[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 8 (Tuesday, February 1, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 54, CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL 
                        ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 26, 2005

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise due to my continuing concern about 
the measure H.R. 54, which was passed by the Republican majority last 
week. In its present form the measure seeks to restrict the number of 
Congressional Gold Medals that can be awarded in a given year to two. 
It forbids the medal from being awarded concurrently to a group, as 
well as from being awarded posthumously--except during the 20-year 
period beginning 5 years after the death of the individual. This latter 
requirement regarding posthumous medals is perplexing and arbitrary at 
best, but it also exemplifies the faults of a most peculiar piece of 
legislation.
  The first question that this proposed measure elicits is ``Why''. 
Since the American Revolution, Congress has awarded the Congressional 
Gold Medal as its highest expression of national appreciation to those 
who lived a life of great achievement. Why now does the majority see 
fit to restrict how the Congress honors the country's most deserving 
citizens? With a U.S. population that grows daily in number and 
diversity, reducing the amount of honors that Congress can award to 
that population is simply perplexing.
  In the long history of the U.S. Congress, rarely has the 
Congressional Gold Medal been awarded to more than 2 people in a year. 
This is not due to a mandated limit, such as what the majority is now 
proposing, but rather due to the longstanding requirement that at least 
two-thirds of the House and Senate co-sponsor the resolution. This 
requirement has created a ``natural'' ceiling, as it necessitates that 
the potential recipient have the support of an overwhelming majority of 
Congress. As such, it renders the forced limit that H.R. 54 proposes, 
needless.
  In the rare instances that awardees for the Congressional Gold Medal 
have exceeded more than two in a year, the cohort included some of the 
most deserving individuals of which I can think. Presidents Harry 
Truman and Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, and Mother 
Teresa all received their medals in years when more than two 
were awarded. Competition in those years was particularly keen. If H.R. 
54 had been in effect, some of these recipients may have been prevented 
from receiving the medal when they did.

  Additionally, some of the most deserving individuals from America's 
minority communities would not have received medals at all under H.R. 
54. The `Little Rock Nine' and the Navajo Code Talkers would have both 
been precluded due to the measure's restriction on group medals. 
Interestingly, all three of the medal recipients from 2004--who all 
happened to be African American and major contributors to the civil 
rights movement--would have been precluded under H.R. 54 because their 
medals were awarded posthumously. The mere possibility of the 
aforementioned examples reveals the immense shortcomings of H.R. 54. 
Unfortunately, the measure passed in the House along partisan lines, 
and now resides in the Senate for consideration.
  The great writer Thomas Carlyle once wrote, ``Show me the man you 
honor, and I will know what kind of man you are.'' The Congressional 
Gold Medal is not a token gesture offered liberally. Rather, it is 
awarded to those whose life and deeds embody the ideals our Nation 
holds sacred. It is in effect an annual affirmation of our national 
values. H.R. 54 seeks to limit this process. As such, it is a measure I 
cannot support, and one this Congress can ill-afford to enact.




                          ____________________