[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6123 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6123

   To congressionally designate the museum to preserve the stories, 
knowledge, and history of the Medal of Honor to be constructed in Mount 
    Pleasant, South Carolina, as the National Medal of Honor Museum.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 22, 2016

 Mr. Wilson of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Scalise, Mr. Duncan of 
South Carolina, Mr. Mulvaney, Mr. Gowdy, Mr. Sanford, Mr. Coffman, and 
  Mr. Cook) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To congressionally designate the museum to preserve the stories, 
knowledge, and history of the Medal of Honor to be constructed in Mount 
    Pleasant, South Carolina, as the National Medal of Honor Museum.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM.

    (a) Findings.--Congress make the following findings:
            (1) The Medal of Honor Museum to be located in Mount 
        Pleasant, South Carolina, will be the only museum in the United 
        States that exists for the exclusive purpose of interpreting 
        the story of the Medal of Honor and all of the recipients of 
        the Medal of Honor.
            (2) The Medal of Honor Museum will be the only museum 
        dedicated for the purpose of educating a diverse audience about 
        the Medal of Honor through its collection of artifacts, 
        photographs, letters, documents, and first-hand personal 
        accounts of Medal of Honor recipients and the wars in which 
        they have served.
            (3) The mission of the Medal of Honor Museum is to preserve 
        and present the extraordinary stories of individuals who 
        reached the highest levels of recognition, ``above and beyond 
        the call of duty'', in service to the United States, to inspire 
        current and future generations about the six ideals of the 
        Medal of Honor, namely courage, commitment, integrity, 
        citizenship, sacrifice, and patriotism, to help visitors 
        understand the meaning and price of freedom and what it means 
        to put service above self, and to serve as an education center 
        that, through various programs, reaches out across the country 
        to further the Medal of Honor's ideals among all Americans, 
        especially young people.
            (4) The Medal of Honor was established by an Act of 
        Congress in 1861 and is presented by the President ``in the 
        name of Congress''.
            (5) The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in 
        action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an 
        individual serving in the United States Armed Forces.
            (6) The Medal of Honor has been awarded to heroes of all 
        races and social classes, and recipients represent all 50 
        States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
            (7) As of September 7, 2016, there have been 3,496 
        recipients of the Medal of Honor, of which 19 individuals were 
        double recipients.
            (8) Since World War II, the vast majority of the 874 Medals 
        of Honor awarded for service in World War II, the Korean War, 
        and Vietnam were awarded posthumously.
            (9) As of September 7, 2016, there are only 77 living Medal 
        of Honor recipients, and they have an average age of 71 years 
        old, which creates an urgent need to preserve the stories, 
        artifacts, and achievements of these heros.
            (10) The United States has an urgent need to preserve the 
        stories, knowledge, and history of the recipients of the Medal 
        of Honor and to portray that history, and the courage, 
        commitment, integrity, citizenship, sacrifice, and patriotism 
        of the recipients of the Medal of Honor, for future 
        generations.
            (11) The State of South Carolina has provided a site for 
        the Medal of Honor Museum in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, at 
        Patriot's Point on the eastern shore of Charleston harbor, not 
        far from the site at which Sergeant William H. Carney of the 
        Union Army's 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment became the 
        first African-American recipient of the Medal of Honor as a 
        result of his heroic actions on July 18, 1863, during the 
        Battle of Fort Wagner.
            (12) The Congressional Medal of Honor Society has 
        designated this site as the location of the National Medal of 
        Honor Museum, and the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation 
        is a nonprofit educational foundation established to design, 
        fund, build, and maintain the museum.
            (13) The Medal of Honor Museum receives funding support 
        from the State of South Carolina and is now in the construction 
        design and funding stage.
            (14) The Medal of Honor Museum will become the premier 
        museum of the Medal of Honor, its recipients, and their 
        stories, and a place where people will come to learn about 
        Americans' experiences during critical periods in United States 
        history and where the history of American struggles against 
        aggression by would-be oppressors is preserved so that future 
        generations can understand the role the United States continues 
        to play in the preservation and advancement of democracy and 
        freedom.
    (b) Designation.--In light of the findings contained in subsection 
(a), the Medal of Honor Museum to be located in Mount Pleasant, South 
Carolina, is hereby designated as the ``National Medal of Honor 
Museum''.
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