I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3009

To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Celia Cruz. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 4, 2003

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. 

BACA, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA ́, Ms. HARMAN, Ms. 

LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mr. ROTHMAN, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of 

Texas, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. HONDA, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. CONYERS, 

Mr. ORTIZ, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. REYES, Ms. NORTON, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. 

WELLER, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART

of Florida, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. FROST, and 

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL

To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Celia 

Cruz.

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 ‘‘Congressional Tribute 

5 to Celia Cruz Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alonso was raised 

4 as one of 14 children in the Santa Suarez district 

5 of Havana, Cuba. 

6 (2) In 1960, Cruz and members of her band 

7 fled Cuba for the United States to escape the op8 pressive regime of Fidel Castro. 

9 (3) Celia Cruz and Pedro Knight, her husband 

10 of 40 years, chose to make America their permanent 

11 home, where she became a naturalized American cit12 izen. 

13 (4) While best known for her work as an enter14 tainer, Celia Cruz influenced the lives of millions of 

15 people as an ambassador of Latino culture and a 

16 powerful voice of freedom. 

17 (5) Over a prolific 50-year career as an enter18 tainer, Celia Cruz became known as the ‘‘Queen of 

19 Salsa’’. 

20 (6) She recorded over 50 albums, and her col21 laborative efforts with other performers helped break 

22 down ethnic and cultural barriers. 

23 (7) The musical talent of Celia Cruz earned her 

24 hundreds of awards worldwide, most notably a 1990 

25 Grammy Award and Billboard Magazine’s ‘‘Lifetime 

26 Achievement Award’’ in 1995. 
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1 (8) In 1994, Cruz was recognized by President 

2 Clinton with the National Endowment of the Arts 

3 Award. 

4 (9) On July 17, 2003, ‘‘Celia Cruz’’, as she was 

5 more commonly known, passed away at her Fort 

6 Lee, New Jersey, home after battling brain cancer. 

7 (10) Celia Cruz was much more than just a 

8 singer to millions of fans worldwide, especially to 

9 Latinos in America, and her contributions to music, 

10 Latino culture, and American society make her most 

11 deserving of America’s highest civilian award, the 

12 Congressional Gold Medal. 

13 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

14 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

15 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem16 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

17 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of the Con18 gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo19 ration of Celia Cruz, in recognition of her enduring con20 tributions to music, Latino culture, and American society. 

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

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

23 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec24 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 
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1 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec2 retary. 

3 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

4 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

5 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

6 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

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

8 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

9 and the cost of the gold medal. 

10 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

11 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu12 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

13 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

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

15 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

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

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

18 SALE. 

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

20 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

21 Public Enterprise Fund, such amounts as may be nec22 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 

23 to this Act. 

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

25 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 
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1 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

2 Enterprise Fund.

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