I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2833

To posthumously award a congressional gold medal to Wilma G. Rudolph. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 23, 2003

Ms. KILPATRICK (for herself, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, 

Mr. FORD, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. WATERS, Mr. GORDON, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. FROST, Mr. 

BERMAN, Mr. WYNN, Mr. SNYDER, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. OWENS, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. 

DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. LEE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, 

Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. NORTON, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. MCNULTY, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. BALLANCE, and Mr. 

BISHOP of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL

To posthumously award a congressional gold medal to Wilma 

G. Rudolph.

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 that—

5 (1) Wilma G. Rudolph of Clarksville, Ten6 nessee, the 20th of 22 children, overcame a series of 
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1 childhood diseases, including scarlet fever, double 

2 pneumonia, and polio, to become an athletic pioneer 

3 and champion in the State of Tennessee, the United 

4 States, and the world, first as an outstanding bas5 ketball player and track athlete in Tennessee, then 

6 as a 3-time gold medal winner in the 1960 Olympics 

7 in Rome, and finally as a pioneer for racial equality, 

8 goodwill, and justice; 

9 (2) Wilma G. Rudolph’s winning of 3 gold med10 als in the 1960 Olympics served as an inspiration to 

11 athletes of all sports, all races, and both genders; 

12 (3) Wilma G. Rudolph’s ability to inspire en13 dured after her performance in the 1960 Olympics, 

14 as demonstrated by—

15 (A) her receipt in 1987 of the National 

16 Collegiate Athletic Association’s Silver Anniver17 sary Award, the first time a woman ever re18 ceived the award; 

19 (B) her receipt of the 1989 Jackie Robin20 son Image Award of the National Association 

21 for the Advancement of Colored People 

22 (NAACP); 

23 (C) her induction into the National Track 

24 and Field Hall of Fame in 1973; 
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1 (D) her receipt of the 1985 Humanitarian 

2 of the Year Award of the Special Olympics; and 

3 (E) her receipt in 1993 of the National 

4 Sports Award, the only time a woman has re5 ceived the award; 

6 (4) Wilma G. Rudolph, a graduate of Tennessee 

7 State University, a successful businessperson, a 

8 mother, an athlete, a coach, and a teacher, who 

9 passed away on November 12, 1994, will forever re10 main an inspiration to all able-bodied and physically11 challenged individuals in overcoming odds; 

12 (5) Wilma G. Rudolph blazed a trail that 

13 helped all people understand the contributions of 

14 women to the world of athletics; 

15 (6) the legacy of Wilma C. Rudolph continues 

16 to serve as a particular inspiration to women; and 

17 (7) Wilma G Rudolph’s life truly embodied the 

18 American values of hard work, determination, and 

19 love of humanity. 

20 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

21 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

22 the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem23 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

25 medal of appropriate design, honoring Wilma G. Rudolph 
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1 (posthumously) in recognition of her outstanding and en2 during contributions to humanity and to women’s ath3 letics, in the United States and the world. 

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

5 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

6 Treasury (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

7 strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 

8 inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. 

9 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

10 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

11 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

12 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, 

13 and at a price sufficient to cover the costs thereof, includ14 ing labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex15 penses, and the cost of the gold medal. 

16 SEC. 4. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS. 

17 The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national 

18 medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United 

19 States Code. 

20 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 

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

22 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

23 Public Enterprise Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000 

24 to pay for the cost of the medals authorized by this Act. 
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1 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

2 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 

3 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

4 Fund.

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