[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4682 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4682

 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Mercury 13, in recognition 
of their historic accomplishments and their work for gender equity, and 
   in recognition of their important example of women in STEM fields.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 17, 2023

 Ms. Houlahan (for herself, Mrs. Kim of California, Ms. Stevens, Mrs. 
Lesko, Ms. Norton, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Ross, Mr. Moskowitz, Ms. 
     DelBene, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Allred, and Ms. Bonamici) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
     Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House 
   Administration, 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 the Mercury 13, in recognition 
of their historic accomplishments and their work for gender equity, and 
   in recognition of their important example of women in STEM fields.

    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 ``Mercury 13 Congressional Gold Medal 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Mercury 13 was a group of women who participated in 
        the First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs) Program, a privately 
        funded project testing women pilots for astronaut fitness in 
        the 1960s.
            (2) These women underwent the same psychological and 
        physical testing that Dr. William Randolph Lovelace was 
        simultaneously putting male pilots through to determine their 
        candidacy for space travel as part of the NASA Mercury Project.
            (3) Members of the Mercury 13, though their training was 
        not part of the NASA program, outperformed the Mercury 7 
        astronauts chosen for space travel in certain tests, and these 
        women paved the way for other women in space.
            (4) None of the members of the Mercury 13 were ever able to 
        go to space due to gender barriers, but they opened the door 
        for female pilots and astronauts down the line.
            (5) Two of the women, Geraldyn ``Jerrie'' Cobb and Jane 
        ``Janey'' Briggs Hart, spoke at a Congressional Hearing before 
        the Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and 
        Astronautics to advocate for the continuation of their program, 
        which led to an investigation into discrimination on the basis 
        of sex two years before the Civil Rights Act was passed.
            (6) A motion to honor these women was included in the 
        Congressional Record in 2007 during the 110th Congress. The 
        resolution, H. Res. 421, honored the trailblazing 
        accomplishments of the Mercury 13 and encouraged young women to 
        follow in their footsteps and pursue careers in aviation, 
        astronautics, engineering, and science.
            (7) The Mercury 13 are:
                    (A) Myrtle ``K'' Cagle.
                    (B) Geraldyn ``Jerrie'' Cobb.
                    (C) Jan Dietrich.
                    (D) Marion Dietrich.
                    (E) Mary Wallace ``Wally'' Funk.
                    (F) Jane ``Janey'' Briggs Hart.
                    (G) Jean Hixson.
                    (H) Gene Nora Stumbough Jessen.
                    (I) Irene Leverton.
                    (J) Sarah Lee Gorelick Ratley.
                    (K) Bernice Trimble Steadman.
                    (L) Geraldine ``Jerri'' Sloan Truhill.
                    (M) Rhea Hurrle Allison Woltman.

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 single gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration 
of the Mercury 13, in recognition of their historic accomplishments and 
their work for gender equity, and in recognition of their important 
example of women in STEM fields.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the presentation 
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 
in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal 
with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by 
the Secretary.
    (c) National Air and Space Museum.--
            (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal 
        under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the 
        National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, 
        where it shall be available for display as appropriate and made 
        available for research.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the National Air and Space Museum should make the gold medal 
        received under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, 
        particularly at other appropriate locations associated with the 
        Mercury 13, and that preference should be given to locations 
        affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution.

SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck pursuant to section 3 at a price sufficient to cover the 
cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--The medal struck pursuant to this Act is a 
national medal 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 
pursuant to this Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--The amounts received from the sale of 
duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited 
into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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