I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 401 

To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of Congress 

to Muhammad Ali in recognition of his contributions to the Nation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 24, 2011 

Mr. CARSON of Indiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf 

of Congress to Muhammad Ali in recognition of his contributions to the Nation. 

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., on Janu6 ary 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, Muhammad 

7 Ali was the first child of Cassius, Sr. and Odessa 

8 Clay. 

9 (2) Muhammad Ali is one of the most cele10 brated athletes of the 20th century. He has proVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:13 Jan 25, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H401.IH H401

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1 duced some of America’s greatest sports memories, 

2 from winning a gold medal at the 1960 Summer 

3 Olympics to lighting the Olympic torch at the 1996 

4 Summer Olympics. 

5 (3) After an impressive amateur career, during 

6 which he recorded 131 wins and only 7 losses and 

7 won 2 National AAU light heavyweight titles, Mu8 hammad Ali became the first professional boxer in 

9 history to capture the heavyweight title 3 separate 

10 times. 

11 (4) Muhammad Ali defeated every challenger he 

12 faced in the ring. But on April 28, 1967, he was 

13 stripped of his boxing title and barred from com14 peting for being a conscientious objector to the war 

15 in Vietnam on religious and moral grounds. How16 ever, following a unanimous United States Supreme 

17 Court decision in 1971, Muhammad Ali’s conscien18 tious objector status was confirmed, his boxing li19 cense was reinstated, and he was cleared of any 

20 wrong doing. 

21 (5) As an African-American and a Muslim liv22 ing in an era that continued to question his civil 

23 rights, Muhammad Ali battled issues of race and re24 ligion, and has received recognition as one of the 


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1 champions of the Civil Rights Movement in the 

2 United States. 

3 (6) Muhammad Ali is the recipient of many 

4 awards for his sporting prowess and his support of 

5 racial harmony, including the Dr. Martin Luther 

6 King Memorial Award, the Spirit of America Award, 

7 the Amnesty International Lifetime Achievement 

8 Award, the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Es9 sence Living Legend Award, the Rainbow Coalition 

10 Lifetime Achievement Award, the XNBA Human 

11 Spirit Award, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and 

12 the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

13 (7) Muhammad Ali has been acknowledged by 

14 many organizations for his achievements both inside 

15 and outside the boxing ring, including being crowned 

16 ‘‘Sportsman of the Century’’ by Sports Illustrated, 

17 being named ‘‘Athlete of the Century’’ by GQ maga18 zine, being named ‘‘Sports Personality of the Cen19 tury’’ by the British Broadcasting Corporation, 

20 being named ‘‘Kentucky Athlete of the Century’’ by 

21 the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, being named 

22 ‘‘Kentuckian of the Century’’ by the State of Ken23 tucky, being named ‘‘Louisvillian of the Century’’ by 

24 the Advertising Club of Louisville, being named 

25 ‘‘Boxer of the Century’’ by the World Sports Awards 


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1 of the Century, being recognized by the Inter2 national Boxing Hall of Fame, and receiving hon3 orary doctorate degrees from Muhlenberg College 

4 and Western Kentucky University, as well as an 

5 honorary doctorate of humanities at Princeton Uni6 versity’s 260th graduation ceremony. 

7 (8) Muhammad Ali received the prestigious 

8 ‘‘Otto Hahn Peace Medal in Gold’’ from the United 

9 Nations Association of Germany for his work with 

10 the United Nations and the Civil Rights Movement 

11 in the United States. 

12 (9) Muhammad Ali was selected by the Cali13 fornia Bicentennial Foundation for the U.S. Con14 stitution to personify the vitality of the Bill of 

15 Rights in various high-profile activities. 

16 (10) Despite having been diagnosed with Par17 kinson’s Syndrome in the early 1980s, Muhammad 

18 Ali has dedicated his life to the cause of universal 

19 human rights and freedom. His commitment to 

20 equal justice and peace has touched the lives of hun21 dreds of thousands of people worldwide. 

22 (11) President Jimmy Carter asked Muhammad 

23 Ali to meet with African leaders in Tanzania, Kenya, 

24 Nigeria, Liberia, and Senegal as part of President 


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1 Carter’s diplomatic efforts on behalf of human rights 

2 in the 1980s. 

3 (12) In 1990, Muhammad Ali traveled to the 

4 Middle East to seek the release of American and 

5 British hostages that were being held as human 

6 shields in the first Gulf War. As a result of his 

7 intervention, 15 United States hostages were freed 

8 on December 2nd of that year. 

9 (13) In 1998, Muhammad Ali was chosen as 

10 the ‘‘U.N. Messenger of Peace’’. 

