[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2939 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.2939

                     One Hundred Thirteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
           the third day of January, two thousand and fourteen


                                 An Act


 
         To award the Congressional Gold Medal to Shimon Peres.

    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) Shimon Peres was born in Poland in 1923.
        (2) The Peres family emigrated to Tel Aviv in 1934, and all of 
    the family members of Shimon Peres who remained in Poland were 
    murdered during the Holocaust.
        (3) Before Israel gained independence, Shimon Peres earned the 
    respect of senior leaders in the independence movement in Israel, 
    most notably David Ben-Gurion.
        (4) The founding generation of Israel was central to the 
    development of Israel, and Shimon Peres is the only surviving 
    member of that founding generation.
        (5) Shimon Peres has served in numerous high-level cabinet 
    positions and ministerial posts in Israel, including head of the 
    Israeli Navy, Minister of Defense, Foreign Minister, Prime 
    Minister, and President, among many others.
        (6) Shimon Peres has honorably served Israel for over 70 years, 
    during which he has significantly contributed to United States 
    interests and has played a pivotal role in forging the strong and 
    unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel.
        (7) By presenting the Congressional Gold Medal to Shimon Peres, 
    the first to be awarded to a sitting President of Israel, Congress 
    proclaims its unbreakable bond with Israel and reaffirms its 
    continual support for Israel as we commemorate the 65th anniversary 
    of the independence of Israel and the 90th birthday of Shimon 
    Peres, which are both significant milestones in Israeli history.
        (8) Maintaining strong bilateral relations between the United 
    States and Israel has been a priority of Shimon Peres since he 
    began working with the United States in the days of John F. 
    Kennedy. The strong bond is exemplified by the following:
            (A) President Reagan said to Shimon Peres upon his visit to 
        the United States, ``Mr. Prime Minister, I thank you very much 
        for your visit. It's been an occasion to renew a friendship and 
        to review and enhance the strength of our unique bilateral 
        relationship.''.
            (B) At another point President Reagan said of Shimon Peres, 
        ``His vision, his statesmanship and his tenacity are greatly 
        appreciated here.''.
            (C) While visiting with Shimon Peres at the Residence of 
        the President in Jerusalem, President Obama described Shimon 
        Peres as ``* * * a son of Israel who's devoted his life to 
        keeping Israel strong and sustaining the bonds between our two 
        nations''.
            (D) On March 20, 2013, Shimon Peres reaffirmed his belief 
        in the relationship between the United States and Israel, 
        stating, ``America stood by our side from the very beginning. 
        You support us as we rebuild our ancient homeland and as we 
        defend our land. From Holocaust to redemption.''.
            (E) On March 21, 2013, Shimon Peres stated, ``* * * America 
        is so great and we are so small. But I learned that you don't 
        measure us by size, but by values. When it comes to values, we 
        are you and you are us * * * As I look back, I feel that the 
        Israel of today has exceeded the vision we had 65 years ago. 
        Reality has surpassed our dreams. The United States of America 
        helped us to make this possible.''.
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 Congress, of a single gold 
medal of appropriate design in honor of President Shimon Peres.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the award referred to 
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 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 of the Treasury may 
prescribe, the Secretary may strike duplicate medals in bronze of the 
gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 and sell such duplicate medals 
at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including 
labor, materials, dies, 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.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.