[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7578 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7578

  To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Lieutenant Colonel Alexander 
  Vindman, in recognition of his service to the United States and his 
 courage to testify in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald J. 
                                 Trump.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 13, 2020

  Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 
      addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Lieutenant Colonel Alexander 
  Vindman, in recognition of his service to the United States and his 
 courage to testify in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald J. 
                                 Trump.

    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 ``Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman 
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On December 19, 2019, the House of Representatives 
        passed two articles of impeachment against President Donald J. 
        Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
            (2) Numerous public servants provided testimony to support 
        the impeachment inquiry, including Lieutenant Colonel Alexander 
        Vindman, a decorated veteran who was on the call between 
        President Trump and Ukraine President Volodymr Zelensky on July 
        25, 2019, which served as the basis for the impeachment 
        inquiry.
            (3) Lieutenant Colonel Vindman served multiple tours of 
        combat duty and was wounded during a tour in Iraq, for which he 
        received a Purple Heart medal.
            (4) Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, despite threats to his 
        family and his career, testified to the following on October 
        28, 2019:
                    (A) The July 25th call was ``improper'' and 
                ``unusual''.
                    (B) Lieutenant Colonel Vindman was concerned by the 
                call: ``I did not think it was proper to demand that a 
                foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I 
                was worried about the implications for six of the U.S. 
                Government's support of Ukraine. I realized that if 
                Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and 
                Burisma, it would likely be interpreted as a partisan 
                play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing 
                the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained. This 
                would all undermine U.S. national security.''.
            (5) Lieutenant Colonel Vindman further stated: ``Dad, I'm 
        sitting here today in the U.S. Capitol talking to our elected 
        professionals is proof that you made the right decision 40 
        years ago to leave the Soviet Union and come here to the United 
        States of America in search of a better life for our family.'', 
        Vindman said: ``Do not worry. I will be fine for telling the 
        truth.''.
            (6) Lieutenant Colonel Vindman faced unsubstantiated claims 
        questioning his loyalty to the United States because he was 
        born in Ukraine and other forms of retribution.
            (7) On February 7, 2019, Lieutenant Colonel Vindman was 
        reassigned from his duties as Director for European Affairs at 
        the National Security Council. He was escorted from the White 
        House by security.
            (8) President Trump stated on February 7, 2019: ``Well, I'm 
        not happy with him [Vindman]. You think I'm supposed to be 
        happy with him? I'm not.'' He further accused Lieutenant 
        Colonel Vindman of being ``insubordinate'' for testifying 
        against the President truthfully.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that Lieutenant Colonel Vindman--
            (1) is a patriot who defended American ideals on the 
        battlefield and in the impeachment inquiry by telling the 
        truth;
            (2) faced retribution from the President of the United 
        States as a result of his testimony in the impeachment inquiry; 
        and
            (3) upholds the highest values of the United States and 
        should be honored for his actions.

SEC. 4. 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 a gold medal of appropriate design to Lieutenant Colonel Alexander 
Vindman, in recognition of his service to the United States and his 
courage to testify in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald J. 
Trump.
    (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. 5. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck pursuant to section 4 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. 6. 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 sections 5134 and 5136 of 
title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.

SEC. 7. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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