[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 13 (Tuesday, February 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S770-S771]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mr. Harkin):
  S. 2250. A bill to award a congressional gold medal to Dr. Norman E. 
Borlaug; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am calling upon Congress to honor Dr. 
Norman E. Borlaug, the man of whom it is often said ``has saved more 
lives than any other person who has ever lived,'' with the 
Congressional Gold Medal.
  Dr. Borlaug is commonly known in the agricultural world and beyond as 
the father of the Green Revolution. His accomplishments in terms of 
bringing radical change to world agriculture and uplifting humanity are 
without parallel.
  Named by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 most influential minds of 
the 20th Century, Norman E. Borlaug is one of the great stories of our 
time. Norm, as he is known to all who work with him, was born in 1914 
to Norwegian-American parents outside the town of Cresco in northeast 
Iowa near the Iowa/Minnesota border. His boyhood was spent on a Norman 
Rockwellesque farm and in a one-room schoolhouse. Eventually Norm found 
his way to the University of Minnesota where he became a star in Big 
Ten Wrestling and earned a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology.
  Following World War II, he spent 20 years working in the poorest 
areas of rural Mexico. It was there that Dr. Borlaug made his 
breakthrough achievement in developing a strand of wheat that could 
exponentially increase yields while actively resisting disease.
  With the strong support of the governments involved, Dr. Borlaug's 
Green Revolution uplifted hundreds of thousands of the rural poor in 
Mexico and saved hundreds of millions from famine and outright 
starvation in India and Pakistan. His approach to wheat production next 
spread throughout the Middle East and was then adapted to rice growing, 
increasing the number of lives saved to more than one billion people.
  In 1970 Norman E. Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the only 
person working in agriculture to ever be so honored, for a lifetime of 
work to feed a hungry world. Since then, he has received numerous 
honors and awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, The 
National Academy of Sciences' highest honor--the Public Service Medal, 
and the Rotary International Award for World Understanding and Peace.

  At age 91, Dr. Borlaug continues to alleviate poverty and 
malnutrition. He currently serves as president of Sasakawa Global 2000 
Africa Project, which seeks to extend the benefits of agricultural 
development to the 800 million people still mired in poverty and 
malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa.
  Finally, Dr. Borlaug continues as Chairman of the Council of Advisors

[[Page S771]]

for the World Food Prize, an organization he created in 1986 to be the 
``Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture''.
  The World Food Prize presents $250,000 award each October at an 
international ceremony in Des Moines, IA, to the Laureate who has made 
an exceptional achievement similar to Dr. Borlaug's breakthrough forty 
years ago. Beyond recognizing these people for their personal 
accomplishments, Borlaug saw the World Food Prize as a means of 
establishing role models who would inspire others.
  In the 20 years of its existence, the World Food Prize has honored 
Laureates from Bangladesh, India, China, Mexico, Denmark, Sierra Leone, 
Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
  While Dr. Borlaug was born in Iowa, he is truly a citizen of all of 
America and, indeed, of all the world. The State of Minnesota has 
enacted a special day of recognition in his honor; He continues as a 
teacher, serving as a Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University; 
and he has received honorary degrees from colleges and universities in 
virtually every state of the union.
  Reflecting this fact, a year ago the U.S. Senate passed a resolution 
designating October 16 as World Food Prize Day in America in honor of 
Dr. Borlaug. Beyond that, his name is widely recognized in Mexico, 
India, Pakistan and the Middle East reflecting his great humanitarian 
achievements in those countries. And he continues to be honored 
throughout South Asia and Africa, for his ongoing efforts to expand the 
benefits of the Green Revolution to the hundreds of millions of people 
still suffering from chronic hunger and malnutrition.
  Dr. Borlaug's achievements are in keeping with the recent 
presentation of Congressional Gold Medals.
  For over a half century, the scientific and humanitarian achievements 
of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug have kept starvation at bay for millions of 
people in third world countries. Through the passage of this 
legislation, the United States Senate can recognize the humanitarian 
contributions Dr. Borlaug has made to the entire world. The man who has 
saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived certainly 
deserves the highest honor the Congress can bestow.
  As the only working farmer in the U.S. Senate, I am proud and honored 
to introduce this important bill, and I call upon my colleagues to 
support this noble legislation. I ask unanimous consent that the text 
of the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2250

