1.This Act may be cited as the
Fallen Heroes of 9/11
Act
.
2.Congress finds
that—
(1)the tragic deaths
at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, and in rural Pennsylvania on
September 11, 2001, have forever changed our Nation;
(2)the officers,
emergency workers, and other employees of State and local government agencies,
including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and of the United
States government and others, who responded to the attacks on the World Trade
Center in New York City and perished as a result of the tragic events of
September 11, 2001 (including those who are missing and presumed dead), took
heroic and noble action on that day;
(3)the officers,
emergency rescue workers, and employees of local and United States government
agencies, who responded to the attack on the Pentagon in Washington, DC, took
heroic and noble action to evacuate the premises and prevent further casualties
of Pentagon employees;
(4)the passengers and
crew of United Airlines Flight 93, recognizing the imminent danger that the
aircraft that they were aboard posed to large numbers of innocent men, women
and children, American institutions, and the symbols of American democracy,
took heroic and noble action to ensure that the aircraft could not be used as a
weapon; and
(5)given the
unprecedented nature of the attacks against the United States of America and
the need to properly demonstrate the support of the country for those who lost
their lives to terrorism, it is fitting that their sacrifice be recognized with
the award of an appropriate medal.
3.
(a)
(1)The Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements
for the award, on behalf of Congress, of 3 gold medals of appropriate design in
honor of the men and women who perished as a result of the terrorist attacks on
the United States on September 11, 2001.
(2)Following the award of the gold medals
referred to in paragraph (1), one gold medal shall be given to each of—
(A)the Flight 93
National Memorial in Pennsylvania,
(B)the National
September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York, and
(C)the Pentagon
Memorial at the Pentagon,
with the
understanding that each medal is to be put on permanent, appropriate
display.(3)For the purposes of the awards referred to in paragraph
(1), the Secretary of the Treasury shall strike 3 designs of the gold medals
with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the
Secretary.
(b)Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medals 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.
(c)Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for
purposes of
chapter 51 of title 31,
United States Code.
(d)Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals
under subsection (b) shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public
Enterprise Fund.
Passed the House of
Representatives December 14, 2011.
Karen L. Haas,
Clerk.