[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 127 (Friday, October 8, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H9024-H9025]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  AWARDING CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO REVEREND DOCTOR MARTIN LUTHER 
                               KING, JR.

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Financial Services be discharged from further 
consideration of the Senate bill (S. 1368) to authorize the President 
to award a gold medal on behalf of the Congress to Reverend Doctor 
Martin Luther King, Jr. (posthumously) and his widow Coretta Scott King 
in recognition of their contributions to the Nation on behalf of the 
civil rights movement, and ask for its immediate consideration in the 
House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                S. 1368

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. and his widow 
     Coretta Scott King, as the first family of the civil rights 
     movement, have distinguished records of public service to the 
     American people and the international community;

[[Page H9025]]

       (2) Dr. King preached a doctrine of nonviolent civil 
     disobedience to combat segregation, discrimination, and 
     racial injustice;
       (3) Dr. King led the Montgomery bus boycott for 381 days to 
     protest the arrest of Mrs. Rosa Parks and the segregation of 
     the bus system of Montgomery, Alabama;
       (4) in 1963, Dr. King led the march on Washington, D.C., 
     that was followed by his famous address, the ``I Have a 
     Dream'' speech;
       (5) through his work and reliance on nonviolent protest, 
     Dr. King was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights 
     Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
       (6) despite efforts to derail his mission, Dr. King acted 
     on his dream of America and succeeded in making the United 
     States a better place;
       (7) Dr. King was assassinated for his beliefs on April 4, 
     1968, in Memphis, Tennessee;
       (8) Mrs. King stepped into the civil rights movement in 
     1955 during the Montgomery bus boycott, and played an 
     important role as a leading participant in the American civil 
     rights movement;
       (9) while raising 4 children, Mrs. King devoted herself to 
     working alongside her husband for nonviolent social change 
     and full civil rights for African Americans;
       (10) with a strong educational background in music, Mrs. 
     King established and performed several Freedom Concerts, 
     which were well received, and which combined prose and poetry 
     narration with musical selections to increase awareness and 
     understanding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference 
     (of which Dr. King served as the first president);
       (11) Mrs. King demonstrated composure in deep sorrow, as 
     she led the Nation in mourning her husband after his brutal 
     assassination;
       (12) after the assassination, Mrs. King devoted all of her 
     time and energy to developing and building the Atlanta-based 
     Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change 
     (hereafter referred to as the ``Center'') as an enduring 
     memorial to her husband's life and his dream of nonviolent 
     social change and full civil rights for all Americans;
       (13) under Mrs. King's guidance and direction, the Center 
     has flourished;
       (14) the Center was the first institution built in honor of 
     an African American leader;
       (15) the Center provides local, national, and international 
     programs that have trained tens of thousands of people in Dr. 
     King's philosophy and methods, and claims the largest archive 
     of the civil rights movement; and
       (16) Mrs. King led the massive campaign to establish Dr. 
     King's birthday as a national holiday, and the holiday is now 
     celebrated in more than 100 countries.

     SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

       (a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized 
     to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal of 
     appropriate design to Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. 
     (posthumously) and his widow Coretta Scott King, in 
     recognition of their service to the Nation.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the 
     presentations referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of 
     the Treasury shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 
     devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.

     SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

       The Secretary of the Treasury shall strike and sell 
     duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to 
     section 2, under such regulations as the Secretary may 
     prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the 
     duplicate medals and the gold medal (including labor, 
     materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses).

     SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

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

     SEC. 5. FUNDING AND PROCEEDS OF SALE.

       (a) Authorization.--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 3 shall be
     deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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