I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3148

To award a congressional gold medal to Monsignor Ignatius McDermott 

in recognition of his contribution to the drug treatment community, 

and his accomplishments as a priest and humanitarian. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2003

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. LAHOOD, and Mr. LIPINSKI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL

To award a congressional gold medal to Monsignor Ignatius 

McDermott in recognition of his contribution to the drug 

treatment community, and his accomplishments as a 

priest and humanitarian.

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 The Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Monsignor Ignatius McDermott is a man of 

6 unwavering faith, deep compassion, and tireless de7 votion to helping those who are among the most des8 perate and needy. 
2

•HR 3148 IH 

1 (2) In his own words, today’s world is over2 saturated with a surplus of starters and a famine of 

3 finishers: Monsignor McDermott is a finisher. 

4 (3) Monsignor McDermott, or ‘‘Father Mac’’ as 

5 he is affectionately referred to by everyone from the 

6 Governor of Illinois to the last wanderer from the 

7 street, grew up on Chicago’s South Side and was or8 dained in the priesthood in 1936. 

9 (4) From the start of his career, Father Mac 

10 found a calling in helping those plagued by depend11 ency on alcohol and drugs. 

12 (5) Inspired by experiences in his early work 

13 with children neglected due to alcohol abuse, and at 

14 a charity near a police ‘‘drunk tank’’, Father Mac 

15 sought not only to help those who could not help 

16 themselves, but to change the very system that had 

17 in many ways given up on them. 

18 (6) Working toward a solution, Father Mac 

19 founded the Addiction Counseling Education Serv20 ices in 1961, which provided counseling to alcoholics 

21 and other substance abusers who had no other 

22 means to get help. 

23 (7) Later, he would expand his work to the Chi24 cago schools system, where he developed an alcohol 

25 education curriculum and fostered Alternatives to 
3

•HR 3148 IH 

1 Expulsion, a program to help teachers salvage ad2 dicted teenagers who were willing to give up drink3 ing and drugs and resume their studies. 

4 (8) This program worked so well that it was in5 corporated into State of Illinois educational prac6 tices. 

7 (9) Father Mac’s work has had a lasting impact 

8 on the treatment community as a whole; in 1963, he 

9 founded the Central States Institute of Addiction, a 

10 nonprofit charitable organization providing instruc11 tion to social workers and counselors regarding ad12 diction and dependency. 

13 (10) This Institute is only one of numerous pro14 grams begun through his inspiration and dedication 

15 that continue to function to the benefit of many. 

16 (11) Father Mac’s lifelong concern for the 

17 homeless inebriate and for families split by alco18 holism has also met with matching public attitudes. 

19 (12) His work helped first bring to light the 

20 problems of drinking and driving, provide treatment 

21 services to pregnant mothers suffering from addic22 tion, and to decriminalize the public inebriate. 

23 (13) This latter breakthrough led to his cre24 ating the Chicago Clergy Association for the Home25 less Person, and the founding of Haymarket Center 
4

•HR 3148 IH 

1 at the age of 75, a time when most people are ready 

2 to retire. 

3 (14) Father Mac is now 94, and Haymarket 

4 Center is the largest drug abuse treatment center in 

5 the City of Chicago providing integrated treatment 

6 services for an average of 18,000 clients annually, 

7 and serving as a model for other treatment pro8 grams throughout the Nation. 

9 (15) As the Nation renews its commitment to 

10 addiction disorders, Father Mac continues what has 

11 become a lifelong pursuit of helping others raise 

12 themselves from the depths of their personal strug13 gles with addiction. 

14 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

15 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

16 the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem17 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

19 medal of appropriate design, to Monsignor Ignatius 

20 McDermott, in recognition of his contribution to the drug 

21 treatment community, and his accomplishments as a 

22 priest and humanitarian. 

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

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

25 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec-
5

•HR 3148 IH 

1 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

2 devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec3 retary. 

4 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

5 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

6 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

7 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

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

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

10 and the cost of the gold medal. 

11 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

12 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu13 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

14 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

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

16 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

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

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

19 SALE. 

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

21 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

22 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec23 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 

24 to this Act. 
6

•HR 3148 IH 

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

2 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

3 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

4 Enterprise Fund.

Æ