[Senate Report 105-245]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 465
105th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 2d Session                                                     105-245
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                LITTLE ROCK NINE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL ACT

                                _______
                                

                 July 10, 1998.--Ordered to be printed

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Mr. D'Amato, from the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1283]

    The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 
(``Committee'') to which was referred the bill (S. 1283) to 
provide for the award of congressional gold medals to Jean 
Brown Trickey, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Melba Patillo Beals, 
Terrence Roberts, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed Wair, 
Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, and Jefferson Thomas, 
collectively known as the ``Little Rock Nine'' and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do 
pass.

                              Introduction

    On June 26, 1998, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, 
and Urban Affairs met in legislative session and marked up and 
ordered to be reported S. 1283, a bill to provide for the award 
of congressional gold medals to each of the ``Little Rock 
Nine,'' to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the integration 
of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and for other 
purposes, with one amendment. The Committee's action was taken 
by voice vote.

                       History of the Legislation

    The Little Rock Nine congressional gold medal bill, S. 
1283, was introduced on October 9, 1997 by Senators Bumpers, 
Moseley-Braun and Hutchinson. The legislation is identical to 
H.R. 2560, the Little Rock Nine congressional gold medal bill. 
S. 1283 has two purposes: first it authorizes the President, on 
behalf of Congress to present the medals to each of the Little 
Rock Nine; and second, it authorizes the Secretary of the 
Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates of the gold 
medals to recoup the production cost of the nine gold medals.
    There were no Committee hearings held on S. 1283. At the 
Committee mark up on June 26, 1998, the Committee adopted one 
amendment to S. 1283 to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury 
to make available for sale to the public, all inventory in 
stock as of, and no later than July 1, 1998, of the Jackie 
Robinson Commemorative Coin program.

                          Purpose and Summary

    The bill reported by the Committee would authorize the 
President to present nine congressional gold medals, one to 
each of the group known as the ``Little Rock Nine,'' in 
commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the integration of 
Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The bill also 
authorizes the appropriate amount of funds that may be 
necessary to carry out the purpose of the bill. Furthermore, 
the bill authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and 
sell duplicates of each medal in bronze at a price sufficient 
to cover the cost of production of the gold medals.
    The Committee recognizes that the primary purpose of this 
bill is to commemorate the bravery and pioneering spirit of 
these nine individuals from Little Rock, Arkansas. The 
Committee also recognizes the primary purpose of the amendment 
to this bill is to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Jackie 
Robinson breaking the color barrier in professional sports 
through the continued issuance of gold and silver coins from 
the Jackie Robinson Commemorative Coin program collection.

Section-by-Section Analysis of the Little Rock Nine Congressional Gold 
                               Medal Bill

Section 1. Findings

    Section 1 provides six findings as follows: Jean Brown 
Trickey, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Melba Patillo Beals, Terrence 
Roberts, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed Wair, Ernest 
Green, Elizabeth Eckford, and Jefferson Thomas, collectively 
known as the ``Little Rock Nine,'' voluntarily subjected 
themselves to racial bigotry; that the Little Rock Nine are 
civil rights pioneers whose selfless acts considerably advanced 
the civil rights debate in this country; that the Little Rock 
Nine risked their lives during the integration of Central High 
School in Little Rock, Arkansas; that the Little Rock Nine 
sacrificed their innocence to protect the American principle--
``one nation, under God, indivisible''; that the Little Rock 
Nine have left their mark on America's history; and that the 
Little Rock Nine have continued to work toward equality for all 
Americans.

Section 2. Congressional gold medals

    Section 2 provides that the President is authorized to 
present, on behalf of Congress, gold medals of appropriate 
design to each of the Little Rock Nine in recognition of their 
selfless heroism. This section authorizes the Secretary of the 
Treasury to strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, 
and inscriptions for each recipient. Appropriation of the sum 
necessary to carry out this section is to be authorized as of 
the date of introduction of this Act.

Section 3. Duplicate medals

    Section 3 provides that the Secretary of the Treasury may 
strike bronze duplicates of the gold medals in this Act and 
sell these duplicates at a price sufficient to cover the cost 
of production of the bronze duplicates and the gold medals. The 
proceeds from the sale of the bronze duplicates shall be used 
to reimburse the appropriation authorized in Section 2.

Section 4. National medals

    The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals 
for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

Section 5. Commemorative coins

    Section 5 amends Section 101(7)(D) of the United States 
Commemorative Coin Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-329, 110 Stat. 
4009). In this section, the Secretary of the Treasury may not 
mint coins in this program after July 1, 1998 and may not issue 
coins minted in this program after December 31, 1998. The 
effective date of this section is on the date of enactment of 
the United States Commemorative Coin Act of 1996.

                  Cost of the Legislation (CBO Report)

    Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 11(b) of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, and section 403 of the Congressional 
Budget Impoundment and Control Act, require that each committee 
report on a bill contain a statement estimating the cost of the 
proposed legislation, which was prepared by the Congressional 
Budget Office. This statement has been requested from the 
Congressional Budget Office, but was not available at the date 
of filing this report. When the information is made available 
to the Committee, it will be placed in the Congressional 
Record.

                 Changes in Existing Law (Cordon Rule)

    In the opinion of the Committee, it is necessary to 
dispense with the requirements of paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of 
the Standing Rules of the Senate in order to expedite the 
business of the Senate.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

    In the opinion of the Committee, this legislation will have 
no regulatory impact.