[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 165 (Friday, November 19, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S15213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              MILTON FRIEDMAN CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Banking 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 1971 and the 
Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1971) to authorize the President to award a gold 
     medal on behalf of the Congress to Milton Friedman, in 
     recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to 
     individual freedom and opportunity in American society 
     through his exhaustive research and teaching of economics, 
     and his extensive writings on economies and public policy.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that bill be read 
a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, and any statements relating to the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 1971) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1971

       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 ``Milton Friedman 
     Congressional Gold Medal Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds that--
       (1) Milton Friedman, born July 31, 1912 in New York, New 
     York, is acclaimed as one of the great original thinkers of 
     this century;
       (2) Milton Friedman is a living American success story in 
     rising from poverty in an immigrant family to realize the 
     American dream;
       (3) Milton Friedman is the world's most renowned economist;
       (4) Milton Friedman was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize 
     for Economic Service in 1976;
       (5) Milton Friedman is a Paul Snowden Russell Distinguished 
     Service Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of 
     Chicago, where he taught from 1946 to 1976, and where he is 
     widely regarded as the leader of the Chicago school of 
     monetary economics;
       (6) Milton Friedman has been a senior research fellow at 
     the Hoover Institute since 1977, and a member of the research 
     staff of the National Bureau of Economic Research from 1937 
     to 1981;
       (7) Milton Friedman has selflessly served his country on 
     several occasions, serving as an informal economic advisor to 
     Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan;
       (8) Milton Friedman has been awarded honorary degrees by 
     universities in the United States, Japan, Israel, and 
     Guatemala, as well as the Grand Cordon of the First Class 
     Order of the Sacred Treasure by the Japanese government in 
     1986; and
       (9) Milton Friedman is known throughout the world as a 
     champion of freedom, opportunity, free markets, and 
     capitalism.

     SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

       (a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized 
     to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal of 
     appropriate design to Milton Friedman in recognition of his 
     outstanding and enduring contributions to individual freedom 
     and opportunity in American society through his exhaustive 
     research and teaching of economics, and his extensive 
     writings on economics and public policy.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award 
     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.

     SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

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

     SEC. 5. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.

       The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals 
     for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

     SEC. 6. FUNDING.

       (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to 
     be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise 
     Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of 
     the medals authorized by this Act.
       (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of 
     duplicate bronze medals under section 4 shall be deposited in 
     the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

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