[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5110-S5111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WILLIE O'REE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from
further consideration and the Senate proceed to the immediate
consideration of S. 452.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 452) to award a Congressional Gold Medal to
Willie O'Ree, in recognition of his extraordinary
contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and
recreational opportunity.
There being no objection, the committee was discharged and the Senate
proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I ask unanimous consent that the Stabenow substitute
amendment be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be
considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
[[Page S5111]]
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 2122), in the nature of a substitute, was agreed
to as follows
(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Willie O'Ree Congressional
Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Willie O'Ree was the first Black player to compete in
the National Hockey League (NHL), appearing for the Boston
Bruins on January 18, 1958, in the throes of the civil rights
movement in the United States helping to end racial
segregation in the premier professional ice hockey league; he
is widely referred to as the ``Jackie Robinson of Hockey''.
(2) Willie O'Ree was born October 15, 1935, in Fredericton,
New Brunswick, Canada; he is the youngest of 13 children and
a descendant of Paris O'Ree, whose name appears in the famous
historical document ``The Book of Negroes''.
(3) Willie O'Ree was raised by his parents in Fredericton,
a predominantly White town where hockey was deeply rooted
within the culture. O'Ree was a standout athlete on the ice
and the baseball diamond.
(4) At age 21, O'Ree was being scouted by professional
baseball teams and seriously considered baseball as a career.
Upon experiencing the segregated South for the first time
while appearing for a minor league tryout, his dream changed
and his attention turned solely to ice hockey.
(5) While playing amateur hockey, Willie was struck in his
right eye with a puck and lost his eyesight. He was told by
doctors to abandon his hockey career; instead, never
disclosing the extent of his injury, he pursued his dream of
playing professional hockey.
(6) At the age of 22, O'Ree was called up from the Quebec
Aces of the Quebec Hockey League (QHL) to play for the NHL's
Boston Bruins at a time when only 6 teams existed in the
league. O'Ree was unaware he had broken the color barrier at
the top level of the sport until he read it in the newspaper
the following day.
(7) Blind in 1 eye and a victim of racism at times
throughout his career, O'Ree persevered and played
professional hockey for 22 years, tallying over 1,000 points.
(8) In 1996, 17 years after O'Ree retired from professional
hockey, the National Hockey League hired O'Ree as the first-
ever Diversity Ambassador. Having already changed the game
forever through his courage and convictions, O'Ree gives new
definition to what it means to be a trailblazer.
(9) In this role as Diversity Ambassador with the NHL,
O'Ree set out to grow the sport by providing access,
opportunity, and motivation for children of all races,
ethnicities, origins, and abilities. With O'Ree providing a
vivid example of what is possible and serving as a relentless
supporter of children pursuing their dreams, more than 30
nonprofit youth organizations, dubbed Hockey is for Everyone
programs, were developed across North America, each committed
to offering minority and underserved children an opportunity
to play hockey, leveraging the sport to build character,
foster positive values, and develop important life skills.
(10) Through Hockey is for Everyone programs, more than
120,000 boys and girls have been positively impacted. O'Ree
has devoted nearly 2,500 days on the ground with the youth
participants, visiting more than 500 schools, community
centers, and rinks to speak to hockey's core values and
beliefs: stay in school; set goals for yourself; remain
committed and disciplined; and always respect your teammates,
coaches, and parents.
(11) Hockey is for Everyone programs have provided
important opportunities for youth to partake in physical
fitness. Today in the United States, fewer than half of the
children ages 6-11 engage in the recommended amount of
physical activity, and that number is lower for low-income
families. O'Ree has stood as a champion of youth athletic
participation and its health benefits for decades.
(12) Hockey is for Everyone programs provide numerous off-
ice services to youth: SAT and academic tutoring, mentoring,
nutrition education, college counseling, community service
opportunities, and more. The program has excelled at using
hockey as a vehicle to improve the social and emotional
wellness of youth and improve students' academic performances
both in primary school and beyond.
(13) O'Ree was also named a Member of the Order of Canada
in 2008 and, in 2018, the City of Boston released an official
Proclamation recognizing January 18, the anniversary of the
day he broke into the game, as ``Willie O'Ree Day''.
(14) In November 2018, 60 years after O'Ree entered the
NHL, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the
``builder'' category in recognition of his efforts to grow
the game, using his position and the platform of hockey to
improve the lives of children throughout North America.
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 Willie O'Ree, or if unavailable, to a member of his
family, in recognition of his extraordinary contributions and
commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational
opportunity.
(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. The
design shall bear an image of, and an inscription of the name
of, Willie O'Ree.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
(a) In General.--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.
(b) Proceeds of Sales.--The amounts received from the sale
of duplicate medals under subsection (a) shall be deposited
in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
(c) 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 under this Act.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
(a) National Medal.--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 section 5134 of
title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this
Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.
The bill (S. 452), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.
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