[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2818 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2818

  To award a congressional gold medal to the family of the late Raul 
                                 Julia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 22, 2003

Mr. Gutierrez (for himself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Reyes, Ms. 
 Velazquez, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Acevedo-Vila, Mr. Frost, Mr. Berman, Mr. 
   Payne, Ms. Waters, Mr. Towns, Mr. Gonzalez, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. 
Jackson-Lee of Texas, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Becerra, Mr. 
 Rodriguez, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Pastor, Ms. Solis, Ms. Lee, Mr. Rangel, Mr. 
Blumenauer, Mr. Owens, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Loretta Sanchez 
   of California, Mr. Baca, Mr. Meeks of New York, and Ms. Linda T. 
    Sanchez of California) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To award a congressional gold medal to the family of the late Raul 
                                 Julia.

    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 as follows:
            (1) Raul Julia made his Broadway debut just a few weeks 
        after arriving in New York City in 1964 in Calderon's ``Life is 
        a Dream''.
            (2) Raul Julia, after only 3 years of living in New York 
        City, was instrumental in opening doors for nontraditional 
        parts for Hispanic actors by taking the role of Demetrius in 
        Shakespeare's ``Titus Andronicus'' at the New York Shakespeare 
        Festival and Cradeau in Sartre's ``No Exit''.
            (3) Raul Julia was the busiest Hispanic Shakespearean actor 
        in New York and the first to establish a decades-long 
        association with Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare 
        Festival.
            (4) Raul Julia began an impressive and productive 28-year 
        association with Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare 
        Festival as Macduff in the Festival's Mobile Unit, Spanish 
        language production of MacBeth.
            (5) Raul Julia became the first Puerto Rican actor to 
        conquer Broadway stages by having his work be nominated for 4 
        different Tony Awards in 10 years: ``Two Gentlemen of Verona'', 
        ``Where's Charley?'', ``Threepenny Opera'', and ``Nine''.
            (6) Raul Julia provided a role model for millions of 
        children in his role as ``Rafael, the Fix-It Man'' in Sesame 
        Street.
            (7) Raul Julia was a dedicated leader in the fight against 
        the rising rates of teen violence and cosponsored scriptwriting 
        competitions for high school students as a way to encourage 
        teenagers to express their emotions through art rather than 
        through violence.
            (8) Raul Julia's dedication to help Hispanic-American film 
        and television writers develop their work led him to co-found 
        the Latino Playwrights Reading Workshops.
            (9) Raul Julia was instrumental in the formation of the now 
        legendary Puerto Rico Traveling Theater, an off-Broadway 
        nonprofit Puerto Rican theater that to this day continues to 
        promote and showcase bilingual plays, new Hispanic playwrights 
        and Spanish-speaking actors while bringing theater to those who 
        cannot ordinarily afford it.
            (10) Raul Julia was a leader in the entertainment industry, 
        particularly as a tireless mentor and role model to emerging 
        Latino actors.
            (11) Raul Julia was a dedicated activist and humanitarian 
        who in his lifetime became a major supporter and spokesperson 
        for the Hunger Project, a nonprofit organization committed to 
        the eradication of world hunger.
            (12) Raul Julia was tireless in his commitment to the 
        Puerto Rican film industry and to the making of Spanish 
        language films and continued to participate in small, 
        independent, Spanish-language films even after having become a 
        Hollywood star.
            (13) Raul Julia was an extremely successful stage, film and 
        television actor who never abandoned his Puerto Rican heritage, 
        never changed his name and never gave up his accent, thereby 
        becoming an enduring role model for hundreds of Latino actors.
            (14) Raul Julia received the Hispanic Heritage Award 
        recognizing his many career achievements for the Latino 
        community, including his involvement in ``La Familia'', a New 
        York City outreach program for Latino families in need, the 
        Puerto Rican traveling theater, the Museo del Barrio, and the 
        New York Shakespeare Festival.
            (15) Raul Julia received the National Board of Review Best 
        Actor prize for his interpretation of the political prisoner 
        Valentin in the award-winning landmark film ``The Kiss of the 
        Spider Woman'', an award he shared with his co-star William 
        Hurt.
            (16) Raul Julia posthumously received the prestigious Emmy 
        Award, Cable Ace Award, Golden Globe Award, and the SAG Award, 
        given by his fellow actors for his most famous roles including 
        Chico Mendes in ``The Burning Season''.
            (17) Raul Julia was proud of his Puerto Rican heritage and 
        his life and work reflected his strong commitment to his 
        culture and the people of Puerto Rico.
            (18) Raul Julia was given a state funeral in Puerto Rico 
        and since that time there have been many awards and honors 
        created in his name: a scholarship at Julliard, a scholarship 
        given to a promising young actor for the purpose of studying 
        and performing Shakespeare at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, 
        the Raul Julia Award for Excellence given annually by the 
        National Endowment for the Hispanic Arts in Washington, DC, El 
        Teatro Raul Julia in San Juan Puerto Rico, and the Raul Julia 
        Global Citizen Award, an annual award being given this year for 
        the first time by the Puerto Rican Family Institute based in 
        New York City.
            (19) Raul Julia was recognized by the office of the Mayor 
        of the city of New York with the creation of Raul Julia Day 
        which was celebrated and commemorated in conjunction with 
        Puerto Rican Heritage and Culture Month on November 21, 1994.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall make 
appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of the 
Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design, to the family of the 
late Raul Julia, in recognition of his dedication to ending world 
hunger and his great contributions to the Latino community and to the 
performing arts.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation referred 
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in 
this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with suitable 
emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary.
    (c) Gifts and Donations.--The Secretary may accept, use, and 
disburse gifts or donations of property or money to carry out this 
section.

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, at a price sufficient to cover the cost 
thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.

SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant to this Act are 
national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 
Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, 
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.

SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such 
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck 
pursuant to this Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals authorized under section 3 shall be deposited into the 
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF ANY NET INCOME TO THE NEW YORK PUBLIC THEATER AND 
              THE NEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL.

    If the sum of any gifts and donations received by the Secretary 
under section 2(c) and any proceeds from the sale of duplicate medals 
pursuant to section 3 exceeds the total amount of the costs incurred by 
the Secretary in carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall transfer, 
from the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, an amount equal 
to--
            (1) 1/2 of such excess amount to the New York Public 
        Theater; and
            (2) 1/2 of such excess amount to the New York Shakespeare 
        Festival.
                                 <all>