[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1603 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1603

    To authorize Congress to award a gold medal to Jerry Lewis, in 
         recognition of his outstanding service to the Nation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 13, 2007

 Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Ensign, and Mr. Lautenberg) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                 on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To authorize Congress to award a gold medal to Jerry Lewis, in 
         recognition of his outstanding service to the Nation.

    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) A native of New Jersey, Jerry Lewis is a gifted 
        comedian and has been a fixture in the entertainment community 
        for more than 5 decades.
            (2) Born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, in Newark, New 
        Jersey, Jerry Lewis began his career by performing in local 
        nightclubs.
            (3) With his hope of breaking into show business fading, 
        Jerry Lewis was encouraged by his fellow comedians to continue 
        his act, and soon thereafter, he formed a show business 
        partnership with Dean Martin that would skyrocket both to fame. 
        While performing with Martin in New York City, the pair was 
        approached by a motion picture executive who offered them a 
        contract with Paramount Pictures. They went on to make 16 major 
        motion pictures during their 10-year partnership.
            (4) Jerry Lewis' talent and enthusiasm kept America 
        laughing during some of the most turbulent periods in our 
        history, World War II, the Cold War, and the assassinations of 
        President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One 
        of the most successful performers in show business, Jerry Lewis 
        has received worldwide acclaim for his unique ability and style 
        with both comedy and drama. He has been the star of stage, 
        screen, radio, television, print, and recordings. He is 
        considered among the elite in the history of comedy.
            (5) But aside from his comic persona, Jerry Lewis has been 
        an active champion for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) 
        since the early 1950s. In 1966, he began the ``Jerry Lewis MDA 
        Labor Day Telethon,'' an annual television program that 
        benefits children and adults affected by muscular dystrophy and 
        related neuromuscular diseases. Now in its 42nd year, the show, 
        which is broadcast on some 200 stations nationwide, including 
        Puerto Rico, and worldwide on the Internet, raises tens of 
        millions of dollars annually.
            (6) Jerry Lewis summed up why he devotes so much of his 
        time and energy to this cause with the words: ``I shall pass 
        through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do 
        or any kindness that I can show to any human being let me do it 
        now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this 
        way again.''.
            (7) Jerry Lewis has received numerous awards for his 
        outstanding service to our Nation. He was nominated for the 
        Nobel Peace Prize for his dedication to the Muscular Dystrophy 
        Association.
            (8) In June of 1978, the communications industry honored 
        Jerry Lewis with the National Association of Television Program 
        Executives Award of the Year for his humanitarian efforts in 
        raising funds to combat neuromuscular diseases. Among his 
        numerous awards are induction into the French Legion of Honor 
        as ``Legion Commander,'' the Murray-Green Award for Community 
        Service, the highest honor that the AFL-CIO bestows upon an 
        individual, the American Medical Association Lifetime 
        Achievement Award, and the Governor's Award (Emmy) from the 
        Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
            (9) In September of 1976, the United States Senate 
        unanimously adopted a resolution expressing their appreciation 
        of his philanthropic endeavors and in particular his fight to 
        find a cure for muscular dystrophy. In February 2001, Jerry 
        Lewis led a delegation of MDA scientists and clients to testify 
        before a subcommittee of the United States Senate resulting in 
        the introduction and subsequent passage of the MD-Care Act 
        (Public Law 107-84; 115 Stat. 823), a first step toward 
        securing a dramatic boost in Federal funding for research into 
        all forms of muscular dystrophy.
            (10) Joining the ranks of distinguished Congressional Gold 
        Medal recipients would be a fitting accolade to this consummate 
        entertainer, world-renowned humanitarian and ``living legend'' 
        who has served for some 5 decades as National Chairman of the 
        Muscular Dystrophy Association.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The President Pro Tempore of the 
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are authorized 
to make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of 
Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to Jerry Lewis, in 
recognition of his outstanding service to the Nation.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the presentation 
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (in this 
Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with 
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 
Secretary.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the 
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal 
struck pursuant to section 2 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 AS NATIONAL 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 sections 5134 and 5136 of 
title 31, United States Code, all medals struck pursuant to this Act 
shall be considered numismatic items.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, such 
sums as may be necessary to pay for the cost of the medals struck 
pursuant to this Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States 
Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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