    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 132, 115th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Public Law 115-310
    115th Congress

    An Act

    To award the Congressional Gold Medal to Anwar Sadat in recognition of
    his heroic achievements and courageous contributions to peace in the
    Middle East. <>

    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 ``Anwar Sadat Centennial Celebration
    Act''.
    SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
    (1) Anwar Sadat was born on December 25, 1918, in Mit Abu
    al-Kum, al-Minufiyah, Egypt, as 1 of 13 children in a poor
    Egyptian family.
    (2) In 1938, Sadat graduated from the Royal Military Academy
    in Cairo and was appointed to the Signal Corps.
    (3) Sadat entered the Army as a second lieutenant and was
    posted to Sudan where he met Gamal Abdel Nasser and fellow
    junior officers who became the ``Free Officers'' who led the
    Egyptian revolution of 1952.
    (4) Sadat held various high positions during Nasser's
    presidency, assuming the role of President of the National
    Assembly in 1960 and Vice President in 1964.
    (5) President Nasser died of a heart attack on September 28,
    1970, at which point Sadat became acting President. Sadat was
    subsequently elected as the third President of Egypt.
    (6) On October 6, 1973, President Sadat, along with his
    Syrian counterparts, launched an offensive against Israel. A
    permanent cease-fire was reached on October 25, 1973.
    (7) In 1974, after talks facilitated by Secretary of State
    Henry Kissinger, Egypt and Israel signed an agreement allowing
    Egypt to formally retrieve land in the Sinai. President Sadat
    later wrote in his memoirs that his meetings with Kissinger
    ``marked the beginning of a relationship of mutual understanding
    with the United States culminating and crystallizing in what we
    came to describe as a `peace process'. Together we started that
    process and the United States still supports our joint efforts
    to this day''.
    (8) Months of diplomacy between Egypt and Israel followed
    the signing of this initial agreement and a second disengagement
    agreement, the Sinai Interim Agreement, was signed in September
    of 1975.
    (9) President Sadat addressed a joint session of Congress on
    November 5, 1975, during which he underscored the shared

    [[Page 4425]]

    values between the United States and Egypt. In this speech,
    President Sadat addressed the path to peace, saying, ``We are
    faced, together with other nations, with one of the greatest
    challenges of our time, namely the task of convincing this
    generation, and those to follow, that we can finally build a
    viable international system capable of meeting the demands of
    tomorrow and solving the problems of the coming age''.
    (10) On November 19, 1977, President Sadat became the first
    Arab leader to visit Israel, meeting with the Israeli Prime
    Minister, Menachem Begin. President Sadat spoke before the
    Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem about his views on how to achieve
    comprehensive peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
    (11) Before commencing negotiations, President Sadat
    courageously announced to the Knesset, ``I have come to you so
    that together we might build a durable peace based on justice,
    to avoid the shedding of 1 single drop of blood from an Arab or
    an Israeli. It is for this reason that I have proclaimed my
    readiness to go to the farthest corner of the world''. President
    Sadat further poignantly stated that ``any life lost in war is a
    human life, irrespective of its being that of an Israeli or an
    Arab. * * * When the bells of peace ring, there will be no hands
    to beat the drums of war''.
    (12) On September 17, 1978, President Jimmy Carter hosted
    President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin at Camp David where the
    3 leaders engaged in 13 days of negotiations that resulted in
    the ``Framework for Peace in the Middle East'' (commonly known
    as the ``Camp David Accords'').
    (13) Following negotiations, President Sadat and Prime
    Minister Begin signed the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty (in this
    section referred to as the ``Peace Treaty'') at the White House
    on March 26, 1979. Addressing President Sadat at the signing of
    the Peace Treaty, which remains an important anchor for peace in
    the region today, Prime Minister Begin commended President Sadat
    by saying, ``In the face of adversity and hostility, you have
    demonstrated the human value that can change history--civil
    courage''.
    (14) The Peace Treaty featured mutual recognition of each
    country by the other and ultimately the cessation of the state
    of war that had existed between Israel and Egypt since the 1948
    Arab-Israeli War. Israel completely withdrew its armed forces
    and civilians from the rest of the Sinai.
    (15) In 1978, both President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin
    were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for signing the Peace Treaty,
    which made Egypt the first Arab country to officially recognize
    Israel.
    (16) While presenting the Nobel Peace Prize to President
    Sadat, Aase Lionaes, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee,
    said, ``During the 30 preceding years, the peoples of the Middle
    East have, on 4 separate occasions, been the victims of warfare
    and there seemed no prospect of peace. President Sadat's great
    contribution to peace was that he had sufficient courage and
    foresight to break away from this vicious circle. His decision
    to accept Prime Minister Menachem Begin's invitation of November
    17, 1977, to attend a meeting of the Israeli parliament on
    November 19 was an act of great courage, both from a personal
    and from a political point of view. This was

