II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4603 

To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Prince Rogers Nelson 

in recognition of his achievements and contributions to the culture of 

the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 25, 2022 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Ms. SMITH, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to 

Prince Rogers Nelson in recognition of his achievements 

and contributions to the culture of the United States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prince Congressional 

5 Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Prince Rogers Nelson (referred to in this 

9 Act as ‘‘Prince’’) was born in Minneapolis, MinVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 28, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4603.IS S4603

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1 nesota, on June 7, 1958, the son of jazz singer 

2 Mattie Della (ne ́e Shaw) and pianist and songwriter 

3 John Louis Nelson. Widely regarded as one of the 

4 greatest musicians of his generation, Prince’s inno5 vative music incorporated elements of rock, R&B, 

6 funk, hip-hop, new wave, synth-pop, and jazz. 

7 (2) Prince released 39 albums during his life8 time and produced countless others, along with 

9 many unreleased projects left in a vault at his home. 

10 (3) Recognized as a musical prodigy from an 

11 early age, Prince signed a recording contract with 

12 Warner Brothers Records at the age of 19, writing, 

13 producing, arranging, and playing all 27 instruments 

14 on the recording. 

15 (4) Prince’s 1984 album ‘‘Purple Rain’’ spent 

16 6 consecutive months as the number 1 record on the 

17 Billboard 200 chart, spawning 5 top-10 hits, includ18 ing ‘‘When Doves Cry’’ and the title track. The film 

19 ‘‘Purple Rain’’ won Prince the Academy Award for 

20 Best Original Song Score and, in 2019, was added 

21 by the Library of Congress for preservation in the 

22 National Film Registry for being ‘‘culturally, histori23 cally, or aesthetically significant’’. 

24 (5) Prince’s 1987 double album ‘‘Sign o’ the 

25 Times’’ included more than 80 minutes of music alVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Jul 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4603.IS S4603

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1 most entirely composed and performed by Prince 

2 and would go on to become his most acclaimed 

3 record, including being voted 1987’s best album in 

4 the Pazz & Jop Critics’ Poll. In 2017, the album 

5 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 

6 (6) A prolific composer, Prince wrote many 

7 songs made famous by other musicians, including 

8 ‘‘Nothing Compares 2 U’’, ‘‘Manic Monday’’, and ‘‘I 

9 Feel For You’’. 

10 (7) An advocate for artistic freedom and ex11 pression, Prince— 

12 (A) changed his name to a symbol (com13 monly known as the ‘‘Prince Symbol’’) to pro14 test the terms of his recording contract and the 

15 recording industry’s treatment of all artists; 

16 and 

17 (B) publicly advocated for artists to be 

18 able to maintain ownership of their own master 

19 recordings. 

20 (8) A lifelong Minnesota resident, Prince was a 

21 participant in, and supporter of, the local Min22 neapolis arts community, memorialized in songs like 

23 ‘‘Uptown’’. 


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1 (9) Though he did not speak publicly of his 

2 charity work, Prince was an animal rights activist 

3 and a philanthropist. 

4 (10) Prince sold more than 150,000,000 

5 records worldwide, ranking among the best selling 

6 artists of all time. 

7 (11) Prince was one of the most acclaimed art8 ists of all time and he and his music were recognized 

9 as follows: 

10 (A) Prince won 7 Grammy Awards, 7 Brit 

11 Awards, 6 American Music Awards, 4 MTV 

12 Video Music Awards, an Academy Award for 

13 Best Original Song Score for the film ‘‘Purple 

14 Rain’’, and a Golden Globe Award. 

15 (B) Prince was inducted into the Rock and 

16 Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the UK Music Hall 

17 of Fame in 2006, and the Rhythm and Blues 

18 Music Hall of Fame in 2016. 

19 (C) Prince received the BET Lifetime 

20 Achievement Award in 2010. 

21 (D) In 2016, Prince was posthumously 

22 honored with a doctor of humane letters by the 

23 University of Minnesota. 

24 (E) Two of Prince’s albums, ‘‘Purple 

25 Rain’’ and ‘‘Sign o’ the Times’’, received nomiVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Jul 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4603.IS S4603

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1 nations for the Grammy Award for Album of 

2 the Year. 

3 (F) At the 28th Grammy Awards, Prince 

4 was awarded the President’s Merit Award. 

5 (G) Prince was honored with the American 

6 Music Award for Achievement and the Amer7 ican Music Award of Merit at the American 

8 Music Awards of 1990 and 1995, respectively. 

9 (H) At the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, 

10 Prince was honored with the Billboard Icon 

11 Award. 

12 (12) Prince transcended this earthly plane on 

13 April 21, 2016, in his Minnesota home, at 57 years 

14 of age, leaving behind a legacy of musical achieve15 ment and an indelible mark on Minnesota and the 

16 culture of the United States. 

17 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

18 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

19 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem20 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

21 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, 

22 of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration 

23 of Prince, in recognition of his achievements and contribu24 tions to the culture of the United States. 


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1 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 

2 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

3 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec4 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

5 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec6 retary. 

7 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 

9 gold medal in honor of Prince under subsection (a), 

10 the gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian In11 stitution, where it shall be— 

12 (A) available for display, as appropriate; 

13 and 

14 (B) made available for research. 

15 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

16 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 

17 make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 

18 available for display, particularly at the National 

19 Museum of African American History and Culture, 

20 or for loan, as appropriate, so that the gold medal 

21 may be displayed elsewhere, particularly at other ap22 propriate locations associated with the life of Prince. 

23 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

24 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

25 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 


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1 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

2 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

3 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 

4 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

5 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 

6 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

7 of title 31, United States Code. 

8 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

9 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

10 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

11 items. 

Æ 


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