1.Congress finds that—
(1)Francis Collins,
who was raised on a small farm in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, decided to
pursue a career in chemistry when he was a high school student;
(2)in the 1970s,
after studying DNA and RNA, Francis Collins recognized that a revolution was on
the horizon and decided to study medicine and genetics;
(3)Francis Collins
received a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Yale University in 1974, and an
M.D. from the University of North Carolina in 1977;
(4)after a
fellowship in genetics at Yale University, Francis Collins joined the faculty
at the University of Michigan and discovered a new method to identify abnormal
genes;
(5)Francis Collins’
work led to major advances in modern medicine, including the identification of
genes responsible for cystic fibrosis, neurofibromatosis, Huntington's disease,
and Hutchison-Gilford progeria syndrome;
(6)in 1993, Francis
Collins succeeded James Watson as Director of the National Center for Human
Genome Research at the National Institutes of Health;
(7)as Director of
the National Center for Human Genome Research, Francis Collins was charged with
leading a 15-year effort to locate and map every gene in the human DNA by 2005,
and then determine aspects of its function;
(8)in June 2000,
ahead of schedule and under budget, Francis Collins announced the completion of
a first draft of the human genome;
(9)the sequencing of
the human genome, which was completed in April 2003, is one of the most
significant advances in modern science;
(10)Francis Collins
remains committed to making the data from the human genome accessible to the
worldwide scientific community, and has been a tireless champion of genetic
information nondiscrimination;
(11)Francis Collins
remains at the forefront of understanding the connection between genes and
disease, which he believes will eventually lead to a new field of
individualized, prevention-oriented medicine; and
(12)Francis Collins
has received numerous awards and honors for his work and is a member of the
Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.
2.
(a)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 Francis Collins for his outstanding contributions in the
fields of medicine and genetics.
(b)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.
3.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.
4.Status as
national medals
(a)The medals struck under this Act are national medals for
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
(b)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.
5.Authorization of
appropriations; proceeds of sale
(a)Authorization
of appropriationsThere 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)Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals
under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise
Fund.