[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 657 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 657

 To award posthumously a congressional gold medal to Thurgood Marshall.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 8, 2005

  Mr. Payne (for himself, Mr. Castle, Mr. Scott of Virginia, and Mr. 
    Wolf) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To award posthumously a congressional gold medal to Thurgood Marshall.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Thurgood Marshall, the grandson of a slave, was born in 
        Baltimore, Maryland on July 2, 1908.
            (2) In his youth, Thurgood Marshall developed an interest 
        in the Constitution and the rule of law.
            (3) Despite graduating from Lincoln University in 
        Pennsylvania in 1930 with honors, Thurgood Marshall was denied 
        acceptance at the all-white University of Maryland Law School 
        because he was an African American.
            (4) Thurgood Marshall instead attended law school at Howard 
        University, the country's most prominent black university, and 
        graduated first in his class in 1933.
            (5) From 1940 to 1961, Thurgood Marshall served as the 
        legal director of the National Association for the Advancement 
        of Colored People (NAACP).
            (6) Beginning with the case of Chambers v. Florida in 1940, 
        Thurgood Marshall argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court and 
        won 29 of them, earning more Supreme Court victories than any 
        other individual.
            (7) Under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP 
        fought to abolish segregation in schools and challenged laws 
        that discriminated against African Americans.
            (8) In 1954, Thurgood Marshall argued Brown v. Board of 
        Education before the Supreme Court, a case which resulted in 
        the famous decision that declared racial segregation in public 
        schools unconstitutional, overturning the 1896 decision in 
        Plessy v. Ferguson.
            (9) In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Thurgood 
        Marshall to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd 
        Circuit despite heavy opposition from many southern Senators.
            (10) Thurgood Marshall served on the United States Court of 
        Appeals for the 2nd Circuit from 1961-1965, during which time 
        he wrote 112 opinions, none of which was overturned on appeal.
            (11) In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson appointed Thurgood 
        Marshall to the position of Solicitor General, a post he held 
        from 1965-1967.
            (12) In 1967, President Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall 
        as the first African American Justice to serve on the Supreme 
        Court.
            (13) During the 24 years he served on the Supreme Court, 
        Thurgood Marshall promoted affirmative action and sought 
        protection for the rights of all Americans, continuing to 
        support integration but also championing the rights of women, 
        children, prisoners, and the homeless.
            (14) Thurgood Marshall died on January 24, 1993 at the age 
        of 84.

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 Congress, 
of a gold medal of appropriate design, to the family of Thurgood 
Marshall, in recognition of the contributions of Thurgood Marshall to 
the Nation.
    (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 under 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, 
Unites 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 stuck 
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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