[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1841 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1841

To award congressional gold medals on behalf of the officers, emergency 
workers, and other employees of the Federal Government and any State or 
  local government, including any interstate governmental entity, who 
responded to the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and 
          perished in the tragic events of September 11, 2001.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 18, 2001

  Mr. Schumer (for himself and Mrs. Clinton) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 
                       Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To award congressional gold medals on behalf of the officers, emergency 
workers, and other employees of the Federal Government and any State or 
  local government, including any interstate governmental entity, who 
responded to the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and 
          perished in the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``True American Heroes Act''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDALS.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--In recognition of the bravery and 
self-sacrifice of officers, emergency workers, and other employees of 
State and local government agencies, including the Port Authority of 
New York and New Jersey, and of the United States Government, who 
responded to the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, 
and perished in the tragic events of September 11, 2001 (including 
those who are missing and presumed dead), the President is authorized 
to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal of appropriate design 
for each such officer, emergency worker, or employee to the next of kin 
or other representative of each such officer, emergency worker, or 
employee.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation referred 
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall strike gold 
medals with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be 
determined by the Secretary to be emblematic of the valor and heroism 
of the men and women honored.
    (c) Determination of Recipients.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
shall determine the number of medals to be presented under this section 
and the appropriate recipients of the medals after consulting with 
appropriate representatives of Federal, State, and local officers and 
agencies and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
    (d) Presentment Ceremony.--The President shall consult with the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of 
the Senate, the majority leader and the minority leader of the House of 
Representatives, and the majority leader and the minority leader of the 
Senate with regard to the ceremony for presenting the gold medals under 
subsection (a).

SEC. 3. DUPLICATIVE GOLD MEDALS FOR DEPARTMENTS AND DUTY STATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall strike 
duplicates in gold of the gold medals struck pursuant to section 2 for 
presentation to each of the following:
            (1) The Governor of the State of New York.
            (2) The Mayor of the City of New York.
            (3) The Commissioner of the New York Police Department, the 
        Commissioner of the New York Fire Department, the head of 
        emergency medical services for the City of New York, and the 
        Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Port Authority of New 
        York and New Jersey.
            (4) Each precinct house, fire house, emergency response 
        station, duty station, or other place of employment to which 
        each person referred to in section 2(a) was assigned on 
        September 11, 2001, for display in each such place in a manner 
        befitting the memory of such persons.
    (b) Determination of Recipients.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
shall determine the number of medals to be presented under this section 
and the appropriate recipients of the medals after consulting with 
appropriate representatives of Federal, State, and local officers and 
agencies and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

SEC. 4. DUPLICATE BRONZE 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 of $50 per 
medal.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS.

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

SEC. 6. PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    Amounts received from the sales of duplicate bronze medals under 
section 4 shall be deposited in a fund to be used to erect a memorial 
for the fallen emergency responders.

SEC. 7. USE OF THE UNITED STATES MINT AT WEST POINT, NEW YORK.

    It is the sense of Congress that the medals authorized under this 
Act should--
            (1) be designed, struck, and presented not more than 90 
        days after date of the enactment of this Act; and
            (2) be struck at the United States Mint at West Point, New 
        York, to the greatest extent possible.
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