[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3321 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3321

    To award Congressional Gold Medals to Katherine Johnson and Dr. 
Christine Darden and to posthumously award Congressional Gold Medals to 
Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson in recognition of their contributions 
  to the success of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
                         during the Space Race.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2018

  Mr. Coons (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, Ms. Harris, Mrs. Capito, Mr. 
    Markey, Ms. Warren, Mr. Carper, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Hassan, Mr. 
   Alexander, Mr. Peters, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
Merkley, Ms. Smith, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Reed, Ms. Collins, Mr. Jones, Mr. 
  Manchin, Mr. Kaine, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Heitkamp, Ms. 
Cortez Masto, Mr. Casey, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mrs. Shaheen, Mrs. McCaskill, 
   Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Hirono, Mr. King, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Blunt, Mr. 
   Warner, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Rubio, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
  Kennedy, Mr. Scott, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Booker, Mr. 
 Portman, and Mr. Burr) introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To award Congressional Gold Medals to Katherine Johnson and Dr. 
Christine Darden and to posthumously award Congressional Gold Medals to 
Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson in recognition of their contributions 
  to the success of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
                         during the Space Race.

    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. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Katherine Johnson was born on August 26, 1918, in White 
        Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
            (2) In 1953, Katherine Johnson began her career in 
        aeronautics as a ``computer'' in the segregated West Area 
        Computing unit of the National Advisory Committee for 
        Aeronautics (referred to in this section as ``NACA'').
            (3) As a member of the Flight Research Division, Katherine 
        Johnson analyzed data from flight tests. After NACA was 
        reformulated into the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration (referred to in this section as ``NASA''), 
        Johnson--
                    (A) 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;
                    (B) coauthored a report that provided the equations 
                for describing orbital spaceflight with a specified 
                landing point, which made her the first woman to be 
                recognized as an author of a report from the Flight 
                Research Division;
                    (C) was asked to verify the calculations when 
                electronic computers at NASA were used to calculate the 
                orbit for John Glenn's Friendship 7 mission; and
                    (D) provided calculations for NASA throughout her 
                career, including for the Apollo missions.
            (4) Katherine Johnson retired from NASA in 1986.
            (5) Dr. Christine Darden was born on September 10, 1942, in 
        Monroe, North Carolina.
            (6) In 1962, Dr. Christine Darden graduated from Hampton 
        Institute with a B.S. in Mathematics and a teaching credential.
            (7) Dr. Christine Darden attended Virginia State 
        University, where she studied aerosol physics and earned an 
        M.S. in Applied Mathematics.
            (8) Dr. Christine Darden began her career in aeronautics in 
        1967 as a data analyst at NASA's Langley Research Center 
        (referred to in this section as ``Langley'') before being 
        promoted to aerospace engineer in 1973. Her work in this 
        position resulted in the production of low-boom sonic effects, 
        which revolutionized aerodynamics design.
            (9) Dr. Christine Darden completed her education by earning 
        a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from George Washington 
        University in 1983.
            (10) While at NASA, Dr. Christine Darden--
                    (A) was appointed to be the leader of the Sonic 
                Boom Team, which worked on designs to minimize the 
                effects of sonic booms by testing wing and nose designs 
                for supersonic aircraft;
                    (B) wrote more than 50 articles on aeronautics 
                design; and
                    (C) became the first African-American to be 
                promoted to a position in the Senior Executive Service 
                at Langley.
            (11) Dorothy Vaughan was born on September 20, 1910, in 
        Kansas City, Missouri.
            (12) Dorothy Vaughan began working for NACA in 1943. 
        Vaughan--
                    (A) started as a member of the West Area Computing 
                unit;
                    (B) was promoted to be the head of the West Area 
                Computing unit, becoming NACA's first African-American 
                supervisor, a position that she held for 9 years; and
                    (C) became an expert programmer in FORTRAN as a 
                member of NASA's Analysis and Computation Division.
            (13) Dorothy Vaughan retired from NASA in 1971 and died on 
        November 10, 2008.
            (14) Mary Jackson was born on April 9, 1921, in Hampton, 
        Virginia.
            (15) Jackson started her career at NACA in 1951, working as 
        a ``computer'' as a member of the West Area Computing unit.
            (16) After petitioning the City of Hampton to allow her to 
        take graduate-level courses in math and physics at night at the 
        all-White Hampton High School, Jackson was able to complete the 
        required training to become an engineer, making her NASA's 
        first female African-American engineer.
            (17) Jackson--
                    (A) at NACA and NASA--
                            (i) worked in the Theoretical Aerodynamics 
                        Branch of the Subsonic-Transonic Aerodynamics 
                        Division at Langley, where she analyzed wind 
                        tunnel and aircraft flight data; and
                            (ii) published a dozen technical papers 
                        throughout her career, focused on the boundary 
                        layer of air around airplanes; and
                    (B) after 21 years working as an engineer at NASA, 
                transitioned to a new job as Langley's Federal Women's 
                Program Manager, where she worked to improve the 
                prospects of NASA's female mathematicians, engineers, 
                and scientists.
            (18) Mary Jackson retired from NASA in 1985 and died in 
        2005.
            (19) These 4 women, along with the other African-American 
        women in NASA's West Area Computing unit, were integral to the 
        success of the early space program.

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 presentation, on behalf of Congress, 
of 4 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, for her service 
        to the United States as an aeronautical engineer.
            (3) In recognition of their service to the United States 
        during the Space Race, 2 gold medals to commemorate the lives 
        of--
                    (A) Dorothy Vaughan; and
                    (B) Mary Jackson.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the awards referred to 
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this 
Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike each gold medal described in 
that subsection 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 
                medal in honor of Dorothy Vaughan under subsection 
                (a)(3)(A), the medal shall be given to the Smithsonian 
                Institution, where the medal 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 should make the gold 
                medal 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 
                        medal 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. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    Under regulations that the Secretary may promulgate, the Secretary 
may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medals struck 
under this Act, at a price sufficient to cover the cost of the medals, 
including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead 
expenses.

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.

SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such 
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck 
under this Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the 
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
                                 <all>