[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1616 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1616

 To award the Congressional Gold Medal to Bob Dole, in recognition for 
   his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator, and statesman.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 24, 2017

   Mr. Roberts (for himself, Mr. Moran, Mr. McCain, Mr. Cochran, Mr. 
Shelby, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Grassley, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Leahy, 
 Mr. Wyden, Mr. Inhofe, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mrs. Ernst) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To award the Congressional Gold Medal to Bob Dole, in recognition for 
   his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator, and statesman.

    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 ``Bob Dole Congressional Gold Medal 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Bob Dole was born on July 22, 1923, in Russell, Kansas.
            (2) Growing up during the Great Depression, Bob Dole 
        learned the values of hard work and discipline, and worked at a 
        local drug store.
            (3) In 1941, Bob Dole enrolled at the University of Kansas 
        as a pre-medical student. During his time at KU he played for 
        the basketball, football, and track teams, and joined the Kappa 
        Sigma Fraternity, from which he would receive the ``Man of the 
        Year'' award in 1970.
            (4) Bob Dole's collegiate studies were interrupted by WWII, 
        and he enlisted in the United States Army. During a military 
        offensive in Italy, he was seriously wounded while trying to 
        save a fellow soldier. Despite his grave injuries, Dole 
        recovered and was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star 
        with an Oak Cluster for his service. He also received an 
        American Campaign Medal, a European-African-Middle Eastern 
        Campaign Medal, and a World War II Victory Medal.
            (5) While working on his law degree from Washburn 
        University, Bob Dole was elected into the Kansas House of 
        Representatives, serving from 1951-1953.
            (6) Bob Dole was elected into the U.S. House of 
        Representatives and served two Kansas districts from 1961-1969.
            (7) In 1969, Bob Dole was elected into the U.S. Senate and 
        served until 1996. Over the course of this period, he served as 
        Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chairman of the 
        Finance Committee, Senate Minority Leader, and Senate Majority 
        Leader.
            (8) Bob Dole was known for his ability work across the 
        aisle and embrace practical bipartisanship on issues such as 
        Social Security.
            (9) Bob Dole has been a life-long advocate for the disabled 
        and was a key figure in the passing of the Americans with 
        Disabilities Act in 1990.
            (10) After his appointment as Majority Leader, Bob Dole set 
        the record as the nation's longest-serving Republican Leader in 
        the Senate.
            (11) Several Presidents of the United States have specially 
        honored Bob Dole for his hard work and leadership in the public 
        sector. This recognition is exemplified by the following:
                    (A) President Reagan awarded Bob Dole the 
                Presidential Citizens Medal in 1989 stating, ``Whether 
                on the battlefield or Capitol Hill, Senator Dole has 
                served America heroically. Senate Majority Leader 
                during one of the most productive Congresses of recent 
                time, he has also been a friend to veterans, farmers, 
                and Americans from every walk of life. Bob Dole has 
                stood for integrity, straight talk and achievement 
                throughout his years of distinguished public 
                service.''.
                    (B) Upon awarding Bob Dole with the Presidential 
                Medal of Freedom in 1997, President Clinton made the 
                following comments, ``Son of the soil, citizen, soldier 
                and legislator, Bob Dole understands the American 
                people, their struggles, their triumphs and their 
                dreams . . . In times of conflict and crisis, he has 
                worked to keep America united and strong . . . our 
                country is better for his courage, his determination, 
                and his willingness to go the long course to lead 
                America.''.
            (12) After his career in public office, Bob Dole became an 
        active advocate for the public good. He served as National 
        Chairman of the World War II Memorial Campaign, helping raise 
        over $197 million to construct the National WWII Memorial, and 
        as Co-Chair of the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund, 
        raising over $120 million for the educational needs of the 
        families of victims of 9/11.
            (13) From 1997-2001, Bob Dole served as chairman of the 
        International Commission on Missing Persons in the Former 
        Yugoslavia.
            (14) In 2003, Bob Dole established The Robert J. Dole 
        Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas to encourage 
        bipartisanship in politics.
            (15) Bob Dole is a strong proponent of international 
        justice and, in 2004, received the Golden Medal of Freedom from 
        the President of Kosovo for his support of democracy and 
        freedom in Kosovo.
            (16) In 2007, President George W. Bush appointed Bob Dole 
        to co-chair the President's Commission on Care for America's 
        Returning Wounded Warriors, which inspected the system of 
        medical care received by U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and 
        Afghanistan.
            (17) Bob Dole was the co-creator of the McGovern-Dole 
        International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, 
        helping combat child hunger and poverty. In 2008, he was co-
        awarded the World Food Prize for his work with this 
        organization.
            (18) Bob Dole is co-founder of the Bipartisan Policy Center 
        which works to develop policies suitable for bipartisan 
        support.
            (19) Bob Dole is a strong advocate for veterans, having 
        volunteered on a weekly basis for more than a decade on behalf 
        of the Honor Flight Network.
            (20) Bob Dole serves as Finance Chairman of the Campaign 
        for the National Eisenhower Memorial, leading the private 
        fundraising effort to memorialize President Dwight D. 
        Eisenhower in Washington, DC.
            (21) Bob Dole was acknowledged by many organizations for 
        his achievements both inside and outside of politics, including 
        being awarded the ``U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for 
        Outstanding Public Service By An Elected Official'', the Gold 
        Good Citizenship Award, the American Patriot Award, the 
        Survivor's Gratitude Award, the U.S. Association of Former 
        Member of Congress Distinguished Service Award, a Distinguished 
        Service Medal, the French Legion of Honor medal, the Horatio 
        Alger Award, the U.S. Defense Department's Distinguished Public 
        Service Award, the National Collegiate Athletic Association's 
        Teddy Roosevelt Award, the Albert Schweitzer Medal ``for 
        outstanding contributions to animal welfare'', the 2004 
        Sylvanus Thayer Award, and honorary degrees from the University 
        of Kansas, Fort Hays State University, and the University of 
        New Hampshire School of Law.
            (22) Throughout his life-long service to our country, Bob 
        Dole has embodied the American spirit of leadership and 
        determination, and serves as one of the most prolific role 
        models both in and outside of politics.

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 Bob Dole, in recognition for his service to the 
nation as a soldier, legislator, and statesman.
    (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.

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.
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