[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2631 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2631

    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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 13, 2008

 Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Alexander, 
    Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Biden, Mr. 
Bingaman, Mr. Bond, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Brown, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Bunning, 
Mr. Burr, Mr. Byrd, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Casey, Mr. Chambliss, 
  Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Coleman, Ms. Collins, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. 
 Craig, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Ensign, Mr. 
Feingold, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Harkin, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Inhofe, 
   Mr. Inouye, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, Ms. 
Klobuchar, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Kyl, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Leahy, 
 Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Martinez, Mr. 
McCain, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. Murkowski, Mrs. 
 Murray, Mr. Obama, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Reed, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Salazar, Mr. 
Sanders, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Smith, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Specter, Ms. Stabenow, 
Mr. Stevens, Mr. Sununu, Mr. Voinovich, and Mr. Whitehouse) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                 on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    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.
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