[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 201 (Thursday, December 20, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H10415-H10416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STEPHEN MICHAEL GLEASON CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 2652) to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Stephen Michael
Gleason.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 2652
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 ``Stephen Michael Gleason
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Stephen ``Steve'' Gleason was born March 19, 1977, in
Spokane, Washington to Mike and Gail Gleason.
(2) Steve attended Gonzaga Preparatory School for high
school where he excelled as both a football and baseball
player.
(3) In 1995, Steve enrolled at Washington State University
where he was a 2-sport athlete for the baseball and football
teams and helped the Cougars football team advance to the
1997 Rose Bowl.
(4) In 2000, Steve signed a professional football contract
with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League
as an undrafted free agent but later joined the New Orleans
Saints in November of that same season.
(5) Steve would go on to play 7 more seasons as a member of
the New Orleans Saints.
(6) Steve will always be remembered for his blocked punt on
September 25, 2006, against the Atlanta Falcons, the night
the Louisiana Superdome reopened for the first time after
Hurricane Katrina in a game the Saints would win 23 to 3.
(7) In January, 2011 Steve was diagnosed with amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis or ALS, considered a terminal neuro-
muscular disease.
(8) Following his diagnosis, Steve, with the loving support
of his wife, Michel, began a mission to show that patients
can not only live but thrive after a diagnosis of ALS and
established The Gleason Initiative Foundation also known
simply as ``Team Gleason''.
(9) At the time of his diagnosis, however, Steve said there
will be ``No White Flags'', which has become the mantra of
Team Gleason.
(10) The Gleason Initiative Foundation helps provide
individuals with neuromuscular diseases or injuries with
leading edge technology, equipment and services, raises
global awareness about ALS to find solutions and an end to
the disease, and has helped hundreds of people with ALS
experience life adventures they never thought possible after
their diagnosis.
(11) Steve's story and mission have been told by the NFL
Network, ESPN, HBO, ABC, CBS, CNN, and many local media
outlets, as well as in a 2016 documentary titled ``Gleason'',
which was heralded at the Sundance Film Festival and
premiered across the country with Variety calling the
production ``an emotional powerhouse''. The documentary won
several awards, including the 2016 Washington, D.C. Area Film
Critics Association Award for Best Documentary.
(12) Steve was named one of two Sports Illustrated's
Inspirations of the Year in 2014, has been a keynote speaker
for Microsoft and at two United Nations sponsored Social
Innovation Summits, and received the 2015 George S. Halas
Courage Award, given to a NFL player, coach or staff member
who overcomes the most adversity to succeed.
(13) Steve helped advocate for the Steve Gleason Act of
2015 (Public Law 114-40; 129 Stat. 441), and the Steve
Gleason Enduring Voices Act of 2017, H.R. 2465, 115th
Congress (2017), which permanently ensures people living with
diseases such ALS have access to speech generating devices
regardless of their setting, whether at home or a healthcare
institution.
(14) In 2014, Steve and Team Gleason hosted a global summit
to bring together researchers, patients, caregivers, and all
ALS stakeholders to create a plan to ultimately end ALS. That
summit resulted in the single largest coordinated and
collaborative ALS research project in the world, Answer ALS,
which brings together nearly two dozen research institutions,
1,000 patients and 20,000,000,000,000 data points that are
important to the project and that will define the unknown
pathways that will lead to treatments or finally a cure.
(15) In 2015, Steve and Microsoft worked together to create
a method for people who are completely paralyzed to navigate
their power wheelchairs with their eyes. Today, Steve,
Microsoft and all wheelchair manufacturers are working
collaboratively to make it widely available to all who need
this technology. In addition, Microsoft has also made eye
tracking technology part of all Windows 10 products across
the globe.
(16) In 2011, 10 months after his diagnosis, Steve and
Michel made their most significant accomplishment, becoming
parents to their son Rivers.
(17) Steve and Michel Gleason continue to fight to find a
solution for ALS so they can share many years together and as
parents to Rivers.
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 the Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design
to Stephen Michael Gleason.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury
(hereafter 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.
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 costs of the medals, including labor, materials,
dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
General Leave
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include any extraneous material on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this important bill has wide bipartisan support, and I
urge all Members to support this legislation.
Mr. Gleason who was a former player with the New Orleans Saints, has
done significant work in the area of ALS--in ALS education and advocacy
and its damaging effects.
I, like many people in this Chamber and many people across the
country, have been touched by this personally, with friends or family
members, and we know the ravages that occur with this horrible disease,
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important
legislation, the Stephen Michael Gleason Congressional Gold Medal Act,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2652 and its House companion
sponsored by my friend, Representative Cedric Richmond, which awards a
Congressional Gold Medal to Stephen Michael Gleason, whose tireless
work for people living with ALS should be honored.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Richmond), the sponsor of the House
version of this bill.
Mr. RICHMOND. Mr. Speaker, let me thank my colleague, Mr. Clay from
St. Louis, and my colleague from Michigan. I understand the difficulty
in saying very loud the ``New Orleans
[[Page H10416]]
Saints,'' but I just want to also thank Senator Bill Cassidy, and
Senator Patty Murray for authoring this bill and working so hard to get
it across the finish line. I would also like to thank Representative
Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Representative Steve Scalise for working
with me in the House.
The Congressional Gold Medal is a special award, and today we are
coming together to support giving it to a special person. This is an
award for people who dedicate themselves to causes bigger than
themselves and for those who work tirelessly to help the lives of
others. Both of those describe the son of Who Dat Nation, Steve
Gleason.
Steve, after being diagnosed with ALS, came together with his team to
form Team Gleason, and he declared then that there would be no white
flags in dealing with ALS. Steve is a selfless individual who has used
his life to raise awareness of ALS and who has been instrumental in
developing technology in order to combat this disease.
He has done so much that has tangibly improved people's lives now and
will continue to do so for years to come. That is why I am proud to
introduce this bill in the House and to be standing here today
concurring in the Senate bill to honor Steve's contributions to
society.
Mr. Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to support giving the
Congressional Gold Medal to our son of Who Dat Nation, Steve Gleason.
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to reserve, but I would like
to note to my friend from Louisiana, as a Lions fan, it is much easier
to be supportive of a Saints player than if this guy had actually been
a Green Bay Packer.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I have no football team in St. Louis, but we do have the Kansas City
Chiefs, who are doing pretty well.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge Members to vote for
this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I will note to my colleagues that as a
Detroit Lions fan, I, too, don't have a football team, but I am proud
to stand on the floor today and note that this is an important time to
address these things. We all, as a nation, are thankful for the work of
Mr. Gleason in this important issue, and I do urge support from all of
my colleagues.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, S. 2652.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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