[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 780 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 780

  To award a congressional gold medal to Chief Phillip Martin of the 
                  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 3, 2003

 Mr. Lott (for himself and Mr. Cochran) 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 Chief Phillip Martin of the 
                  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

    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 ``Chief Martin Congressional Gold 
Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) For more than 45 years, Chief Phillip Martin has 
        provided extraordinary leadership to the Mississippi Band of 
        Choctaw Indians, a federally recognized Indian tribe located in 
        the State of Mississippi, as the tribe has undertaken a long 
        and courageous journey to preserve social and cultural identity 
        while developing relative prosperity.
            (2) The vision, guidance, and determination of Chief Martin 
        has led to the emergence of a virtual economic miracle, the 
        creation and development of a new government, and the 
        revitalization of an ancient society, a claim few governmental 
        leaders of our time are able to make.
            (3) Chief Martin has led efforts designed to create a 
        vibrant tribal economy that would first provide jobs, then 
        dignity, and over time a higher quality of life for the Choctaw 
        people as well as neighboring communities.
            (4) Once described as ``the worst poverty pocket in the 
        poorest State of the Union'', the Choctaws under Chief Martin's 
        leadership have evolved from subsistence sharecroppers to 
        become proprietors of a multi-enterprise, industrial and 
        commercial powerhouse.
            (5) With the creation of nearly 9,000 permanent, full-time 
        jobs, the Choctaw tribe is now 1 of the 5 largest employers in 
        the State of Mississippi.
            (6) Chief Martin has been guided by a belief that self-
        reliance breeds opportunity.
            (7) Early developments on the Choctaw reservation, while 
        modest in retrospect, were nonetheless ambitious and 
        challenging in their beginnings.
            (8) Faced with active opposition from Federal authorities 
        and expectations of failure from many others, Chief Martin 
        tenaciously led the Choctaw tribe to establish a tribally-owned 
        construction company, then a small industrial park which 
        produced the first large scale reservation-based manufacturing 
        jobs in the Nation.
            (9) In addition to more usual government-operated 
        enterprises, such as a transit authority, a utility commission, 
        and a public works department, the Chief also created many 
        fruitful partnerships with the private sector.
            (10) These dynamic developments have now given the tribe a 
        solid economic foundation.
            (11) Recognizing that the most valuable asset of any 
        community is its people, Chief Martin led the Choctaws to take 
        over direct operation of its own education system from the 
        Bureau of Indian Affairs.
            (12) The tribe today operates the largest unified tribal 
        school system in the Nation, with 6 elementary schools, a 
        middle school, and a high school.
            (13) Chief Martin has continued toward the goal of 
        producing a new generation of well-educated and well-trained 
        tribal members through establishment of the Choctaw Indian 
        Scholarships Program, giving all Mississippi Choctaw students 
        the opportunity to attend colleges and universities of their 
        choice.
            (14) With the passage of the Indian Self-Determination and 
        Education Assistance Act in 1975, the Congress established the 
        concepts of self-determination, self-reliance, and tribal 
        initiative as the basis for a new covenant between the Federal 
        Government and the American Indian peoples.
            (15) However, it has only been through the extraordinary 
        commitment and ceaseless efforts of tribal leaders, such as 
        Chief Martin, that these concepts were given life and put into 
        practice.
            (16) ``Choctaw Self Determination'' became Chief Martin's 
        clarion call (and it remains the tribe's unofficial slogan) to 
        motivate an impoverished reservation that institutionalized 
        poverty and hopelessness to transform itself into the vibrant 
        entity that today serves as a beacon of success for other 
        tribal and non-tribal communities.
            (17) Deeply devoted to tribal sovereignty, trust land, and 
        economic development issues, Chief Martin has improved the 
        lives of thousands in Mississippi, and is perhaps the most 
        recognized American Indian leader: he has been called ``one of 
        Indian Country's greatest leaders''.
            (18) The outstanding example of Chief Phillip Martin 
        deserves to be recognized and honored by the United States 
        Congress.

SEC. 3. 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 Chief Phillip 
Martin in recognition of his leadership of the Mississippi Band of 
Choctaw Indians for over 45 years, and for his invaluable contributions 
nationally to the American Indian community and particularly to the 
native and non-native communities of Mississippi.
    (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. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck pursuant to section 3, 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. 5. 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. 6. 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 4 shall be deposited into the 
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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