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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3712 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3712

To grant the Congressional Gold Medal to the troops who defended Bataan 
                          during World War II.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 16, 2011

 Mr. Heinrich (for himself, Mr. Lujan, and Mr. Pearce) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To grant the Congressional Gold Medal to the troops who defended Bataan 
                          during World War II.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Within hours after the attacks on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 
        the Imperial Japanese forces launched an attack on the 
        Philippines, cutting off vital lines of communication to United 
        States and Filipino troops assigned to the United States Army 
        Forces in the Far East under the command of General Douglas 
        MacArthur.
            (2) On December 8th, 1941, the 200th Coast Artillery 
        Regiment, successors to the New Mexico National Guardsmen who 
        made up part of the famed ``Rough Riders'' of the Spanish-
        American War, were the ``first to fire''.
            (3) Despite being cut off from supply lines and 
        reinforcements, the United States and Philippine Forces quickly 
        executed a plan to delay the Japanese invasion and defend the 
        Philippines against the Japanese invasion.
            (4) By April 1942, troops from the United States and the 
        Philippines had bravely and staunchly fought off enemy attacks 
        in Bataan for more than 4 months, under strenuous conditions 
        that resulted in widespread starvation and disease.
            (5) By maintaining their position and engaging the enemy 
        for as long as they did, the troops at Bataan were able to 
        redefine the momentum of the war, delaying the Japanese 
        timetable to take control of the southeast Pacific for needed 
        war materials. Because of the heroic actions of the Bataan 
        defenders, United States and Allied forces throughout the 
        Pacific had time to regroup and prepare for the successful 
        liberation of the Pacific and the Philippines.
            (6) On April 9, 1942, Major General Edward King, his troops 
        suffering from starvation and a lack of supplies, surrendered 
        the soldiers from the United States and the Philippines into 
        enemy hands.
            (7) Over the next week, troops from the United States and 
        the Philippines were taken prisoner and forced to march 65 
        miles without any food, water, or medical care, in what came to 
        be known as the ``Bataan Death March''.
            (8) During this forced march, thousands of soldiers died, 
        either from starvation, lack of medical care, sheer exhaustion, 
        or abuse by their captors.
            (9) Conditions at the camp were appalling, leading to 
        increased disease and malnutrition among the prisoners.
            (10) The prisoners at Camp O'Donnell would die at a rate of 
        nearly four hundred per day because of its poor conditions.
            (11) On June 6, 1942, the prisoners from the United States 
        were transferred to Camp Cabanatuan, north of Camp O'Donnell.
            (12) Nearly 26,000 of the 50,000 Filipino prisoners of war 
        died at Camp O'Donnell, and survivors were gradually paroled 
        from September through December of 1942.
            (13) Between September 1942 and December 1944, American 
        prisoners of war who survived the horrific death march were 
        shipped north for forced labor aboard ``hell ships'' and 
        succumbed in great numbers because of the abysmal conditions. 
        Many of the ships were mistakenly targeted by allied naval 
        forces because the Japanese military convoys were not properly 
        labeled as carrying POW's. The sinking of the Arisan Maru alone 
        claimed nearly 1,800 American lives.
            (14) The prisoners who remained in the camps suffered from 
        continued mistreatment, malnutrition, lack of medical care, and 
        horrific conditions until they were liberated in 1945.
            (15) The veterans of Bataan represented the best of America 
        and the Philippines. They hailed from diverse locales across 
        both countries and represented a true diversity of Americans.
            (16) Over the subsequent decades, these prisoners formed 
        support groups, were honored in local and State memorials, and 
        told their story to all people of the United States.
            (17) The United States Navy has continued to honor their 
        history and stories by naming 2 ships after the battle, 
        including 1 ship still in service, the USS Bataan (LHD-5), in 
        memory of their valor and honorable resistance against Imperial 
        Japanese forces.
            (18) Many of the survivors of Bataan have now passed away, 
        and those who remain continue to tell their story.
            (19) The people of the United States and the Philippines 
        are forever indebted to these men for--
                    (A) the courage and tenacity they demonstrated 
                during the first 4 months of World War II, fighting 
                against enemy soldiers; and
                    (B) the perseverance that they demonstrated during 
                3 years of capture, imprisonment, and atrocious 
                conditions, while maintaining dignity, honor, 
                patriotism, and loyalty.

SEC. 2. 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 in honor of the troops from the United 
States and the Philippines who defended Bataan and were subsequently 
prisoners of war, collectively, in recognition of their personal 
sacrifice and service to their country during World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the award under 
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.
    (c) Smithsonian Institution.--
            (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in 
        honor of the defenders and prisoners of war at Bataan under 
        subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the 
        Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be displayed as 
        appropriate and made available for research.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of the Congress 
        that the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal 
        received under paragraph (1) available for display at other 
        locations, particularly such locations as are associated with 
        the prisoners of war at Bataan.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    (a) Striking of Duplicates.--Under such regulations as the 
Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may strike duplicates in bronze 
of the gold medal struck under section 2.
    (b) Selling of Duplicates.--The Secretary may sell such duplicates 
under subsection (a) at a price sufficient to cover the costs of such 
duplicates, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

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

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, an 
amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of the medal 
authorized under section 2.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States 
Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
                                 <all>
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