I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 911

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

to John Walsh in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to the Nation through his work in the fields of law enforcement

and victims’ rights.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 7, 2001

Mr. BARCIA (for himself, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. KELLY, Mr.

KNOLLENBERG, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. PASCRELL,

Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. FROST, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. FOLEY, Mr.

SHIMKUS, Mr. COMBEST, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. REYES, and Mr. SHAW) 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 the Congress to John Walsh in recognition of his

outstanding and enduring contributions to the Nation

through his work in the fields of law enforcement and

victims’ rights.

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:
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1 (1) John Walsh, host of the television program

2 ‘‘America’s Most Wanted’’, has dedicated his life to

3 the pursuit and apprehension of felons and fugitives

4 who have committed murder, rape, robbery, kid5 naping, pedophilia, and other atrocious crimes

6 against the citizens of the United States.

7 (2) In doing so, John Walsh has sacrificed his

8 own personal safety and freedom for the good of all

9 citizens of the United States.

10 (3) On July 27, 1981, Adam Walsh, the 6-year11 old son of John Walsh, was abducted and brutally

12 murdered.

13 (4) John Walsh and his family have never ob14 tained closure for this heinous crime, because no

15 person was ever charged with the crime and the

16 prime suspect ultimately died in prison.

17 (5) After the death of his son, John Walsh be18 came a tireless advocate for victims’ rights.

19 (6) John Walsh has testified more than 35

20 times before the Congress in support of legislation,

21 and his efforts led to the passage in 1982 of the

22 Missing Children Act and in 1984 of the Missing

23 Children’s Assistance Act, which established the Na24 tional Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
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1 (7) John Walsh has lobbied for a constitutional

2 amendment that would secure victims’ rights.

3 (8) John Walsh, not ceasing his dedication to

4 the safety and welfare of children with the enact5 ment of new protective statutes, established a public

6 information television program, ‘‘America’s Most

7 Wanted’’, to expose the criminal activity of various

8 fugitives throughout the United States and abroad.

9 (9) Four days after the debut of the program,

10 on February 11, 1988, the Federal Bureau of Inves11 tigation announced the capture in New York City of

12 one of its 10 Most Wanted fugitives, David James

13 Roberts, as a direct result of tips from viewers of

14 the program.

15 (10) On May 29, 1988, the Director of the

16 Federal Bureau of Investigation, William Sessions,

17 appeared on ‘‘America’s Most Wanted’’ to announce

18 the addition of 3 new fugitives to the Federal Bu19 reau of Investigation’s 10 Most Wanted list, one of

20 whom was captured within 24 hours after the an21 nouncement.

22 (11) On July 17, 1988, Robert Wayne Fisher,

23 a fugitive wanted for the murder of his wife, was

24 captured just 33 minutes after John Walsh profiled

25 him on ‘‘America’s Most Wanted’’.
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1 (12) On May 7, 1989, John Walsh facilitated

2 the capture of a New Jersey mass murderer who

3 had been at large for nearly 18 years.

4 (13) On January 20, 2001, John Walsh

5 profiled 7 escapees from a maximum security prison

6 in Texas, known as the ‘‘Texas Seven’’, on ‘‘Amer7 ica’s Most Wanted’’, which led to the apprehension

8 of 5 of the escapees 2 days later and the 2 remain9 ing fugitives the following day.

10 (14) John Walsh profiled 2,034 fugitives from

11 justice on ‘‘America’s Most Wanted’’ as of December

12 3, 1998, 1,177 of whom have been captured, includ13 ing 647 who were captured as a direct result of

14 being profiled.

15 (15) On May 10, 1990, John Walsh and

16 ‘‘America’s Most Wanted’’ for the first time helped

17 recover a missing child, Nicole Ravesi, and aided in

18 the arrest of her abductor, Kenneth Cole.

19 (16) In all, John Walsh has profiled 465 cases

20 involving missing or kidnapped persons, 30 of whom

21 have been reunited with their families.

22 (17) John Walsh has profiled 285 criminal sus23 pects whose identities were unknown to law enforce24 ment officials, and 6 of the suspects have been iden25 tified as a result of being profiled.
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1 (18) At the request of law enforcement officials,

2 John Walsh has also profiled 35 unidentified victims

3 of foul play, and 2 of the victims have been identi4 fied as a result of being profiled.

5 (19) The outstanding contributions of John

6 Walsh to crime victims and the law enforcement

7 community have come at no cost to the taxpayers of

8 the United States.

9 (20) John Walsh, through ‘‘America’s Most

10 Wanted’’ and through other endeavors, continues to

11 serve law enforcement officials and crime victims

12 through his unfailing dedication to pursuing and

13 capturing dangerous fugitives, protecting the safety

14 of children, and bringing closure to victims of crime

15 in the United States.

16 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

17 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is

18 authorized to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold

19 medal of appropriate design to John Walsh in recognition

20 of his outstanding and enduring contributions to the Na21 tion through his work in the fields of law enforcement and

22 victims’ rights.

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

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

25 of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the
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1 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em2 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the

3 Secretary.

4 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

5 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre6 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in

7 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 2 at a price

8 sufficient to cover the cost of the bronze medals (including

9 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead ex10 penses) and the cost of the gold medal.

11 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

12 The medals struck under this Act are national medals

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

14 SEC. 5. FUNDING AND PROCEEDS OF SALE.

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be

16 charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise

17 Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the

18 cost of the medals authorized by this Act.

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

20 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be

21 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise

22 Fund.

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