[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3658 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.3658

                     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 grant the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the Monuments 
     Men, in recognition of their heroic role in the preservation, 
protection, and restitution of monuments, works of art, and artifacts of 
         cultural importance during and following World War II.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Monuments Men Recognition Act of 
2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    The Congress finds the following:
        (1) On June 23, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt formed 
    the ``American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of 
    Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas''.
        (2) The Commission established the Monuments, Fine Arts, and 
    Archives (``MFAA'') Section under the Allied Armies.
        (3) The men and women serving in the MFAA Section were referred 
    to as the ``Monuments Men''.
        (4) These individuals had expertise as museum directors, 
    curators, art historians, artists, architects, and educators.
        (5) In December 1943, General Dwight D. Eisenhower empowered 
    the Monuments Men by issuing orders to all commanders that stated 
    they must respect monuments ``so far as war allows''.
        (6) Initially the Monuments Men were intended to protect and 
    temporarily repair the monuments, churches, and cathedrals of 
    Europe suffering damage due to combat.
        (7) Hitler and the Nazis engaged in a pre-meditated, mass theft 
    of art and stored priceless works in thousands of art repositories 
    throughout Europe.
        (8) The Monuments Men adapted their mission to identify, 
    preserve, catalogue, and repatriate almost 5,000,000 artistic and 
    cultural items which they discovered.
        (9) This magnitude of cultural preservation was unprecedented 
    during a time of conflict.
        (10) The Monuments Men grew to no more than 350 individuals and 
    joined front line military forces; two Monuments Men lost their 
    lives in action.
        (11) Following the Allied victory, the Monuments Men remained 
    abroad to rebuild cultural life in Europe through organizing art 
    exhibitions and concerts.
        (12) Many of the Monuments Men became renowned directors and 
    curators of preeminent international cultural institutions, 
    professors at institutions of higher education, and founders of 
    artistic associations both before and after the war.
        (13) The Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art 
    was founded in 2007 to honor the legacy of the men and women who 
    served as Monuments Men.
        (14) There are only five surviving members of the Monuments Men 
    as of December 2013.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
    (a) Presentation Authorized.--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 the 
Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration to 
Monuments Men, in recognition of their heroic role in the preservation, 
protection, and restitution of monuments, works of art, and artifacts 
of cultural importance during and following World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--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.
    (c) Smithsonian Institution.--
        (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in honor 
    of the Monuments Men, the gold medal shall be given to the 
    Smithsonian Institution, where it will be available for display as 
    appropriate and available for research.
        (2) Sense of the congress.--It is the sense of the Congress 
    that the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal awarded 
    pursuant to this Act available for display elsewhere, particularly 
    at appropriate locations associated with the Monuments Men, and 
    that preference should be given to locations affiliated with the 
    Smithsonian Institution.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck pursuant to section 3 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.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
    (a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant to this Act are 
national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 
Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, 
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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