[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4286 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.4286
One Hundred Tenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eight
An Act
To award a congressional gold medal to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in
recognition of her courageous and unwavering commitment to peace,
nonviolence, human rights, and democracy in Burma.
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) Aung San Suu Kyi was born on June 19, 1945, in Rangoon,
Burma, to Aung San, commander of the Burma Independence Army, and
Ma Khin Kyi.
(2) On August 15, 1988, Ms. Suu Kyi, in her first political
action, sent an open letter to the military controlled government
asking for free, open, and multi-party elections.
(3) On September 24, 1988, the National League for Democracy
(NLD) was formed, with Ms. Suu Kyi as the general-secretary, and it
was, and remains, dedicated to a policy of non-violence and civil
disobedience.
(4) Ms. Suu Kyi was subsequently placed under house arrest,
where she remained for the next 6 years--without being charged or
put on trial--and has been imprisoned twice more; she currently
remains under house arrest.
(5) Despite her detention, the National League for Democracy
won an open election with an overwhelming 82 percent of the vote--
which the military junta nullified.
(6) While under house arrest, she has bravely refused offers to
leave the country to continue to promote freedom and democracy in
Burma.
(7) For her efforts on behalf of the Burmese people, she has
been awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990, the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000, and the Nobel Peace Prize in
1991.
(8) Ms. Suu Kyi continues to fight on behalf of the Burmese
people, even donating her $1.3 million from her Nobel Prize to
establish a health and education fund for Burma.
(9) She is the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize
recipient, spending more than 12 of the past 17 years under house
arrest.
(10) Despite an assassination attempt against her life, her
prolonged illegal imprisonment, the constant public vilification of
her character, and her inability to see her children or to see her
husband before his death, Ms. Suu Kyi remains committed to peaceful
dialogue with her captors, Burma's military regime, and Burma's
ethnic nationalities towards bringing democracy, human rights, and
national reconciliation to Burma.
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 Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi in recognition of her courageous and unwavering commitment to
peace, nonviolence, human rights, and democracy in Burma.
(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 sections 5134 and 5136 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.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.