[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2924 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2924

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to former United States Senator Max 
                                Cleland.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 12, 2016

    Mr. Reid (for himself, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Perdue, and Mr. Durbin) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
            Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to former United States Senator Max 
                                Cleland.

    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 ``Max Cleland Congressional Gold Medal 
Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Joseph Maxwell ``Max'' Cleland has demonstrated the 
        highest degree of professionalism and has served as an 
        inspiration to friends, family, veterans, and many others while 
        dedicating his life to the public service of the United States.
            (2) Max Cleland began his career in public service when he 
        joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps as a young college 
        student, went on active duty in the United States Army (in this 
        section referred to as the ``Army'') in 1965 as a Second 
        Lieutenant, and volunteered for service in Vietnam, rising to 
        the rank of Captain.
            (3) The Army recognized Max Cleland with a Silver Star for 
        his gallantry in action during the Battle of Khe Sanh in April 
        of 1968. According to the letter of commendation from the Army, 
        ``The President of the United States of America, authorized by 
        Act of Congress, July 8, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 
        1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain 
        (Signal Corps) Joseph Maxwell Cleland, United States Army, for 
        gallantry in action while engaged in military operations 
        involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic 
        of Vietnam.''.
            (4) Max Cleland, a Battalion Signal Officer dispatched to 
        set up a radio relay antenna, was severely wounded on the 
        battlefield and, as a result, lost both of his legs and his 
        right arm. Cleland would endure 18 months of extremely 
        difficult rehabilitation and recovery at Walter Reed Army 
        Medical Center and hospitals of the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs (in this section referred to as ``VA hospitals'') in 
        Washington, DC. In 1969, Cleland testified before the Senate 
        Committee on Veterans' Affairs on the hardships faced by 
        veterans returning home from war.
            (5) Upon returning to Georgia, Max Cleland was determined 
        to continue his public service and, in 1970, at the age of 28, 
        was elected as the youngest Georgia State senator and helped 
        pass legislation to make public facilities accessible for 
        veterans, older people, and individuals with disabilities.
            (6) Max Cleland later came to Washington, DC, and joined 
        the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs as a professional 
        staff member, investigating VA hospitals across the country and 
        the treatment of servicemembers returning from Vietnam.
            (7) In 1977, President Jimmy Carter named Max Cleland, then 
        just 34 years old, the youngest ever individual, and first 
        Vietnam veteran, to serve as Administrator of the Veterans' 
        Administration. As Administrator, Cleland helped create the 
        ``Vet Center'' counseling program, which later expanded to 300 
        facilities nationwide helping veterans and their families 
        receive psychological care for post-traumatic stress disorders 
        and other problems associated with warfare.
            (8) Following his term as Administrator of the Veterans' 
        Administration, Max Cleland returned to elective office in 1982 
        when he was elected as Secretary of State of the State of 
        Georgia. As Secretary of State, Cleland implemented the 
        National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et 
        seq.) in Georgia and added almost 1,000,000 new voters to the 
        rolls.
            (9) Max Cleland was elected to the United States Senate in 
        1996 and would go on to chair the Subcommittee on Personnel of 
        the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. In the Senate, 
        Cleland was known for his work in expanding benefits for 
        servicemembers and in improving veterans' health care, 
        education, and the environment.
            (10) After his service in the Senate, Max Cleland continued 
        his distinguished career in public service by becoming a 
        commissioner on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks 
        Upon the United States (commonly referred to as the ``9/11 
        Commission'') and later as a member of the Board of Directors 
        of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
            (11) In 2009, President Barack Obama named Max Cleland 
        Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission. As 
        Secretary of the Commission, Cleland is charged with 
        commemorating both the permanent cemeteries of the United 
        States located in foreign countries and the military memorials, 
        monuments, and markers demonstrating where members of the 
        United States Armed Forces have served overseas since World War 
        I.
            (12) In 2010, President Obama again called on Max Cleland 
        to serve his country and Cleland again accepted. This time, 
        Cleland agreed to serve as co-chair, and eventually the 
        inaugural chair, of the Advisory Committee on Arlington 
        National Cemetery, which was established to help fix the 
        problems facing the final resting place for many of the heroes 
        of the United States. After his tenure as chair, Cleland was 
        awarded the Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service of 
        the Army, the highest honorary award that the Secretary of the 
        Army can confer on a civilian.
            (13) After overcoming some of the most difficult challenges 
        imaginable, Max Cleland has spent almost five decades of his 
        life in service to the United States and the country is forever 
        indebted to his service.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Award Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives 
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate 
arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of 
appropriate design to Joseph Maxwell ``Max'' Cleland.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award described 
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (in this Act referred 
to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike the gold medal with suitable 
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
    (c) Duplicate Medals.--
            (1) In general.--Under such regulations as the Secretary 
        may prescribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
        bronze of the gold medal struck under this Act at a price 
        sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 
        materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
            (2) Sale of duplicate medals.--The amounts received from 
        the sale of duplicate medals under paragraph (1) shall be 
        deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    Medals struck under this Act are national medals for purposes of 
chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
                                 <all>