[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 304 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 304

 To award a congressional gold medal to Joseph Barnett Kirsner, M.D., 
  Ph.D., in recognition of his many outstanding contributions to the 
                                Nation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 8, 2009

 Mr. Kirk (for himself and Mr. Capuano) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To award a congressional gold medal to Joseph Barnett Kirsner, M.D., 
  Ph.D., in recognition of his many outstanding contributions 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.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner was born in Boston in 1909 to 
        poor Ukrainian immigrants.
            (2) Dr. Kirsner earned his medical degree from Tufts 
        University, graduating near the top of his class, in 1933.
            (3) In 1935, Dr. Kirsner joined the staff of the first 
        academic gastroenterology unit in the United States at the 
        University of Chicago.
            (4) Dr. Kirsner earned his Ph.D. in gastroenterology from 
        the University of Chicago in 1942.
            (5) Dr. Kirsner conducted invaluable research on peptic 
        ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, colitis and Crohn's 
        disease, making numerous breakthroughs in the field on patient 
        management and cancer risk.
            (6) In more than 60 years of teaching, Dr. Kirsner trained 
        more than 200 of the field's leading specialists, including 
        more than 41 full professors and 14 department chairs.
            (7) Dr. Kirsner authored nearly 700 publications and 15 
        textbooks which are the leading teaching materials on 
        gastroenterology.
            (8) Dr. Kirsner helped found several professional 
        societies, including the American Society for Gastrointestinal 
        Endoscopy and the American Association for the Study of Liver 
        Diseases.
            (9) Dr. Kirsner was unrelenting in raising funds for 
        gastrointestinal programs around the country, leading to 
        creation of the General Medicine Study Section of the National 
        Institutes of Arthritis, Metabolic, and Digestive Diseases.
            (10) In 1962, a group of Dr. Kirsner's patients established 
        the Gastro-Intestinal Research Foundation, which provided 
        immense support for research at the University of Chicago.
            (11) In 1984, the Gastro-Intestinal Research Foundation 
        raised more than $2,000,000 to construct the 17,000 square-foot 
        Joseph B. Kirsner Center for the Study of Digestive Diseases.
            (12) Dr. Kirsner received every major award the field of 
        gastroenterology has to offer, except the one he was not 
        eligible to win: American Digestive Health Foundation's top 
        prize for excellence in clinical research, the Joseph B. 
        Kirsner Award.
            (13) Aside from his military service in World War II, Dr. 
        Kirsner has practiced medicine, conducted research, and 
        educated young doctors for more than 70 years straight.
            (14) To this day, Dr. Kirsner remains active in medicine, 
        still seeing the patients he cares so much for.
            (15) The Congress has awarded similar medals to other 
        doctors for their outstanding contributions to the medical 
        field, including Major Walter Reed and his associates in 1928, 
        Dr. Thomas Anthony Dooley III in 1961, Dr. Jonas E. Salk in 
        1977, and Dr. Ellis DeBakey in 2007.

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 Joseph Barnett 
Kirsner, M.D., Ph.D., in recognition of his many outstanding 
contributions to the Nation.
    (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.
                                 <all>