118 S5283 IS: Robert M. Gates Congressional Gold Medal Act
U.S. Senate
2024-09-25
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II
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5283
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 25, 2024
Mr. Moran (for himself, Mr. Carper, Mr. Thune, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Wicker, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Romney, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Young, Mr. King, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Collins, Mrs. Britt, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Capito, Ms. Ernst, and Mrs. Murray) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
A BILL
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Robert M. Gates, in recognition of his service to the United States as an intelligence professional, Secretary of Defense, and educator and leader for young people of the United States.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Robert M. Gates Congressional Gold Medal Act”.
2.

Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1)
Robert “Bob” M. Gates was born on September 25, 1943, in Wichita, Kansas. He stated in 2007, “Kansas imparts to its children three characteristics that have been a source of strength to me over the years: a rejection of cynicism, and enduring optimism and idealism.”.
(2)
Bob Gates joined the Boy Scouts of America and attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
(3)
Graduating from Wichita East High School, Bob Gates matriculated at the College of William & Mary before completing graduate studies at Indiana University and a doctorate at Georgetown University.
(4)
Bob Gates was recruited to the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966, beginning a life of continuous public service for the next 27 years. In this span, Bob Gates worked for 6 Presidents of both parties and 8 Directors of Central Intelligence.
(5)
In January 1967, Bob Gates took leave from the Central Intelligence Agency and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force, serving for 1 year as an intelligence officer at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
(6)
Returning to the Central Intelligence Agency in January 1968, Bob Gates began his career as an analyst specializing in the Soviet Union in August of that year. Thus began his rise to become the Deputy Director for Intelligence, Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, including 6 months as Acting Director, and finally the first analyst to serve as Director of Central Intelligence.
(7)
Bob Gates served on the National Security Council under 4 presidents beginning with President Richard Nixon. He likewise served on the Council under Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush.
(8)
As Deputy National Security Advisor to National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft under President George H.W. Bush, Bob Gates was integral to restoring a national security process damaged in the wake of the Iran-Contra scandal.
(9)
Bob Gates was appointed by Scowcroft as “Assistant to the President” and chaired the Deputies Committee of the National Security Council, which became, in the words of political scientist Bartholomew Sparrow, “the Bush administration’s workhorse for making national security policy”.
(10)
In this capacity, Bob Gates played an essential role in crafting policies that peacefully ended the Cold War with the Soviet Union, supported democratic transitions in Eastern Europe, unified Germany under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, ejected Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces from occupying Kuwait, and engaged a rising China.
(11)
Bob Gates served as the 22nd Secretary of Defense of the United States, leading the military of the United States for 4 1/2 years and was the first to serve in this position under Presidents of both political parties.
(12)
Bob Gates led transitions to strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan to combat insurgencies in each country.
(13)
Prioritizing the well-being of the service members of the United States, Bob Gates fast-tracked the acquisition of armored vehicles to ensure more men and women in uniform returned home alive, and, in the words of then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, “[H]e demanded when they did come home, they were given all the respect and the dignity and the care and the support they needed to get on with their lives.”.
(14)
Bob Gates, again in the words of Admiral Mullen, spurred the Pentagon “to find new efficiencies and new business practices” making the Department of Defense “a better steward of taxpayer dollars”.
(15)
Outside of government service, Bob Gates has been committed to the youth and young adults in the United States.
(16)
Bob Gates served as president of the National Eagle Scout Association and, from 2014 to 2016, as President of the Boys Scouts of America. Under his leadership, the Boy Scouts of America strengthened its volunteer leadership, prioritized diversity and outreach to disadvantaged youth, and arrested membership decline.
(17)
Bob Gates filled roles in institutions of higher learning in the United States, most notably as President of Texas A&M University until his appointment as Secretary Defense, and as Chancellor of the College of William & Mary.
(18)
Bob Gates is the author of 4 books, including 2 memoirs of his time in public service, a study on leadership, and a defense for enhancing the nonmilitary tools of the United States to conduct foreign policy.
(19)
Multiple Presidents of the United States have specially honored Bob Gates for his distinguished career of public service.
(20)
President George H.W. Bush awarded Bob Gates the second highest civilian award in the United States, the Presidential Citizens Medal, in 1992, declaring, “Robert Gates has dedicated himself to the national security and national interest. As Deputy National Security Advisor, he chaired a small group of senior officials around the clock to resolve the Gulf crisis, and ably managed the interagency coordination central to the vindication of fundamental principles of peace. His great skill was indispensable to our historic accomplishments in the Gulf.”.
(21)
President Barack Obama presented Bob Gates with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States, in 2011. The citation declares Bob Gates “has selflessly dedicated his life to ensuring the security of the American people. He has served eight Presidents of both parties with unwavering patriotism. . . . The United States honors Robert M. Gates for his extraordinary leadership and for a lifetime of service and devotion to our nation.”.
(22)
Bob Gates has received numerous other honors from the Federal Government, including the National Security Medal, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the United States Army Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, the United States Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, and the United States Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service.
(23)
Among other honors, 12 different universities have bestowed Bob Gates with an honorary doctorate and the Boy Scouts of America granted him the Distinguished Service Award, the Silver Buffalo Award, and the Vigil Honor. In 2011, after his departure from the Pentagon and public service, Foreign Policy magazine named Bob Gates “America’s last bipartisan figure”.
(24)
In a tribute to Bob Gates, President Barack Obama said, “I believe the life of Bob Gates is a lesson, especially to young Americans, a lesson that public service is an honorable calling; that we can pass our country, better and stronger, to those who follow. . . . In his willingness to become the first Secretary of Defense to serve under Presidents of both parties, the integrity of Bob Gates is also a reminder, especially to folks here in Washington, that civility and respectful discourse, and citizenship over partisanship are not quaint relics of a bygone era; they are the timeless virtues that we need now more than ever. For whatever differences of party or ideology we may have, we can only keep America strong if we remember what keeps America great—our ability to come together to work together, as Americans, for a common purpose.”.
(25)
By virtue of his career in public and private life, Bob Gates has exemplified commitment to the security and well-being of the United States, and has earned the respect of people of the United States throughout the country.
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 Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to Robert M. Gates, in recognition for his service to the United States as an intelligence professional, Secretary of Defense, and educator and leader for young people of the United States.
(b)

Design and striking
For purposes of the presentation described 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.
4.

Duplicate medals
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.
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 and section 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.
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 under this Act.
(b)

Proceeds of sale
Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.