[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 247 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 247

  To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Maya Angelou in 
 recognition of her achievements and contributions to American culture 
                     and the civil rights movement.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 2015

  Mrs. Beatty (for herself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Fattah, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
David Scott of Georgia, and Mr. Foster) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 
 addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Maya Angelou in 
 recognition of her achievements and contributions to American culture 
                     and the civil rights movement.

    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 ``Maya Angelou Congressional Gold 
Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that:
            (1) Dr. Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Ann Johnson in St. 
        Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928, and raised in Arkansas, was 
        a prominent and celebrated author, poet, educator, producer, 
        actress, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.
            (2) Dr. Maya Angelou published a myriad of literary works 
        enshrining in history her storied life as an icon of the civil 
        rights movement.
            (3) Hailed for her talents as a performing artist at an 
        early age, Dr. Maya Angelou toured Europe with a production of 
        the Gershwin opera ``Porgy And Bess'' in 1955 and released her 
        first album in 1957.
            (4) Committed to furthering the work of Dr. Martin Luther 
        King, Dr. Maya Angelou served as a leader of the Southern 
        Christian Leadership Conference during the Civil Rights 
        Movement.
            (5) In 1969, Dr. Maya Angelou penned the autobiography ``I 
        Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'', which catapulted her to 
        international acclaim for its vivid and honest depiction of the 
        experience of Black women in the Jim Crow era.
            (6) Dr. Maya Angelou wrote the screenplay and composed the 
        score for the 1972 film ``Georgia, Georgia''; her script was 
        the first by an African-American woman to be filmed.
            (7) Dr. Maya Angelou was the first African-American to 
        serve as an Inaugural Poet, authoring and reciting the poem 
        ``Pulse of Morning'' in 1993.
            (8) A trailblazer in literature and poetry, Dr. Maya 
        Angelou bravely explored the ways in which socially 
        marginalizing forces affected African-American women.
            (9) Dr. Maya Angelou was honored with the Presidential 
        Medal of Freedom in 2011, the Lincoln Medal in 2008, and the 
        National Medal of Arts in 2000 for her exceptional 
        contributions to American culture as an author and poet.
            (10) As a distinguished educator, Dr. Maya Angelou received 
        over 30 honorary degrees and served as the Reynolds Professor 
        of American Studies at Wake Forest University from 1982 to 
        2014.
            (11) Dr. Maya Angelou passed away on May 28, 2014, in her 
        North Carolina home at age 86, leaving behind a legacy of 
        literary achievement and an indelible mark on the movement for 
        civil rights.

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 posthumous presentation, on behalf of 
Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of Dr. 
Maya Angelou in recognition of her achievements and contributions to 
American culture and the civil rights movement.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the presentation 
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
(hereinafter in this Act referred to 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 Dr. Maya Angelou under subsection (a), the gold medal 
        shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it shall 
        be available for display as appropriate and made available for 
        research.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the Smithsonian Institution shall make the gold medal received 
        under paragraph (1) available for display, particularly at the 
        National Museum of African American History and Culture, or for 
        loan as appropriate so that it may be displayed elsewhere, 
        particularly at other appropriate locations associated with the 
        life of Dr. Maya Angelou.

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 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.
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