[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4689 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4689

 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Bobby Bowden, in honor of his 
            achievements both on and off the football field.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2021

 Mr. Dunn (for himself, Mr. Lawson of Florida, Mr. Webster of Florida, 
   Mr. Waltz, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Posey, Mrs. Murphy of Florida, Mr. 
 Buchanan, Mr. Donalds, Mr. Gimenez, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Steube, and Mrs. 
   Cammack) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Bobby Bowden, in honor of his 
            achievements both on and off the football field.

    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 ``Robert Cleckler Bowden Congressional 
Gold Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Bobby Bowden was born on November 8, 1929, in 
        Birmingham, Alabama.
            (2) Bobby Bowden served as head coach of the Florida State 
        University Seminoles from 1976 to 2009.
            (3) While coaching at the Florida State University, 
        Bowden's teams won two national championships (1993 and 1999) 
        and 12 Atlantic Coast Conference titles.
            (4) Bobby Bowden posted a 316-97-4 record in his 34 years 
        at Florida State University.
            (5) Throughout his entire 44 years of coaching college 
        football, Bobby Bowden won a total of 377 games, making him one 
        of the winningest coaches in college football history.
            (6) Bobby Bowden and wife, Ann Estock, his childhood 
        sweetheart, have been married for 72 years. The couple has six 
        children, 21 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
            (7) In 1999, he coached what would be the first of many 
        games against a team coached by his son, ``The Bowden Bowl''. 
        This event was the first of its kind in the history of Division 
        I-A football.
            (8) In 2004, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes' 
        organization began presenting an annual ``The National Bobby 
        Bowden Award'' to a football player for philanthropic work.
            (9) In 2011, he was awarded the ``Children's Champion Award 
        for Leadership Development'' by the Children's Hunger Fund, a 
        charitable organization, in recognition of his humanitarian 
        work.
            (10) In 2021, Bobby Bowden received the inaugural Florida 
        Governor's Medal of Freedom Award.
            (11) Bobby Bowden leaves a legacy of leadership for his 
        contributions on the football field and in his community.
            (12) While Coach Bowden is recognized for his many football 
        accomplishments, he will be remembered as a family man who 
        counted all as part of his family and encouraged us all to 
        recognize our own humanity and love our many brothers and 
        sisters.
            (13) We are better for having known him, even if we never 
        met him. He stood for our best, recognized our failings, and 
        believed we all had merit.
            (14) Coach Bowden's spirit is the American spirit of which 
        we can be proud and seek to emulate in both large and small 
        ways.
            (15) Coach Bowden never asked for accolades, and for this, 
        and the totality of his life and his love, we honor him in 
        perpetuity.

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 Mr. Robert Cleckler 
Bowden, in recognition of his achievements both on and off the football 
field.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation under 
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.

    (a) Striking of Duplicates.--Under such regulations as the 
Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may strike duplicates in bronze 
of the gold medal struck under section 3.
    (b) Selling of Duplicates.--The Secretary may sell such duplicates 
under subsection (a) at a price sufficient to cover the costs of such 
duplicates, 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.
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