1.The Congress finds the following:
(1)Giuseppe Garibaldi was born on July 4, 1807
in Nice.
(2)Garibaldi's
family's involvement in coastal trade drew him to a life at sea. He was
certified in 1832 as a merchant marine captain.
(3)As a young man
Garibaldi joined the movement of La Giovine Italia (Young Italy
)
which was founded by Giuseppe Mazzini, who was an impassioned proponent of
Italian unification.
(4)Garibaldi
participated in various independence struggles throughout Central and South
America.
(5)Garibaldi came to
the United States where he applied for citizenship and began learning English.
He lived for a time with inventor Antonio Meucci in his home in Staten Island,
New York.
(6)The
Garibaldi-Meucci Museum is a place where Italian-American heritage and culture
can be celebrated as well as where the lives of Giuseppe Garibaldi and Antonio
Meucci can be remembered.
(7)The
Garibaldi-Meucci Museum was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic
Places in 1980.
(8)In 1854, Giuseppe
Garibaldi left Staten Island, New York and returned to Italy as the commander
in the conflicts of the Risorgimento to lead military forces that would provide
for the unification of Italy.
(9)The Risorgimento’s
progress was eagerly followed in a United States ideologically opposed to
European dynastic tyranny
. The victory was viewed in this
country as a powerful vindication of the right of the individual to political
self-determination.
(10)Giuseppe
Garibaldi, who led Italy to unification in 1861, was offered a command as Major
General in the Union Army by President Abraham Lincoln. Garibaldi declined, but
to honor him, the 39th New York Infantry was known as “The Garibaldi Guard”.
About 150 of its 850 men were Italian. It fought in the Union Army from Bull
Run to Appomattox.
(11)Garibaldi was an
active freemason, and thought of masonry as a network to unite men as brothers
both within nations and as members of a global community.
(12)Garibaldi spent
the rest of his life in Caprera with his wife, Francesca Armosino, and their
children and family members. He died on June 2, 1882.
(13)Giuseppe
Garibaldi is one of the most symbolic figures of the Republic of Italy and a
national hero. Five Italian Navy ships have been named after him, including the
Italian navy’s current flagship, the aircraft carrier “Giuseppe
Garibaldi”.
(14)On March 17,
2011, the Republic of Italy will officially celebrate Italy’s 150th Anniversary
with a series of activities across the nation of Italy, in Washington, DC and
throughout the United States to highlight the unique partnership between Italy
and the United States. As long time allies, both nations share a common set of
values, historical ties, and cultural relations that span multiple
centuries.
(15)From the arts and
sciences to political thinking and beyond, the lives and ideas of great men
like Andrea Palladio and Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Antonio
Meucci, and Giuseppe Garibaldi and Abraham Lincoln have inspired and
enlightened one another.
(16)Today, the legacy
of immigrants is found throughout the United States in the millions of American
men, women and children of Italian descent and the community organizations such
as the National Italian American Foundation and others that serve to strengthen
and enrich our country.
(17)Upon arrival to a
new home, the Italian American community faced racial, social, and religious
discrimination. Yet, Italian Americans persevered with hope and hard work to
reach the American dream, flourished in all areas of public and economic life,
and helped build our great country while preserving their proud Italian
traditions. As proud service members, they have also defended the liberty and
integrity of the United States of America since the Revolutionary War, during
both World Wars, the wars in Vietnam, Korea and the Persian Gulf up until
today’s current conflicts.
2.
(a)
(1)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 Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in
recognition of the contributions of Giuseppe Garibaldi to the Nation.
(2)Display of medal
in capitol visitor centerThe Architect of the Capitol shall
arrange for the gold medal presented under this subsection to be displayed in
the Capitol Visitor Center as part of an exhibit honoring Giuseppe
Garibaldi.
(b)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.
3.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.
4.
(a)The medals struck under this Act are national medals for
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
(b)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.
5.Authority to use
fund amounts; proceeds of sale
(a)Authority To use
fund amountsThere 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)Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals
authorized under section 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint
Public Enterprise Fund.