[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3589 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3589

 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Greg LeMond, in recognition of 
  his service to the Nation as an athlete, activist, role model, and 
                           community leader.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2019

Mr. Thompson of California (for himself, Mr. Blumenauer, and Mr. Graves 
 of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Greg LeMond, in recognition of 
  his service to the Nation as an athlete, activist, role model, and 
                           community leader.

    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 ``Greg LeMond Congressional Gold Medal 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Gregory James ``Greg'' LeMond was born in Lakewood, 
        California, on June 26, 1961.
            (2) Greg began cycling at the age of 14, winning an 
        astonishing 11 straight races to begin his career.
            (3) Greg took home a full suite of medals at the 1979 
        Junior World Championships, including gold, silver, and bronze, 
        emerging victorious in the road race and placing in both team 
        and track pursuit events.
            (4) At age 18, Greg became the youngest cyclist in the 
        history of the sport to be selected for the United States Men's 
        Olympic team.
            (5) Greg emerged victorious in the 1980 Circuit de la 
        Sarthe, becoming the first American in history and the youngest 
        rider ever to win a major pro-am cycling event on the European 
        continent.
            (6) At age 19, Greg signed his first professional contract.
            (7) In 1982, Greg made the first of several remarkable 
        recoveries, returning from a broken collarbone to win the 
        silver medal at the world championships in Great Britain.
            (8) The Tour de France, the world's preeminent cycling 
        competition, was first held over a century ago, in 1903.
            (9) The Tour de France takes place over 23 days, covering 
        an extraordinary 2,200 miles, winding through multiple mountain 
        ranges, spanning multiple nations, and is viewed as comparable 
        to running a marathon every day for three consecutive weeks.
            (10) Greg first competed in the Tour de France in 1984, 
        finishing third, and finishing second the following year, in 
        both years deputizing himself to his teammates, sacrificing a 
        chance to win himself to boost his teammates toward victory.
            (11) Greg emerged victorious in the 1986 Tour de France, 
        ascending the fabled Alpe D'Huez, defeating the field by more 
        than three full minutes, becoming the first American and the 
        first non-European to win cycling's most prestigious race.
            (12) In 1987, while recovering from a broken wrist and 
        collarbone, Greg was tragically shot during a turkey hunting 
        accident, leaving him in intensive care, requiring the removal 
        of over 40 shotgun pellets from his abdomen, was deemed 
        unlikely to ever ride a bicycle again, and likely survived only 
        due to the abnormal strength of his cardiovascular system.
            (13) Greg mounted the greatest comeback in the history of 
        American sports, taking home an astonishing victory at the 1989 
        Tour de France, following multiple surgeries, life-threatening 
        gunshot wounds, tendon repair, and an appendectomy, winning by 
        eight seconds in the closest finish in the history of the Tour 
        de France.
            (14) Greg would win a third Tour de France victory in 1990.
            (15) Greg is the only American to win the Tour de France.
            (16) Greg has vocally spoken out to champion healthy sport 
        amongst athletes of all ages and competition levels.
            (17) Greg and his wife, Kathy, are active in numerous 
        nonprofit causes, including healthy sport, assisting victims of 
        sexual abuse and various childhood illnesses.
            (18) Cycling offers young people a healthy, active, outdoor 
        hobby.
            (19) Greg completed his professional career having won two 
        World Championships, three Tour de France championships, and 
        twenty-two titles overall.
            (20) More than any other cyclist, Greg personified the 
        ``breakaway'' culture of American cycling in the 1970s and 80s, 
        viewed universally as the epitome of a young person on a 
        bicycle, attempting to accomplish feats no other American had 
        achieved.
            (21) Greg has not only reached the pinnacle of 
        international sport, but has devoted his time and resources to 
        assisting his fellow athletes.
            (22) Greg has demonstrated the commitment to excellence, 
        generosity, community, and tenacity that makes him an example 
        for all to follow.

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 the 
Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to Greg LeMond, in 
recognition of his contributions to the Nation as an athlete, activist, 
role model, and community leader.
    (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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