[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1872 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  1st Session
                                S. 1872

  To award a congressional gold medal to Lord Robertson of Port Ellen.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 17, 2003

  Mr. Smith (for himself, Mr. Biden, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Cochran, Mr. 
  Hagel, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Lugar, and Mr. Voinovich) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To award a congressional gold medal to Lord Robertson of Port Ellen.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In 1999, George Robertson was chosen by the 19 member 
        nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to become 
        Secretary General of the Alliance.
            (2) During his 4 years as Secretary General, Lord Robertson 
        has been one of NATO's finest secretaries general, helping to 
        shift the Alliance from a static force, designed only to 
        counter the Soviet threat to Europe, to one that is able to 
        deploy capably to meet current threats.
            (3) Lord Robertson has been a great ally of the United 
        States, often defending American interests, and he has played 
        an exceptional role in maintaining a strong relationship 
        between the United States and its European and Canadian allies.
            (4) On September 12, 2001, one day after the terrorist 
        attacks against New York City and Washington, D.C., Lord 
        Robertson proposed that the North Atlantic Council invoke 
        Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, declaring that the attacks 
        against the United States constituted an attack on the entire 
        North Atlantic Alliance.
            (5) In response to the invocation of Article 5, nearly all 
        of the NATO allies sent troops to Afghanistan to depose the 
        Taliban regime or to stabilize the country, and the Alliance 
        sent its own AWACS aircraft to patrol the skies over the United 
        States.
            (6) Under Lord Robertson's stewardship, the North Atlantic 
        Alliance has transformed itself so as to remain the cornerstone 
        of transatlantic cooperation and Euro-Atlantic security, which 
        remain in the national interest of the United States.
            (7) Lord Robertson will step down as Secretary General of 
        NATO at the end of 2003.
            (8) Lord Robertson plans to make his final visit to the 
        United States as Secretary General from November 10 to 12, 
        2003, in order to address the 49th Annual Session of the NATO 
        Parliamentary Assembly in Orlando, Florida, as well as to meet 
        in Washington, D.C., with the President, the Secretary of 
        State, and the Secretary of Defense.

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 Lord Robertson of 
Port Ellen in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions 
to maintaining the security of the Euro-Atlantic region.
    (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.

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.
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