[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 750 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 750
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Stewart Lee Udall
in recognition of his contributions to the Nation as hero for the
environment, a champion for conservation, a civil right activist, a
Native American crusader, and an advocate for the arts.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 15, 2013
Mr. Thompson of California (for himself and Mr. Gosar) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Stewart Lee Udall
in recognition of his contributions to the Nation as hero for the
environment, a champion for conservation, a civil right activist, a
Native American crusader, and an advocate for the arts.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Stewart Lee Udall was born to former Arizona Supreme
Court Justice Levi Stewart Udall and Louise Lee Udall on
January 31, 1920, in Saint Johns, Arizona.
(2) Stewart Lee Udall began serving his country in 1942
when he joined the United States Army Air Corps (predecessor of
the United States Air Force) during World War II, serving as an
enlisted B-24 waist gunner in Italy. He flew more than 50
missions over Western Europe over 4 years, receiving the Air
Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters.
(3) After coming home from war, Stewart Lee Udall returned
to the University of Arizona where he received a bachelors and
law degree and was admitted to the Arizona State Bar. After
graduating from law school, he began his own private practice
and eventually established the law firm of Udall and Udall with
his brother Morris K. Udall.
(4) Stewart Lee Udall's first elected office was as a
member of the Amphitheater School Board (1951), where he
participated in desegregating the Amphitheater School District
before the United States Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board
of Education.
(5) Beginning in 1954, Stewart Lee Udall was elected to
serve 4 terms as United States Representative from Arizona's
second district.
(6) Upon the 1960 Presidential election, President Kennedy
appointed Stewart Lee Udall as Secretary of the Interior. He
maintained this position for 8 years, where his accomplishments
under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson made him a hero for the
environmental and conservation communities.
(7) Among the legislative accomplishments during his
cabinet career, Stewart Lee Udall helped guide numerous
landmark environmental measures through Congress, including the
Wilderness Act of 1964, the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Act of 1965, the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966,
the National Trail System Act of 1968, the Solid Waste Disposal
Act of 1965, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, the Clear
Air Act, the Water Quality Act of 1965, and the Clean Water
Restoration Act of 1966.
(8) Stewart Lee Udall was a coauthor of the Economic
Opportunity Act of 1964. This legislation created several new
social programs that helped promote the health, education, and
general welfare of the impoverished. Some of the programs
remaining today include Head Start and the Job Corps.
(9) As Secretary of the Interior during the Kennedy and
Johnson administrations, Stewart Lee Udall expanded the
National Park Service by presiding over the acquisition of 3.85
million acres of new holdings, including 4 national parks
(Canyonlands in Utah, Redwood in California, North Cascades in
Washington State, and Guadalupe Mountains in Texas), 6 national
monuments, 9 national recreation areas, 20 historic sites, 50
wildlife refuges, and 8 national seashores.
(10) Stewart Lee Udall established the Bureau of Outdoor
Recreation to coordinate all Federal outdoor programs.
(11) In September 1966, as Secretary of the Interior,
Stewart Lee Udall announced the creation of Project EROS, which
led the United States to state of the art science and
technology that includes Landsat, the longest running
enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery. Project EROS
began as a revolutionary program that utilized Earth-orbiting
satellites that map the planet to gather data about the Earth's
natural resources along with changes in weather and climate.
(12) During his tenure as Secretary of the Interior,
Stewart Lee Udall also became a champion of the arts,
convincing President Kennedy to invite the renowned poet Robert
Frost to speak at his inauguration and setting in motion
initiatives that led to the creation of the Kennedy Center,
Wolf Trap Farm Park, the National Endowments for the Arts and
the Humanities, and the revived Ford's Theatre.
(13) While Stewart Lee Udall was Secretary of the Interior,
he continued to fight against segregation when he threatened to
refuse the all-White Washington Redskins access to the new
stadium located in Washington, DC, of which he was the Federal
landlord.
(14) After he left Federal Government service, Stewart Lee
Udall continued helping the American people by becoming a
crusader for victims of radiation exposure (particularly Native
Americans) resulting from the Federal Government's Cold War
nuclear programs. He helped to pass the Radiation Exposure
Compensation Act in 1990, which was signed by President George
Bush.
(15) Stewart Lee Udall was a prolific writer, penning
countless articles, essays, and op-eds. He also co-authored 9
books, and wrote 9 of his own, including the seminal title in
the conservation movement, ``The Quiet Crisis''.
(16) Among his many honors, Stewart Lee Udall was a
recipient of the Ansel Adams Award, the Wilderness Society's
highest conservation award, the Common Cause Public Service
Achievement Award for his lifelong protection of the
environment and the defense of American citizens who were
victims of nuclear weapons testing, and the United Nations Gold
Medal for Lifetime Achievement.
(17) Until his passing in 2010, Stewart Lee Udall continued
his devotion to public service as an author, historian,
scholar, lecturer, environmental activist, lawyer, and citizen
of the outdoors.
SEC. 2. 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 Congress,
of a gold medal of appropriate design to honor Stewart Lee Udall in
recognition of his contributions to the Nation as hero for the
environment, a champion for conservation, a civil right activist, a
Native American crusader, and an advocate for the arts.
(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.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
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.
SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.
(a) National Medals.--The medals struck under this Act are national
medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--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.
SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There 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) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate
bronze medals authorized under section 3 shall be deposited into the
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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