

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 Walsh in recognition of his outstanding and enduring 
contributions to the Nation through his work in the fields of law 
enforcement and victims' rights.
    (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 cost of the 
bronze medals (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
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.
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