11 (14) Several Presidents of the United States 

12 have recognized Muhammad Ali, including President 

13 George W. Bush who, on November 17, 2002, called 

14 him ‘‘a man of peace’’ and stated that ‘‘across the 

15 world, billions of people know Muhammad Ali as a 

16 brave, compassionate, and charming man, and the 

17 American people are proud to call Muhammad Ali 

18 one of our own,’’ President Bill Clinton who stated 

19 that Muhammad Ali ‘‘captured the world’s imagina20 tion and its heart. Outside the ring, Muhammad Ali 

21 has dedicated his life to working for children, feed22 ing the hungry, supporting his faith, and standing 

23 up for racial equality. He has always fought for a 

24 just and more humane world, breaking down bar25 riers here in America and around the world. There 


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1 are no telling how many tens of millions of people 

2 had their hearts swell with pride and their eyes swell 

3 with tears in 1996 when Muhammad Ali lit the 

4 Olympic torch, because we know, now and forever, 

5 he is the greatest,’’ President Jimmy Carter who 

6 cited Muhammad Ali as ‘‘Mr. International Friend7 ship,’’ and President Barack Obama who, as a Sen8 ator, had a framed picture of Muhammad Ali hang9 ing in his office, and before announcing his inten10 tions to run for President, Obama visited with Mu11 hammad Ali at the Ali Center in Louisville, Ken12 tucky. 

13 (15) Muhammad Ali continues to encourage hu14 manity through his perseverance and the support of 

15 thousands of people. He has helped such organiza16 tions as the Chicago-based adoption agency, The 

17 Cradle; the Make-A-Wish Foundation; the Special 

18 Olympics’ organization, Best Buddies; and Herbert 

19 E. Birch Services, an organization that runs a 

20 school for handicapped children and young adults, in 

21 addition to a summer camp for children infected 

22 with AIDS. 

23 (16) Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie are 

24 founding directors of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson 

25 Center in Phoenix, Arizona, and have helped raise 


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1 over $50 million for Parkinson’s research. The Cen2 ter’s mission is to provide excellence in treatment, 

3 research, and education for patients and families af4 fected by Parkinson’s disease and other movement 

5 disorders, regardless of ability to pay. 

6 (17) Muhammad Ali is an inspiration to count7 less individuals with Parkinson’s disease, including 

8 members of the Rock Steady Boxing Foundation in 

9 Indianapolis, Indiana, which was founded to give 

10 people with Parkinson’s disease hope by improving 

11 their quality of life using boxing for fitness. 

12 (18) Muhammad Ali is one of the founding 

13 members of Athletes for Hope, an organization cre14 ated by a few very successful athletes of exemplary 

15 character who have a deep commitment to charitable 

16 and community causes. 

17 (19) Muhammad Ali also established the Mu18 hammad Ali Center in his hometown of Louisville, 

19 Kentucky, which promotes respect, hope, and under20 standing, and inspires people everywhere to be as 

21 great as they can be. A visitor of the Muhammad Ali 

22 Center experiences the ‘‘hows’’ of Ali’s life: how he 

23 found the courage, the dedication, and the discipline 

24 to become who he is today; how he found the convic25 tion to stand up for what he believed; and how he 


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1 turned his passion for excellence in the ring to a 

2 passion for peace on the world stage. 

3 (20) Like Muhammad Ali himself, the Muham4 mad Ali Center focuses on what brings individuals 

5 together, not what sets them apart, and is a ‘‘global 

6 gathering place’’ to which people can come, both on7 line and in person, to learn, share, and celebrate our 

8 commonalities as human beings and to formulate 

9 ways of advancing humanity. 

10 (21) Muhammad Ali has helped to provide more 

11 than 22,000,000 aid packets to assist people in 

12 need, and until recently traveled, on average, more 

13 than 200 days per year for humanitarian causes. 

14 (22) Muhammad Ali, known simply as ‘‘the 

15 greatest,’’ has transcended the glamour and glory of 

16 being a sports champion to become not only one of 

17 the greatest sports figures, but one of the greatest 

18 role models of our time. 

19 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

20 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

21 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem22 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

23 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 

24 medal of appropriate design, to Muhammad Ali in recogni25 tion of his contributions to the Nation. 


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

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

3 of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 

4 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em5 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 

6 Secretary. 

7 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

8 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre9 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

10 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 at 

11 a price sufficient to cover the cost of the bronze medals 

12 (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 

13 overhead expenses) and the cost of the gold medal. 

14 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

15 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 

16 for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

17 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

18 SALE. 

19 (a) AUTHORIZATION TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.— 

20 There is authorized to be charged against the United 

21 States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, such amounts as 

22 may be necessary to pay for the cost of the medals struck 

23 pursuant to this Act. 

24 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

25 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 


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1 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

2 Fund. 

Æ 


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