[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 964 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 964

To authorize the President to posthumously award a gold medal on behalf 
   of Congress to Robert M. La Follette, Sr., in recognition of his 
   important contributions to the Progressive movement, the State of 
                   Wisconsin, and the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 4, 2009

    Mr. Feingold (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Kohl, and Mr. Kennedy) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
            Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the President to posthumously award a gold medal on behalf 
   of Congress to Robert M. La Follette, Sr., in recognition of his 
   important contributions to the Progressive movement, the State of 
                   Wisconsin, and the United States.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Robert M. La Follette, Sr., better known as ``Fighting 
        Bob'' La Follette, was born more than 150 years ago, on June 
        14, 1855, in Primrose, Wisconsin.
            (2) Fighting Bob was elected to 3 terms in the United 
        States House of Representatives, 3 terms as Governor of 
        Wisconsin, and 4 terms as a United States Senator.
            (3) Fighting Bob founded the Progressive wing of the 
        Republican Party.
            (4) Fighting Bob was a lifelong supporter of civil rights 
        and women's suffrage, earning respect and support from such 
        distinguished Americans as Frederick Douglass and Harriet 
        Tubman Upton.
            (5) Fighting Bob helped to make the ``Wisconsin Idea'' a 
        reality at the Federal and State level, instituting election 
        reforms, environmental conservation, railroad rate regulation, 
        increased education funding, and business regulation.
            (6) Fighting Bob was a principal advocate for the 
        Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 
        which calls for the election of United States Senators by 
        popular vote.
            (7) Fighting Bob delivered an historic speech, ``Free 
        Speech in Wartime'', opposing the public persecution of those 
        who sought to hold their Government accountable.
            (8) Fighting Bob played a key role in exposing the 
        corruption during the Teapot Dome Scandal.
            (9) Fighting Bob and his wife, Belle Case La Follette, 
        founded La Follette's Weekly, now renamed The Progressive, a 
        monthly magazine for the Progressive community.
            (10) Fighting Bob ran for the presidency on the Progressive 
        ticket in 1924, winning more than 17 percent of the popular 
        vote.
            (11) The Library of Congress recognized Fighting Bob in 
        1985 by naming the Congressional Research Service reading room 
        in the Madison Building in honor of both Robert M. La Follette, 
        Sr., and his son, Robert M. La Follette, Jr., for their shared 
        commitment to the development of a legislative research service 
        to support the United States Congress.
            (12) Fighting Bob was honored in 1929 with 1 of 2 statues 
        representing the State of Wisconsin in National Statuary Hall 
        in the United States Capitol.
            (13) Fighting Bob was chosen as one of ``Five Outstanding 
        Senators'' by the Special Committee on the Senate Reception 
        Room in 1957.
            (14) A portrait of Fighting Bob was unveiled in the Senate 
        Reception Room in March 1959.
            (15) Fighting Bob was revered by his supporters for his 
        unwavering support of his ideals, and for his tenacious pursuit 
        of a more just and accountable Government.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized, on 
behalf of the Congress, to posthumously award a gold medal of 
appropriate design to Robert M. La Follette, Sr., in recognition of his 
important contributions to the Progressive movement, the State of 
Wisconsin, and the United States.
    (b) Design and Striking.--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.

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 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.

SEC. 4. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.

    The medals struck under this Act are national medals for purposes 
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such sum 
as may be appropriate to pay for the cost of the medals authorized 
under this Act.
    (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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