I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1088 

To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Shirley Chisholm. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 17, 2023 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. WATERS, Ms. CLARKE

of New York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. HIGGINS

of New York, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. 

UNDERWOOD, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

CLEAVER, Mr. TRONE, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. EVANS, Ms. JACOBS, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, 

Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. MFUME, Mr. BEYER, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. TITUS, Mr. 

RUIZ, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. KILMER, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CARSON, Mr. 

COSTA, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. BROWN, Mrs. CHERFILUSMCCORMICK, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. TONKO, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. LOIS

FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mrs. HAYES, 

Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. ADAMS, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. ROSS, Ms. 

JAYAPAL, Ms. OMAR, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. SCOTT of 

Virginia, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. CASTEN, Mr. IVEY, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. 

MULLIN, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. THANEDAR, Ms. MENG, Ms. 

CASTOR of Florida, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. BALINT, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. 

SHERMAN, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. BERA, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. SEWELL, 

Ms. DELBENE, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. DAVIS of 

Illinois, Mr. COHEN, Mr. LIEU, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. TORRES of 

New York, and Mr. FOSTER) 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 


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A BILL 

To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to 

Shirley Chisholm. 

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 ‘‘Shirley Chisholm Con5 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first 

9 African-American woman elected to Congress where 

10 she served until 1982. 

11 (2) Shirley Chisholm inspired and led the 

12 march of political achievement by African Americans 

13 and women in the three decades since she ran for 

14 the Presidency of the United States. 

15 (3) Her election to Congress and her candidacy 

16 for the Presidency raised the profile and aspirations 

17 of all African Americans and women in the field of 

18 politics. 

19 (4) Shirley Chisholm was recognized for her ac20 tivism, independence, and groundbreaking achieve21 ments in politics during and after the civil rights 

22 era. 


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1 (5) Shirley Chisholm was born in Brooklyn, 

2 New York, on November 30, 1924, attended Brook3 lyn College, and earned a master’s degree from Co4 lumbia University. 

5 (6) Shirley Chisholm worked in education and 

6 social services before being elected to the New York 

7 State Assembly in 1964. 

8 (7) Shirley Chisholm established the Unity 

9 Democratic Club in 1960, which played a significant 

10 role in rallying Black and Hispanic voters in New 

11 York City. 

12 (8) In 1969, Shirley Chisholm began her service 

13 in the 91st Congress, representing Brooklyn’s 12th 

14 Congressional District in the United States House of 

15 Representatives. 

16 (9) During her service in the House of Rep17 resentatives, Shirley Chisholm promoted the employ18 ment of women in Congress and was vocal in her 

19 support of civil rights, women’s rights, and the poor, 

20 while fervently opposing the Vietnam War. 

21 (10) In 1972, Shirley Chisholm was the first 

22 African American to seek the nomination of a major 

23 party for President of the United States. 

24 (11) Shirley Chisholm was a co-founder of the 

25 National Organization for Women. 


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1 (12) A historic figure in American political his2 tory, Shirley Chisholm died at the age of 80 in Or3 mond Beach, Florida, on New Year’s Day 2005. 

4 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

5 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

6 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem7 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

8 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of the Con9 gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo10 ration of Shirley Chisholm, in recognition of her activism, 

11 independence, and groundbreaking achievements in poli12 tics, her election as the first African-American woman in 

13 the Congress, and her campaign to be the first African 

14 American to gain the nomination of a major political party 

15 for President of the United States. 

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

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

18 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec19 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

20 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec21 retary. The design shall bear an image of, and inscription 

22 of the name of, Shirley Chisholm. 

23 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

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

25 gold medal referred to in subsection (a), the gold 


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1 medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, 

2 where it will be displayed as appropriate and made 

3 available for research. 

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

5 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 

6 make the gold medal received under this Act avail7 able for display elsewhere, particularly at other loca8 tions and events associated with Shirley Chisholm. 

9 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

10 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

11 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3, at 

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

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

14 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

15 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu16 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

17 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

18 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

19 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

20 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

21 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

22 SALE. 

23 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

24 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

25 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be necVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 Mar 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1088.IH H1088

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1 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

2 this Act. 

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

4 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

5 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

6 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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