[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3283 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3283

  To award a congressional gold medal to Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, in 
recognition of his especially meritorious role as a warrior of the Crow 
   Tribe, Army Soldier in World War II, tribal historian, and author.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 17, 2008

   Mr. Tester (for himself, Mr. Baucus, and Mr. Enzi) 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 Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, in 
recognition of his especially meritorious role as a warrior of the Crow 
   Tribe, Army Soldier in World War II, tribal historian, and author.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow 
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) born November 27, 1913, near Lodge Grass on the Crow 
        Indian Reservation, Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow is the oldest 
        living Crow Indian veteran;
            (2) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow is recognized as a warrior by 
        his tribe for completing all 4 actions of counting coup while 
        serving in the United States Armed Services during World War II 
        in Germany, France, and Italy;
            (3) he earned his first coup by leading a war party, a 
        detail of soldiers, under fire, to retrieve dynamite to use for 
        attacking German guns;
            (4) he earned his second and third coups by touching the 
        first fallen enemy and stealing his weapon, and when he met a 
        German soldier on a street in France, Dr. Medicine Crow knocked 
        down the soldier and kicked his rifle away;
            (5) he earned his fourth coup by entering an enemy camp and 
        stealing their horses by sneaking into a farm where German SS 
        officers were holed up for the night, stealthily entering a 
        barn and corral, mounting a horse and, with a Crow war cry, 
        running the horses toward the Americans as ``the fireworks 
        started'' behind him and soldiers started shooting;
            (6) upon returning from World War II, Dr. Joseph Medicine 
        Crow was the first member of the Crow Tribe to earn a master's 
        degree;
            (7) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow has since received 3 honorary 
        PhDs, from the University of Southern California, University of 
        Montana, and Rocky Mountain College;
            (8) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow has lectured throughout the 
        world on topics such as his masters thesis, ``The Effects of 
        European Culture Contact Upon the Economic, Social, and 
        Religious Life of the Crow Indians'';
            (9) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow has been a longtime teacher at 
        Little Big Horn College in Crow Agency, Montana;
            (10) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow is a noted tribal historian 
        and has authored several books on Crow culture, including 
        ``Handbook on Crow Indian Treaties & Laws'', ``Medicine Crow, a 
        Crow Chief'', ``From the Heart of the Crow Country'', 
        ``Whiteman Runs Him, Custer's Last Scout'', and ``Counting 
        Coup--Becoming a Crow Chief on the Reservation and Beyond'';
            (11) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow was appointed tribal 
        historian and anthropologist by the Crow Tribal Council in 
        1948;
            (12) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow is a renowned figure who is 
        included in narratives of the West in major museums around the 
        world;
            (13) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow was awarded the Montana 
        Historical Society Trustees' award for contributions to Montana 
        history in 1992;
            (14) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow was awarded the Jeff Dykes 
        Memorial Award for Notable Contributions to Western Affairs by 
        the Potomac Corral of the Westerners in 2000;
            (15) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow was awarded the Montana 
        Governor's Tourism Award in 2005;
            (16) on June 25, 2008, near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 
        at the Custer Battlefield Museum in Garryowen, Montana, Dr. 
        Joseph Medicine Crow will be awarded the French Legion of Honor 
        Chevalier medal and the Bronze Star for his service in the 
        United States Army during World War II;
            (17) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow has been nominated for the 
        Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation's highest civil 
        award, reserved for contributions to the country's culture, 
        history, and security; and
            (18) Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow has proven himself to be a 
        highly accomplished role model by--
                    (A) serving the Crow Tribe and the United States 
                with valor and heroism in World War II;
                    (B) successfully integrating his past; and
                    (C) educating others about his cultural heritage.

SEC. 3. 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 in commemoration of Dr. 
Joseph Medicine Crow, in recognition of his especially meritorious role 
as a warrior of the Crow Tribe, Army Soldier in World War II, tribal 
historian, and author.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation referred 
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 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. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck pursuant to section 3, 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. 5. 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 section 5134 of title 31, 
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.

SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There are 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 4 shall be deposited into the 
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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