[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 693 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 693

   To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Lena Horne in 
 recognition of her achievements and contributions to American culture 
                     and the civil rights movement.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 10, 2015

Mr. Nelson (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. 
Scott, Mr. Franken, Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. 
    Peters) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Lena Horne 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 ``Lena Horne Recognition Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born on June 30, 1917, in 
        Brooklyn, New York. At the age of 16, Lena Horne was hired as a 
        dancer in the chorus of Harlem's famous Cotton Club, where she 
        was introduced to such legendary jazz performers as Duke 
        Ellington, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Ethel Waters, and Billie 
        Holiday.
            (2) In 1940, she became one of the first African-American 
        women to perform with an all-White band when she toured with 
        Charlie Barnet's jazz band as its featured singer.
            (3) She was discovered by a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) 
        talent scout and became the first African-American artist to 
        sign a long-term contract with a major film studio.
            (4) Despite her extraordinary beauty and talent, Lena Horne 
        was often limited to minor acting roles because of her race.
            (5) Scenes in which she did sing were cut out when they 
        were sent to local distributors in the South and studio 
        executives cast another actress as Julie in the film version of 
        ``Show Boat'' instead of Lena Horne because they did not want 
        the show to star an African-American actress.
            (6) However, Lena Horne dazzled audiences and critics in a 
        number of films, including ``Cabin in the Sky'' and ``Stormy 
        Weather'' before ultimately turning back to a more lucrative, 
        inclusive career in show business, performing across the Nation 
        in nightclubs and on Broadway.
            (7) A strong supporter of American troops, during World War 
        II, Lena Horne toured extensively with the United Service 
        Organizations (USO) on the West Coast and in the South. She 
        expressed outrage about the way African-American soldiers were 
        treated, firmly opposing segregation and discrimination. She 
        was appalled to find that the military was implementing such 
        strong measures of separation based on race, and actively 
        protested performing when she saw that German Prisoners of War 
        (POWs) were seated ahead of Black servicemen.
            (8) In general, Lena refused to sing for segregated 
        audiences and made it a point to speak out on the issue when 
        performing before her large crowds of mixed races.
            (9) During the period of McCarthyism in the 1950s, Lena 
        Horne was blacklisted as a Communist for 7 years because of her 
        civil rights activism and friendship with Paul Robeson and 
        W.E.B. Du Bois.
            (10) In 1957, Lena Horne recorded Lena Horne at the 
        Waldorf-Astoria, which reached the U.S. Billboard Top 10 and 
        became the best-selling album by a female singer, regardless of 
        race, in RCA Victor's history.
            (11) Lena Horne rose to international stardom and toured 
        the world, sharing the stage with such names as Count Basie, 
        Tony Bennett, Billy Eckstine, Vic Damone, and Harry Belafonte, 
        and also starred in musical and television specials with such 
        giants as Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra.
            (12) Throughout her life, Lena Horne used her fame to 
        become a powerful voice for civil rights and equality.
            (13) In 1963, she participated in the historic March on 
        Washington for Jobs and Freedom, at which Dr. Martin Luther 
        King, Jr., delivered his immortal ``I Have a Dream'' speech. 
        Lena had gained renown respect for her courage in maintaining a 
        firm stake in the Civil Rights movement, and met President John 
        F. Kennedy days before his death later that year.
            (14) Lena Horne also performed at rallies throughout the 
        country for the National Council for Negro Women and worked 
        with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
        People (NAACP), of which she was a member from the age of 2, as 
        well as the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and National Urban 
        League.
            (15) She would go on to play herself on such staple 
        American shows as The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and Sanford 
        and Son.
            (16) Through the end of the 20th century, Lena Horne 
        continued to entertain large audiences of all ages, races, 
        ethnicities and backgrounds. In 1981, she captivated audiences 
        with her one-woman Broadway show, ``Lena Horne: The Lady and 
        Her Music'', which enjoyed a 14-month run before going on tour, 
        and earned her a special Tony Award and two Grammy Awards. In 
        the 1950s, Lena actually became the first woman to have been 
        nominated for a Tony Award.
            (17) In 2002, 73 years after the Academy Awards were first 
        awarded, Halle Berry became the first African-American woman to 
        win an Oscar for Best Actress and recognized in her acceptance 
        speech how Lena Horne paved the way for her and other African-
        American actresses.
            (18) Lena Horne passed away in New York City on May 9, 
        2010, at the age of 92.
            (19) Lena Horne was an entertainer, activist, and mother 
        who used her beauty, talent, and intelligence to fight racial 
        discrimination and injustice and rise to international stardom.
            (20) A symbol of elegance and grace, she entertained people 
        of all walks of life for over 60 years, and broke barriers for 
        future generations.

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 
the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of 
Lena Horne in recognition of her achievements and contributions to 
American culture and the civil rights movement.
    (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. 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.
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