[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5627 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5627

  To award the congressional gold medal to Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, in 
 recognition of his courageous and unwavering commitment to democracy 
                       and human rights in Cuba.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 13, 2008

  Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida (for himself, Mr. Sires, Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen, Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Mr. Burton of Indiana, and 
   Mr. Smith of New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To award the congressional gold medal to Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, in 
 recognition of his courageous and unwavering commitment to democracy 
                       and human rights in Cuba.

    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) Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet was born on July 20, 1961 in 
        Havana, Cuba.
            (2) Dr. Biscet is married to fellow pro-democracy leader, 
        Elsa Morejon Hernandez.
            (3) Dr. Biscet is currently serving a 25-year prison 
        sentence for allegedly committing crimes against the Cuban 
        regime.
            (4) In 1997, Dr. Biscet founded the Lawton Foundation for 
        Human Rights to promote the study and defense of human rights 
        and to denounce human rights violations inside Cuba and 
        wherever else they are violated.
            (5) Dr. Biscet denounced the double standards and 
        discrimination against the Cuban people of the Cuban National 
        Health Care System, and as a result he was forbidden from 
        practicing medicine.
            (6) On November 3, 1999, Dr. Biscet was imprisoned for 3 
        years for organizing a peaceful pro-democracy protest.
            (7) Once released in 2002, and unable to practice medicine, 
        Dr. Biscet organized seminars on the Universal Declaration of 
        Human Rights.
            (8) On December 6, 2002, on his way to one such meeting, he 
        and several of the seminar's participants were beaten and 
        arrested.
            (9) On April 7, 2003, Dr. Biscet was sentenced to 25 years 
        in prison and sent to the Kilo Cinco y Medio prison, in Pinar 
        Del Rio province, and he has subsequently been incarcerated in 
        multiple prisons of the Cuban dictatorship.
            (10) Dr. Biscet has declared himself a ``plantado'', a 
        political prisoner who refuses to undertake ideological 
        ``reeducation'' or wear a common prisoner's uniform, and he 
        remains in Cuba's political gulag.
            (11) On November 5, 2007, President Bush recognized Dr. 
        Biscet, presenting him (in absentia) with the Presidential 
        Medal of Freedom, stating that ``Dr. Biscet is a champion in 
        the fight against tyranny and oppression. Despite being 
        persecuted and imprisoned for his beliefs, he continues to 
        advocate for a free Cuba in which the rights of all people are 
        respected.''.
            (12) Dr. Biscet is a follower of the teachings of Mahatma 
        Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. and continues to work each 
        day from his jail cell to bring democracy and the rule of law 
        to Cuba.

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 Dr. Oscar Elias 
Biscet in recognition of his courageous and unwavering commitment to 
democracy and human rights in Cuba.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation referred 
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 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.
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