[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5483 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5483

 To award a congressional gold medal to the United States Cadet Nurse 
                                 Corps.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 8, 2010

  Mrs. Lowey introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on 
House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To award a congressional gold medal to the United States Cadet Nurse 
                                 Corps.

    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 the following:
            (1) The United States experienced an extreme shortage of 
        nurses and medical personnel during World War II, and this 
        shortage was filled in part by the 180,000 women of the United 
        States Cadet Nurse Corps.
            (2) The United States Cadet Nurse Corps was under the 
        jurisdiction of the Public Health Service, a branch of the 
        uniformed services of the United States.
            (3) The United States Cadet Nurse Corps was established 
        pursuant to the Act of June 15, 1943 (Chapter 126; 57 Stat. 
        153), commonly known as the Bolton Act in honor of 
        Congresswoman Frances Payne Bolton who introduced the 
        legislation.
            (4) Few opportunities were available to women, and the 
        United States Cadet Nurse Corps allowed many young women to 
        serve our country the best way they could and fill the domestic 
        nursing shortage in our country.
            (5) The members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps were 
        required to undergo training that involved 12-hour days in 
        hospitals followed by classes, with specific standards for 
        admission into the Corps.
            (6) The members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps made 
        a pledge upon entrance into their post to be available for 
        military, governmental, or essential civilian services for the 
        duration of World War II.
            (7) The members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps wore 
        uniforms with patches certified by the Secretary of the Army 
        and served under the authority of commissioned officers.
            (8) Members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps were 
        charged with caring for sick and wounded members of the Armed 
        Forces and performed other duties in promotion of the public 
        interest in connection with military operations.
            (9) The United States Cadet Nurse Corps was responsible for 
        saving civilian hospital nursing services by providing 80 
        percent of the nursing staff for civilian hospitals during 
        World War II.
            (10) Some members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps 
        left their families and served all across the Nation in various 
        hospitals, occasionally substituting for doctors.
            (11) The legacy of the Cadet Nurse Corps is manifold, as 
        their service maintained a strong health care system during a 
        severe health shortage, professionalized nursing school 
        education and training, and stimulated interest in the nursing 
        profession and created greater public recognition of nurses.
            (12) The United States Cadet Nurse Corps, despite their 
        historic and patriotic contributions, remains unrecognized as a 
        military organization and its members remain unrecognized as 
        veterans of the United States Army.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Award Authorized.--The President pro tempore of the Senate and 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make appropriate 
arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold 
medal of appropriate design in honor of the United States Cadet Nurse 
Corps, collectively, in recognition of their patriotism and civic 
activism in a time of emergency during World War II which saved 
civilian hospital nursing services and provided 80 percent of the 
nursing staff for civilian hospitals during World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to 
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike the gold medal with 
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 
Secretary.
    (c) Smithsonian Institution.--
            (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in 
        honor of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps, the gold medal 
        shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it will be 
        displayed as appropriate and made available for research.
            (2) Sense of the congress.--It is the sense of the Congress 
        that the Smithsonian Institution shall make the gold medal 
        received under this Act available for display elsewhere, 
        particularly at other locations associated with the Cadet Nurse 
        Corps.

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 under this Act, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the 
medals, including labor, materials, dyes, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

    Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for purposes 
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

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

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, an 
amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of the medal 
authorized under section 2.
    (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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