[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5671 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.5671

                     One Hundred Sixteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twenty


                                 An Act


 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the United States 
Merchant Mariners of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated and 
                   vital service during World War II.

    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 ``Merchant Mariners of World War II 
Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds the following:
        (1) 2020 marked the 75th anniversary of Allied victory in World 
    War II.
        (2) The United States Merchant Marine (in this section referred 
    to as the ``Merchant Marine'') was integral in providing the link 
    between domestic production and the fighting forces overseas, 
    providing combat equipment, fuel, food, commodities, and raw 
    materials to troops stationed abroad.
        (3) Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King acknowledged the 
    indispensability of the Merchant Marine to the victory in a 1945 
    letter stating that, without the support of the Merchant Marine, 
    ``the Navy could not have accomplished its mission''.
        (4) President, and former Supreme Commander of the Allied 
    Expeditionary Forces, Dwight D. Eisenhower acknowledged that 
    ``through the prompt delivery of supplies and equipment to our 
    armed forces overseas, and of cargoes representing economic and 
    military aid to friendly nations, the American Merchant Marine has 
    effectively helped to strengthen the forces of freedom throughout 
    the world''.
        (5) Military missions and war planning were contingent upon the 
    availability of resources and the Merchant Marine played a vital 
    role in this regard, ensuring the efficient and reliable 
    transoceanic transport of military equipment and both military and 
    civilian personnel.
        (6) The Merchant Marine provided for the successful transport 
    of resources and personnel despite consistent and ongoing exposure 
    to enemy combatants from both the air and the sea, including from 
    enemy bomber squadrons, submarines, and naval mines.
        (7) The efforts of the Merchant Marine were not without 
    sacrifices as the Merchant Marine likely bore a higher per-capita 
    casualty rate than any of the military branches during the war.
        (8) The Merchant Marine proved to be an instrumental asset on 
    an untold number of occasions, participating in every landing 
    operation by the United States Marine Corps, from Guadalcanal to 
    Okinawa.
        (9) The Merchant Marine provided the bulk tonnage of material 
    necessary for the invasion of Normandy, an invasion which, 
    according to a 1944 New York Times article, ``would not have been 
    possible without the Merchant Marine''.
        (10) In assessing the performance of the Merchant Marine, 
    General Eisenhower stated, ``every man in this Allied command is 
    quick to express his admiration for the loyalty, courage, and 
    fortitude of the officers and men of the Merchant Marine. We count 
    upon their efficiency and their utter devotion to duty as we do our 
    own; they have never failed us''.
        (11) During a September 1944 speech, President Franklin D. 
    Roosevelt stated that the Merchant Marine had ``delivered the goods 
    when and where needed in every theater of operations and across 
    every ocean in the biggest, the most difficult, and dangerous 
    transportation job ever undertaken. As time goes on, there will be 
    greater public understanding of our merchant fleet's record during 
    this war''.
        (12) The feats and accomplishments of the Merchant Marine are 
    deserving of broader public recognition.
        (13) The United States will be forever grateful and indebted to 
    these merchant mariners for their effective, reliable, and 
    courageous transport of goods and resources in enemy territory 
    throughout theaters of every variety in World War II.
        (14) The goods and resources transported by the Merchant Marine 
    saved thousands of lives and enabled the Allied Powers to claim 
    victory in World War II.
        (15) The Congressional Gold Medal would be an appropriate way 
    to shed further light on the service of the merchant mariners in 
    World War II and the instrumental role they played in winning that 
    war.
        (16) Many students of the Merchant Marine Academy lost their 
    lives as they sailed through enemy-controlled waters or unloaded 
    cargo in overseas combat areas, and, as a result, the United States 
    Merchant Marine Academy is the only institution among the five 
    Federal academies to be authorized to carry a battle standard as 
    part of its color guard.
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 single gold 
medal of appropriate design to the United States merchant mariners of 
World War II, in recognition of their dedicated and vital service 
during World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award described 
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (in this Act referred 
to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike the gold medal with suitable 
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
    (c) American Merchant Marine Museum.--
        (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal under 
    subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the American 
    Merchant Marine Museum, where it will be available for display as 
    appropriate and available for research.
        (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
    American Merchant Marine Museum should make the gold medal given to 
    the Museum under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, 
    particularly at appropriate locations associated with the United 
    States Merchant Marine and that preference should be given to 
    locations affiliated with the United States Merchant Marine.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
    Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the 
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal 
struck under section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the 
medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
    (a) National Medals.--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 section 5134 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.