[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6795 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6795

 To award a gold medal on behalf of the United States Congress to the 
 women who worked as computers, mathematicians, and engineers for the 
National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics and the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration from the 1930s to the 1970s in recognition for 
     their service to the Nation in the fields of aeronautics and 
                             astronautics.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 13, 2018

    Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas (for herself and Mr. Lucas) 
 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 award a gold medal on behalf of the United States Congress to the 
 women who worked as computers, mathematicians, and engineers for the 
National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics and the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration from the 1930s to the 1970s in recognition for 
     their service to the Nation in the fields of aeronautics and 
                             astronautics.

    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 ``Hidden Figures Congressional Gold 
Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) NACA.--The term ``NACA'' means the National Advisory 
        Committee for Aeronautics.
            (2) NASA.--The term ``NASA'' means the National Aeronautics 
        and Space Administration.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 1935, NACA (predecessor to NASA) hired five women to 
        be the first ``computer pool'' at the Langley Memorial 
        Aeronautical Laboratory where they took on calculating work 
        previously done by male engineers.
            (2) During the 1940s, NACA also began recruiting African-
        American women to work as computers, initially segregating them 
        from their White counterparts in a group known as the ``West 
        Area Computers'' where they were restricted to segregated 
        dining and bathroom facilities.
            (3) Dorothy Vaughan began working as a member of the West 
        Area Computing unit in 1943 where her work and talent for 
        leadership led her to become both a respected mathematician and 
        NACA's first African-American manager.
            (4) Mary Jackson joined the West Area Computing unit in 
        1951 and petitioned the city of Hampton to allow her to take 
        graduate-level courses in math and physics at the all-White 
        Hampton High School which enabled her to become the first 
        African-American female engineer at NASA.
            (5) Katherine Johnson, who started her career in the West 
        Area Computing unit in 1953, calculated the trajectory for Alan 
        Shepard's Freedom 7 mission in 1961, which was the first human 
        spaceflight by an individual from the United States.
            (6) Dr. Christine Darden began her career as a computer at 
        NASA's Langley Research Center in 1967 and later led the Sonic 
        Boom Team where her work on sonic boom minimization helped to 
        revolutionize aeronautical design.
            (7) The stories of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine 
        Johnson, and Dr. Christine Darden were portrayed in the 2016 
        book by Margot Shetterly, entitled ``Hidden Figures: The Untold 
        True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch Our 
        Nation into Space'' and subsequent movie adaptation.
            (8) The stories of these four women exemplify the 
        experiences of hundreds of women who worked as computers, 
        mathematicians, and engineers at NACA dating back to the 1930s.
            (9) The women computers, mathematicians, and engineers of 
        NACA and NASA were well regarded for their skill and received 
        praise for performing calculations more rapidly and accurately 
        than male engineers could.
            (10) Their handmade calculations played an integral role in 
        aircraft testing during World War II, supersonic flight 
        research, sending the Voyager probes to explore the solar 
        system, and the United States landing the first man on the 
        lunar surface.

SEC. 4. 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 five gold medals of appropriate design as follows:
            (1) One gold medal to Katherine Johnson, in recognition of 
        her service to the United States as a mathematician.
            (2) One gold medal to Dr. Christine Darden, in recognition 
        of her service to the United States as an aeronautical 
        engineer.
            (3) In recognition of their service to the United States 
        during the Space Race, two gold medals to commemorate the lives 
        of--
                    (A) Dorothy Vaughan; and
                    (B) Mary Jackson.
            (4) One gold medal in recognition of all women who served 
        as computers, mathematicians, and engineers at NACA and NASA 
        from the 1930s to the 1970s.
    (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 gold medals with suitable 
emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary.
    (c) Transfer of Certain Medals After Presentation.--
            (1) Smithsonian institution.--
                    (A) In general.--Following the award of the gold 
                medals in honor of Dorothy Vaughan and all women 
                computers, mathematicians, and engineers under 
                subsection (a), the gold medals shall be given to the 
                Smithsonian Institution, where they shall be available 
                for display as appropriate and made available for 
                research.
                    (B) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress 
                that the Smithsonian Institution shall make the gold 
                medals received under subparagraph (A) available for--
                            (i) display, particularly at the National 
                        Museum of African American History and Culture; 
                        or
                            (ii) loan, as appropriate, so that the 
                        medals may be displayed elsewhere.
            (2) Transfer to family.--Following the award of the gold 
        medal in honor of Mary Jackson under subsection (a)(3)(B), the 
        medal shall be given to her family.

SEC. 5. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the 
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medals 
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.

SEC. 6. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--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 sections 5134 and 5136 of 
title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.
                                 <all>