[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 29, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H3253-H3254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GOLD MEDAL TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS ACT OF 2014
Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4488) to make technical corrections to two bills enabling
the presentation of congressional gold medals, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4488
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 ``Gold Medal Technical
Corrections Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO AN ACT THAT AUTHORIZES
PRESENTATION OF A CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., AND CORETTA SCOTT
KING.
Section 2 of Public Law 108-368 is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking all before ``to present'' and inserting the
following: ``(a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the
House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the
Senate are authorized''; and
(B) by striking ``(posthumously)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Smithsonian Institution.--
``(1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in
honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King
under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the
Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be available for
display as appropriate and made available for research.
``(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Smithsonian Institution shall make the gold medal
received under paragraph (1) available for display,
particularly at the National Museum of African American
History and Culture, or for loan as appropriate so that it
may be displayed elsewhere, particularly at other appropriate
locations associated with the lives of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King.''.
SEC. 3. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO AN ACT THAT AUTHORIZES
PRESENTATION OF A CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL
COLLECTIVELY TO THE MONTFORD POINT MARINES,
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS.
Section 2 of Public Law 112-59 is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(c) Smithsonian Institution.--
``(1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in
honor of the Montford Point Marines, United States Marine
Corps under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to
the Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be available for
display as appropriate and made available for research.
``(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Smithsonian Institution shall make the gold medal
received under paragraph (1) available for display,
particularly at the National Museum of African American
History and Culture, or for loan as appropriate so that it
may be displayed elsewhere, particularly at other appropriate
locations associated with the Montford Point Marines.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Garrett) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
General Leave
Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and submit extraneous material for the Record on H.R. 4488,
which is currently under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4488, the Gold Medal
Technical Corrections Act of 2014, introduced by the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Lewis) and Ms. Brown of Florida.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation seeks to make minor technical
corrections to allow the actual awarding of two Congressional Gold
Medals authorized in previous Congresses. The first medal was awarded
to Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King. The other medal was
awarded to the pioneering Montford Point Marines of World War II.
For different reasons, there are now no statutorily designated
recipients of the medals. As has often happened in the past with such
medals, they will be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where they
will be available for display, research, or loan, as appropriate, to
sites significant to their honorees.
Importantly, in the case of both these medals, the sense of Congress
is expressed that one place that would be very appropriate to display
either or both of these medals is at the new National Museum of African
American History and Culture, now under construction literally just
down the street.
So, Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. It is a bipartisan bill. I ask
for its immediate passage.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of H.R. 4488. I would like to
thank my colleague across the aisle for his support. I would also like
to thank the Honorable John Lewis for being a sponsor of this
legislation.
This is important legislation, as it does embrace two Congressional
Gold Medals that have already been awarded.
As fate would have it, Mr. Lewis was the original sponsor of the bill
awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Ms. Coretta Scott King and the
Honorable Dr. Martin Luther King. Both of them are honorable people.
I would also say that Mr. Lewis has been a champion for human rights
and civil rights. It is very difficult to have him in your presence and
not acknowledge all that he has done.
So, today, I am honored to support the Gold Medical Technical
Corrections Act of 2014.
I am also honored to mention one other colleague, the Honorable
Corrine Brown. She worked on the bill that accorded a Congressional
Gold Medal to the Montford Point Marines of the United States Marine
Corps. She was an original sponsor of this legislation.
{time} 1230
These two giants have brought us this far. It will take this
legislation to take us the final steps along the way.
The legislation merely indicates where these Congressional Gold
Medals may be displayed. It seems to do what we could have done
earlier, but we have found that it is not too late to do now.
Mr. Speaker, at this time, I am honored to yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Georgia, the Honorable John Lewis, our
civil rights icon right here in the United States House of
Representatives.
Mr. LEWIS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Texas for
yielding, and I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for all of
his work on this legislation.
I would like to thank the chair and ranking member of the Financial
Services Committee and all of their staff for their strong support of
the legislation.
[[Page H3254]]
This bill is very simple. It simply ensures that these medals are
displayed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American
History and Culture, which opens next year.
In 2004, Congress passed bipartisan legislation to grant the
Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mrs.
Coretta Scott King. I introduced the House bill, and my good friend,
Senator Carl Levin, sponsored the Senate companion.
The legislation passed in the House and Senate by voice vote.
Unfortunately, a couple of years later, my good friend, Coretta Scott
King, passed away. She was a beautiful and strong spirit and, like her
husband, a national treasure.
They were heroes, breaking down barriers, opening doors, fighting
injustice across our country, and building bridges around the world. It
is only fitting that this congressional tribute is on exhibit to the
world in a permanent national memorial.
Again, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the bipartisan leadership
and staff for all of their good and great work in support of this
commonsense legislation.
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am so honored to be a part of
this, and I would thank, again, the Honorable John Lewis for his
efforts to not only accord the Congressional Gold Medals to Dr. King
and Mrs. King, but also his efforts to make sure that they are properly
located, so that they can be displayed properly.
I would also want to, again, reiterate the efforts of the Honorable
Corrine Brown, with reference to the Montford Point Marines of the
United States Marine Corps. I believe this bill is one that can be
embraced by all of our colleagues.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
At this point, we have no other speakers. I, again, would just like
to thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for joining us
with the sponsoring of this legislation; Mr. Lewis, not only for
legislation that is on the floor today, but for your historic work on
behalf of civil rights prior to coming to Congress as well.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have been an elected official
for nearly 32 years, and one of the proudest moments I have experienced
in all my years was when this House passed the bill to grant a
Congressional Gold Medal to the Montford Point Marines. When the bill
granting the Gold Medal passed, all of the Members of Congress honored
the Marines with a standing ovation for their service, their bravery,
and their dedication to preserving freedom and democracy for our nation
and the world.
I was pleased to work with Marine Commandant General James F. Amos,
who put his office and staff behind the Gold Medal and in only 4
months, we went from introduction to public law, granting that Gold
Medal. There were 308 cosponsors on the bill and it passed unanimously
by a vote of 422-0.
When I was first elected to Congress, I requested to be a member of
the Veterans Affairs Committee. And today, as the second most senior
Democrat on the Committee, I believe it is my duty to continue to do
everything I can to assist the members of our armed forces.
So for me, it was more than an honor to sponsor a Resolution to
recognize the service and sacrifice of the Montford Point Marines, and
acknowledge today's United States Marine Corps as an excellent
opportunity for the advancement of people of all races, which in large
part is due to the service and example of the original Montford Point
Marines.
Years before Jackie Robinson, and decades before Rosa Parks and
Martin Luther King, Jr., these heroes joined the Marines to defend our
great nation. Fighting racism both at home and in the armed forces, as
well as enemies abroad, these men persevered and protected this nation
when it mattered most.
These African Americans from all States were not sent to the
traditional boot camps in Parris Island, South Carolina and Sari Diego,
California. Instead, African American Marines were segregated, and went
through basic training at Camp Montford Point near the New River in
Jacksonville, North Carolina.
We must honor these war heroes' selfless service and sacrifice. They
answered our nation's call at a time when our society was deeply
divided along racial lines. Because of this, many of their
contributions went unrecognized and many times they were not given the
respect and recognition they deserved as Marines, as Americans, and as
patriots. To correct this past injustice, we honor the Monford Point
Marines, and this Gold Medal will forever anchor their role in the
history of our nation's great military.
I am reminded of the words of the first President of the United
States, George Washington, whose words are worth repeating at this
time:
The willingness with which our young people are likely to
serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly
proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier
wars were treated and appreciated by their country.
Thank you all for your service.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Garrett) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4488.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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