[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 27, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3982-S3983]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TO AWARD A CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO MICHAEL ELLIS DEBAKEY, M.D.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs be discharged from further 
consideration of S. 474 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 474) to award a congressional gold medal to 
     Michael Ellis DeBakey, M.D.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, today the Senate will unanimously pass 
S. 474, a bill I introduced to award a Congressional Gold Medal--the 
highest civilian award which may be bestowed by the United States 
Congress--to my dear friend, Dr. Michael DeBakey. I thank my colleagues 
for joining me in recognizing and honoring Dr. Deakey for his lifetime 
of medical achievement and public service. I would especially like to 
thank my friend and colleague from Louisiana, Senator Mary Landrieu. 
She joined me in circulating a letter to our Senate colleagues on this 
bill, and she was very helpful in gathering key co-sponsors needed to 
pass this legislation today.
  Dr. DeBakey is currently in Texas recovering from the very type of 
heart operation he pioneered. At the age of 98, he is the oldest 
survivor of the operation he developed to repair a damaged aorta, the 
main artery from the heart. I certainly wish him well as he continues 
to recover from this major operation. I would also like to take this 
opportunity to thank him once again for his lifetime of commitment and 
service not only to the medical community but to the world and strongly 
encourage my colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass this 
legislation as soon as possible.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the Dear Colleague letter 
for S. 474 be printed in the Record, and I request that Senator 
Landrieu be added as an original cosponsor of this bill because without 
her help, this bill would not have passed.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                    Washington, DC, March 6, 2007.
       Dear Colleague: Please join us in recognizing Dr. Michael 
     DeBakey, a public servant and world-renowned cardiologist, 
     for his many outstanding achievements in the field of 
     medicine. We encourage you to co-sponsor S. 474, a bill to 
     award Dr. DeBakey the Congressional Gold Medal. This is the 
     highest award which may be bestowed by the United Stated 
     Congress, and Dr. DeBakey is most deserving.
       Dr. Michael DeBakey, a native of Louisiana and graduate of 
     the Tulane University School of Medicine, is a pioneer in 
     every sense of the word. His long and distinguished career 
     has impacted nearly every aspect of modern medicine.

[[Page S3983]]

       When he was just 23 years old and still attending medical 
     school, Dr. DeBakey developed a roller pump for blood 
     transfusions--the precursor and major component of the heart-
     lung machine used in the first open-heart operation. During 
     his service in World War I1, Dr. DeBakey observed soldiers 
     dying on the battlefield who he believed could be saved. From 
     that experience he made numerous recommendations to improve 
     the military's medical procedures, including the development 
     of mobile army surgical hospitals, better known as MASH 
     units. These efforts earned him the Legion of Merit in 1945. 
     Dr. DeBakey later helped establish the specialized medical 
     and surgical centers system for treating military personnel 
     returning from the war, which subsequently became the 
     Veterans Affairs Medical Center System.
       In 1948, Dr. DeBakey joined the Baylor University College 
     of Medicine, where he started its first surgical residency 
     program and was later elected the first President of Baylor 
     College of Medicine. Adding to his list of accomplishments, 
     Dr. DeBakey performed the first successful procedure to treat 
     patients with aneurysms, performed the first successful 
     coronary bypass surgery, and he was the first to successfully 
     implant a partial artificial heart.
       Dr. DeBakey continued to amaze the medical world when he 
     pioneered the field of telemedicine by performing the first 
     open-heart surgery transmitted over satellite and later when 
     he supervised the first successful multi-organ transplant, 
     where a heart, both kidneys and a lung were transplanted from 
     a single donor into four separate recipients. Most recently, 
     Dr. DeBakey worked with NASA engineers to develop the DeBakey 
     Ventricular Assist Device, which may eliminate the need for 
     some patients to receive heart transplants.
       These accomplishments have led to national recognition. Dr. 
     DeBakey has received both the Presidential Medal of Freedom 
     with Distinction from President Lyndon Johnson and the 
     National Medal of Science from President Ronald Reagan.
       Dr. DeBakey's efforts and innovative surgical techniques 
     have saved the lives of thousands, if not millions, of 
     people. We hope you will join us in recognizing Dr. DeBakey's 
     profound impact on the field of medicine and how we care for 
     our veterans, by co-sponsoring legislation to award him the 
     Congressional Gold Medal. If you wish to co-sponsor or have 
     any questions about this legislation, please contact Chad 
     Heflin at (202) 224-5922.
           Sincerely,
     Kay Bailey Hutchison.
     Mary Landrieu.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, and that any statements relating to this matter be printed 
at the appropriate place in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 474) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

