[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 754 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.754
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen
An Act
To award the Congressional Gold Medal to Anwar Sadat in recognition of
his heroic achievements and courageous contributions to peace in the
Middle East.
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 ``Anwar Sadat Centennial Celebration
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Anwar Sadat was born on December 25, 1918, in Mit Abu al-
Kum, al-Minufiyah, Egypt, as 1 of 13 children in a poor Egyptian
family.
(2) In 1938, Sadat graduated from the Royal Military Academy in
Cairo and was appointed to the Signal Corps.
(3) Sadat entered the Army as a second lieutenant and was
posted to Sudan where he met Gamal Abdel Nasser and fellow junior
officers who became the ``Free Officers'' who led the Egyptian
revolution of 1952.
(4) Sadat held various high positions during Nasser's
presidency, assuming the role of President of the National Assembly
in 1960 and Vice President in 1964.
(5) President Nasser died of a heart attack on September 28,
1970, at which point Sadat became acting President. Sadat was
subsequently elected as the third President of Egypt.
(6) On October 6, 1973, President Sadat, along with his Syrian
counterparts, launched an offensive against Israel. A permanent
cease-fire was reached on October 25, 1973.
(7) In 1974, after talks facilitated by Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger, Egypt and Israel signed an agreement allowing
Egypt to formally retrieve land in the Sinai. President Sadat later
wrote in his memoirs that his meetings with Kissinger ``marked the
beginning of a relationship of mutual understanding with the United
States culminating and crystallizing in what we came to describe as
a `peace process'. Together we started that process and the United
States still supports our joint efforts to this day''.
(8) Months of diplomacy between Egypt and Israel followed the
signing of this initial agreement and a second disengagement
agreement, the Sinai Interim Agreement, was signed in September of
1975.
(9) President Sadat addressed a joint session of Congress on
November 5, 1975, during which he underscored the shared values
between the United States and Egypt. In this speech, President
Sadat addressed the path to peace, saying, ``We are faced, together
with other nations, with one of the greatest challenges of our
time, namely the task of convincing this generation, and those to
follow, that we can finally build a viable international system
capable of meeting the demands of tomorrow and solving the problems
of the coming age''.
(10) On November 19, 1977, President Sadat became the first
Arab leader to visit Israel, meeting with the Israeli Prime
Minister, Menachem Begin. President Sadat spoke before the Israeli
Knesset in Jerusalem about his views on how to achieve
comprehensive peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
(11) Before commencing negotiations, President Sadat
courageously announced to the Knesset, ``I have come to you so that
together we might build a durable peace based on justice, to avoid
the shedding of 1 single drop of blood from an Arab or an Israeli.
It is for this reason that I have proclaimed my readiness to go to
the farthest corner of the world''. President Sadat further
poignantly stated that ``any life lost in war is a human life,
irrespective of its being that of an Israeli or an Arab. * * * When
the bells of peace ring, there will be no hands to beat the drums
of war''.
(12) On September 17, 1978, President Jimmy Carter hosted
President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin at Camp David where the 3
leaders engaged in 13 days of negotiations that resulted in the
``Framework for Peace in the Middle East'' (commonly known as the
``Camp David Accords'').
(13) Following negotiations, President Sadat and Prime Minister
Begin signed the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty (in this section
referred to as the ``Peace Treaty'') at the White House on March
26, 1979. Addressing President Sadat at the signing of the Peace
Treaty, which remains an important anchor for peace in the region
today, Prime Minister Begin commended President Sadat by saying,
``In the face of adversity and hostility, you have demonstrated the
human value that can change history--civil courage''.
(14) The Peace Treaty featured mutual recognition of each
country by the other and ultimately the cessation of the state of
war that had existed between Israel and Egypt since the 1948 Arab-
Israeli War. Israel completely withdrew its armed forces and
civilians from the rest of the Sinai.
(15) In 1978, both President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin
were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for signing the Peace Treaty,
which made Egypt the first Arab country to officially recognize
Israel.
(16) While presenting the Nobel Peace Prize to President Sadat,
Aase Lionaes, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said,
``During the 30 preceding years, the peoples of the Middle East
have, on 4 separate occasions, been the victims of warfare and
there seemed no prospect of peace. President Sadat's great
contribution to peace was that he had sufficient courage and
foresight to break away from this vicious circle. His decision to
accept Prime Minister Menachem Begin's invitation of November 17,
1977, to attend a meeting of the Israeli parliament on November 19
was an act of great courage, both from a personal and from a
political point of view. This was a dramatic break with the past
and a courageous step forward into a new age''.
(17) During his Nobel lecture, President Sadat remarked, ``I
made my trip because I am convinced that we owe it to this
generation and the generations to come not to leave a stone
unturned in our pursuit of peace''.
(18) In remarks to the People's Assembly in Cairo on March 10,
1979, President Carter praised President Sadat, telling the
Assembly, ``Your President has demonstrated the power of human
courage and human vision to create hope where there had been only
despair.''. President Carter also said that the Peace Treaty would
``strengthen cooperation between Egypt and the United States'' and
underscored the support of the United States for the agreement,
saying, ``I fully share and will support President Sadat's belief
that stability must be maintained in this part of the world * * *
He and I recognize that the security of this vital region is being
challenged. I applaud his determination to meet that challenge, and
my Government will stand with him''.
(19) The signing of the Peace Treaty enraged many individuals
who opposed normalized relations with Israel. President Sadat was
assassinated on October 6, 1981, by Khalid Islambouli, a member of
Egyptian Islamic Jihad. President Sadat was well aware of the
controversy to which his actions would lead, but pushed for peace
anyway.
(20) Upon the death of President Sadat, President Ronald Reagan
proclaimed, ``President Sadat was a courageous man whose vision and
wisdom brought nations and people together. In a world filled with
hatred, he was a man of hope. In a world trapped in the animosities
of the past, he was a man of foresight, a man who sought to improve
a world tormented by malice and pettiness''.
(21) President Sadat is recognized in the United States and
throughout the world as a respected leader and champion of peace
whose vision provided a roadmap for the peaceful resolution of
conflict that endures nearly 40 years after its inception.
(22) President Sadat bravely reached out to Israel and
dedicated himself to peace, furthering the national security of
Egypt and the stability of the Middle East.
(23) On the 30th anniversary of the Peace Treaty, President
Barack Obama praised the enduring legacy of the Camp David Accords
and the ``courage and foresight of these leaders, who stood
together in unity to change the course of our shared history''.
President Obama closed by saying, ``Today, as we seek to expand the
circle of peace among Arabs and Israelis, we take inspiration from
what Israel and Egypt achieved 3 decades ago, knowing that the
destination is worthy of the struggle''.
(24) The Camp David Accords and the Peace Treaty continue to
serve the interests of the United States by preserving peace and
serving as a foundation for partnership and dialogue in a region
fraught with conflict and division.
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 posthumous award, on behalf of Congress, of a gold
medal of appropriate design to Anwar Sadat in recognition of his
achievements and heroic actions to attain comprehensive peace in the
Middle East.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the award 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.
(c) Presentation.--
(1) In general.--The gold medal referred to in subsection (a)
shall be presented to--
(A)(i) the widow of Anwar Sadat, Jehan Sadat; or
(ii) if Jehan Sadat is unavailable, the next of kin of
Jehan Sadat; and
(B) a representative of the Government of Egypt.
(2) Award of medal.--Following the presentation described in
paragraph (1), the gold medal shall be given to--
(A) Jehan Sadat; or
(B) if Jehan Sadat is unavailable, the next of kin of Jehan
Sadat.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck under 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.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.