[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 75 (Thursday, May 12, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2750-S2751]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Perdue, and Mr. 
        Durbin):
  S. 2924. A bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to former United 
States Senator Max Cleland; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, 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. 2924

       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 ``Max Cleland Congressional 
     Gold Medal Act of 2016''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Joseph Maxwell ``Max'' Cleland has demonstrated the 
     highest degree of professionalism and has served as an 
     inspiration to friends, family, veterans, and many others 
     while dedicating his life to the public service of the United 
     States.
       (2) Max Cleland began his career in public service when he 
     joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps as a young 
     college student, went on active duty in the United States 
     Army (in this section referred to as the ``Army'') in 1965 as 
     a Second Lieutenant, and volunteered for service in Vietnam, 
     rising to the rank of Captain.
       (3) The Army recognized Max Cleland with a Silver Star for 
     his gallantry in action during the Battle of Khe Sanh in 
     April of 1968. According to the letter of commendation from 
     the Army, ``The President of the United States of America, 
     authorized by Act of Congress, July 8, 1918 (amended by act 
     of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver 
     Star to Captain (Signal Corps) Joseph Maxwell Cleland, United 
     States Army, for gallantry in action while engaged in 
     military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile 
     force in the Republic of Vietnam.''.
       (4) Max Cleland, a Battalion Signal Officer dispatched to 
     set up a radio relay antenna, was severely wounded on the 
     battlefield and, as a result, lost both of his legs and his 
     right arm. Cleland would endure 18 months of extremely 
     difficult rehabilitation and recovery at Walter Reed Army 
     Medical Center and hospitals of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs (in this section referred to as ``VA hospitals'') in 
     Washington, DC. In 1969, Cleland testified before the Senate 
     Committee on Veterans' Affairs on the hardships faced by 
     veterans returning home from war.
       (5) Upon returning to Georgia, Max Cleland was determined 
     to continue his public service and, in 1970, at the age of 
     28, was elected as the youngest Georgia State senator and 
     helped pass legislation to make public facilities accessible 
     for veterans, older people, and individuals with 
     disabilities.
       (6) Max Cleland later came to Washington, DC and joined the 
     Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs as a professional staff 
     member, investigating VA hospitals across the country and the 
     treatment of service members returning from Vietnam.
       (7) In 1977, President Jimmy Carter named Max Cleland, then 
     just 34 years old, the youngest ever individual, and first 
     Vietnam veteran, to serve as Administrator of the Veterans 
     Administration. As Administrator, Cleland helped create the 
     ``Vet Center'' counseling program, which later expanded to 
     300 facilities nationwide helping veterans and their families 
     receive psychological care for post-traumatic stress 
     disorders and other problems associated with warfare.
       (8) Following his term as Administrator of the Veterans 
     Administration, Max Cleland returned to elective office in 
     1982 when he was elected as Secretary of State of the

[[Page S2751]]

     State of Georgia. As Secretary of State, Cleland implemented 
     the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 
     et seq.) in Georgia and added almost 1,000,000 new voters to 
     the rolls.
       (9) Max Cleland was elected to the United States Senate in 
     1996 and would go on to chair the Subcommittee on Personnel 
     of the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. In the 
     Senate, Cleland was known for his work in expanding benefits 
     for service members and in improving veterans' health care, 
     education, and the environment.
       (10) After his service in the Senate, Max Cleland continued 
     his distinguished career in public service by becoming a 
     commissioner on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks 
     Upon the United States (commonly referred to as the ``9/11 
     Commission'') and later as a member of the Board of Directors 
     of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
       (11) In 2009, President Barack Obama named Max Cleland 
     Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission. As 
     Secretary of the Commission, Cleland is charged with 
     commemorating both the permanent cemeteries of the United 
     States located in foreign countries and the military 
     memorials, monuments, and markers demonstrating where members 
     of the United States Armed Forces have served overseas since 
     World War I.
       (12) In 2010, President Obama again called on Max Cleland 
     to serve his country and Cleland again accepted. This time, 
     Cleland agreed to serve as co-chair, and eventually the 
     inaugural chair, of the Advisory Committee on Arlington 
     National Cemetery, which was established to help fix the 
     problems facing the final resting place for many of the 
     heroes of the United States. After his tenure as chair, 
     Cleland was awarded the Decoration for Distinguished Civilian 
     Service of the Army, the highest honorary award that the 
     Secretary of the Army can confer on a civilian.
       (13) After overcoming some of the most difficult challenges 
     imaginable, Max Cleland has spent almost five decades of his 
     life in service to the United States and the country is 
     forever indebted to his service.

     SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

       (a) Award Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate 
     shall make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf 
     of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to Joseph 
     Maxwell ``Max'' Cleland.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award 
     described in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
     (in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike 
     the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 
     inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
       (c) Duplicate Medals.--
       (1) In general.--Under such regulations as the Secretary 
     may prescribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates 
     in bronze of the gold medal struck under this Act at a price 
     sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 
     materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
       (2) Sale of duplicate medals.--The amounts received from 
     the sale of duplicate medals under paragraph (1) shall be 
     deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

     SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.

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

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