    [[Page 4426]]

    a dramatic break with the past and a courageous step forward
    into a new age''.
    (17) During his Nobel lecture, President Sadat remarked, ``I
    made my trip because I am convinced that we owe it to this
    generation and the generations to come not to leave a stone
    unturned in our pursuit of peace''.
    (18) In remarks to the People's Assembly in Cairo on March
    10, 1979, President Carter praised President Sadat, telling the
    Assembly, ``Your President has demonstrated the power of human
    courage and human vision to create hope where there had been
    only despair.''. President Carter also said that the Peace
    Treaty would ``strengthen cooperation between Egypt and the
    United States'' and underscored the support of the United States
    for the agreement, saying, ``I fully share and will support
    President Sadat's belief that stability must be maintained in
    this part of the world * * * He and I recognize that the
    security of this vital region is being challenged. I applaud his
    determination to meet that challenge, and my Government will
    stand with him''.
    (19) The signing of the Peace Treaty enraged many
    individuals who opposed normalized relations with Israel.
    President Sadat was assassinated on October 6, 1981, by Khalid
    Islambouli, a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. President Sadat
    was well aware of the controversy to which his actions would
    lead, but pushed for peace anyway.
    (20) Upon the death of President Sadat, President Ronald
    Reagan proclaimed, ``President Sadat was a courageous man whose
    vision and wisdom brought nations and people together. In a
    world filled with hatred, he was a man of hope. In a world
    trapped in the animosities of the past, he was a man of
    foresight, a man who sought to improve a world tormented by
    malice and pettiness''.
    (21) President Sadat is recognized in the United States and
    throughout the world as a respected leader and champion of peace
    whose vision provided a roadmap for the peaceful resolution of
    conflict that endures nearly 40 years after its inception.
    (22) President Sadat bravely reached out to Israel and
    dedicated himself to peace, furthering the national security of
    Egypt and the stability of the Middle East.
    (23) On the 30th anniversary of the Peace Treaty, President
    Barack Obama praised the enduring legacy of the Camp David
    Accords and the ``courage and foresight of these leaders, who
    stood together in unity to change the course of our shared
    history''. President Obama closed by saying, ``Today, as we seek
    to expand the circle of peace among Arabs and Israelis, we take
    inspiration from what Israel and Egypt achieved 3 decades ago,
    knowing that the destination is worthy of the struggle''.
    (24) The Camp David Accords and the Peace Treaty continue to
    serve the interests of the United States by preserving peace and
    serving as a foundation for partnership and dialogue in a region
    fraught with conflict and division.
    SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Award Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives
    and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall

    [[Page 4427]]

    make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous award, on behalf of
    Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to Anwar Sadat in
    recognition of his achievements and heroic actions to attain
    comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the award referred to
    in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this
    Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with suitable
    emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary.
    (c) <>  Presentation.--
    (1) In general.--The gold medal referred to in subsection
    (a) shall be presented to--
    (A)(i) the widow of Anwar Sadat, Jehan Sadat; or
    (ii) if Jehan Sadat is unavailable, the next of kin
    of Jehan Sadat; and
    (B) a representative of the Government of Egypt.
    (2) Award of medal.--Following the presentation described in
    paragraph (1), the gold medal shall be given to--
    (A) Jehan Sadat; or
    (B) if Jehan Sadat is unavailable, the next of kin
    of Jehan Sadat.
    SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
    medal struck under section 3 under such regulations as the Secretary may
    prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including
    labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, and the
    cost of the gold medal.
    SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--The medals struck under this Act are national
    medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of
    title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be
    considered to be numismatic items.

    Approved December 13, 2018.

    LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 754 (S. 266):
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    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 164 (2018):
    Sept. 26, considered and passed House.
    Dec. 4, considered and passed Senate.