                                 S. 474

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

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       The Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Michael Ellis DeBakey, M.D., was born on September 7, 
     1908, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Shaker and Raheeja 
     DeBakey.
       (2) Dr. DeBakey, at the age of 23 and still a medical 
     student, reported a major invention, a roller pump for blood 
     transfusions, which later became a major component of the 
     heart-lung machine used in the first successful open-heart 
     operation.
       (3) Even though Dr. DeBakey had already achieved a national 
     reputation as an authority on vascular disease and had a 
     promising career as a surgeon and teacher, he volunteered for 
     military service during World War II, joining the Surgeon 
     General's staff and rising to the rank of Colonel and Chief 
     of the Surgical Consultants Division.
       (4) As a result of this first-hand knowledge of military 
     service, Dr. DeBakey made numerous recommendations for the 
     proper staged management of war wounds, which led to the 
     development of mobile army surgical hospitals or ``MASH'' 
     units, and earned Dr. DeBakey the Legion of Merit in 1945.
       (5) After the war, Dr. DeBakey proposed the systematic 
     medical follow-up of veterans and recommended the creation of 
     specialized medical centers in different areas of the United 
     States to treat wounded military personnel returning from 
     war, and from this recommendation evolved the Veterans 
     Affairs Medical Center System and the establishment of the 
     Commission on Veterans Medical Problems of the National 
     Research Council.
       (6) In 1948, Dr. DeBakey joined the Baylor University 
     College of Medicine, where he developed the first surgical 
     residency program in the city of Houston, and today, guided 
     by Dr. DeBakey's vision, the College is one of the most 
     respected health science centers in the Nation.
       (7) In 1953, Dr. DeBakey performed the first successful 
     procedures to treat patients who suffered aneurysms leading 
     to severe strokes, and he later developed a series of 
     innovative surgical techniques for the treatment of aneurysms 
     enabling thousands of lives to be saved in the years ahead.
       (8) In 1964, Dr. DeBakey triggered the most explosive era 
     in modern cardiac surgery, when he performed the first 
     successful coronary bypass, once again paving the way for 
     surgeons worldwide to offer hope to thousands of patients who 
     might otherwise succumb to heart disease.
       (9) Two years later, Dr. DeBakey made medical history 
     again, when he was the first to successfully use a partial 
     artificial heart to solve the problems of a patient who could 
     not be weaned from a heart-lung machine following open-heart 
     surgery.
       (10) In 1968, Dr. DeBakey supervised the first successful 
     multi-organ transplant, in which a heart, both kidneys, and 
     lung were transplanted from a single donor into 4 separate 
     recipients.
       (11) In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Dr. 
     DeBakey to the position of Chairman of the President's 
     Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke, leading to 
     the creation of Regional Medical Programs established ``to 
     encourage and assist in the establishment of regional 
     cooperative arrangements among medical schools, research 
     institutions, and hospitals, for research and training''.
       (12) In the mid-1960s, Dr. DeBakey pioneered the field of 
     telemedicine with the first demonstration of open-heart 
     surgery to be transmitted overseas by satellite.
       (13) In 1969, Dr. DeBakey was elected the first President 
     of Baylor College of Medicine.
       (14) In 1969, President Lyndon B. Johnson bestowed on Dr. 
     DeBakey the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, 
     and in 1985, President Ronald Reagan conferred on him the 
     National Medal of Science.
       (15) Working with NASA engineers, he refined existing 
     technology to create the DeBakey Ventricular Assist Device, 
     one-tenth the size of current versions, which may eliminate 
     the need for heart transplantation in some patients.

     SEC. 2. 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 the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate 
     design, to Michael Ellis DeBakey, M.D., in recognition of his 
     many outstanding contributions to the Nation.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation 
     referred to 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.

     SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

       The Secretary may 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 cost thereof, including labor, 
     materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, and 
     the cost of the gold medal.

     SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.

       (a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant to this 
     Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 
     31, United States Code.
       (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 
     5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under 
     this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

     SEC. 5. 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 pursuant to this Act.
       (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of 
     duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 3 shall be 
     deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

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