       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 ``Congressional Tribute to Dr. 
     Norman E. Borlaug Act of 2006''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds as follows:
       (1) Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, was born in Iowa where he grew 
     up on a family farm, and received his primary and secondary 
     education.
       (2) Dr. Borlaug attended the University of Minnesota where 
     he received his B.A. and Ph.D. degrees and was also a star 
     NCAA wrestler.
       (3) For the past 20 years, Dr. Borlaug has lived in Texas 
     where he is a member of the faculty of Texas A&M University.
       (4) Dr. Borlaug also serves as President of the Sasakawa 
     Africa Association.
       (5) Dr. Borlaug's accomplishments in terms of bringing 
     radical change to world agriculture and uplifting humanity 
     are without parallel.
       (6) In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Dr. Borlaug 
     spent 20 years working in the poorest areas of rural Mexico. 
     It was there that Dr. Borlaug made his breakthrough 
     achievement in developing a strand of wheat that could 
     exponentially increase yields while actively resisting 
     disease.
       (7) With the active support of the governments involved, 
     Dr. Borlaug's ``green revolution'' uplifted hundreds of 
     thousands of the rural poor in Mexico and saved hundreds of 
     millions from famine and outright starvation in India and 
     Pakistan.
       (8) Dr. Borlaug's approach to wheat production next spread 
     throughout the Middle East. Soon thereafter his approach was 
     adapted to rice growing, increasing the number of lives Dr. 
     Borlaug has saved to more than a billion people.
       (9) In 1970, Dr. Borlaug received the Nobel Prize, the only 
     person working in agriculture to ever be so honored. Since 
     then he has received numerous honors and awards including the 
     Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Public Service Medal, the 
     National Academy of Sciences' highest honor, and the Rotary 
     International Award for World Understanding and Peace.
       (10) At age 91, Dr. Borlaug continues to work to alleviate 
     poverty and malnutrition. He currently serves as president of 
     Sasakawa Global 2000 Africa Project, which seeks to extend 
     the benefits of agricultural development to the 800,000,000 
     people still mired in poverty and malnutrition in sub-Saharan 
     Africa.
       (11) Dr. Borlaug continues to serve as Chairman of the 
     Council of Advisors of the World Food Prize, an organization 
     he created in 1986 to be the ``Nobel Prize for Food and 
     Agriculture'' and which presents a $250,000 prize each 
     October at a Ceremony in Des Moines, Iowa, to the Laureate 
     who has made an exceptional achievement similar to Dr. 
     Borlaug's breakthrough 40 years ago. In the almost 20 years 
     of its existence, the World Food Prize has honored Laureates 
     from Bangladesh, India, China, Mexico, Denmark, Sierra Leone, 
     Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
       (12) Dr. Borlaug has saved more lives than any other person 
     who has ever lived, and likely has saved more lives in the 
     Islamic world than any other human being in history.
       (13) Due to a lifetime of work that has led to the saving 
     and preservation of an untold amount of lives, Dr. Norman E. 
     Borlaug is deserving of America's highest civilian award: the 
     congressional gold medal.

     SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

       (a) Presentation Authorized.--The President Pro Tempore of 
     the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
     are authorized to make appropriate arrangements for the 
     presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of 
     appropriate design, to Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, in recognition 
     of his enduring contributions to the United States and the 
     world.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the 
     presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of 
     the Treasury (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.

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

     SEC. 5. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.

       (a) National Medal.--The medal struck under this Act is a 
     national medal for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United 
     States Code.
       (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of 
     title 31, United States Code, all duplicate 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 are authorized to 
     be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise 
     Fund, such sums as may be necessary to pay for the cost of 
     the medals struck under 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.
                                 ______