II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4243 

To award posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to Shirley Chisholm. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 2, 2024 

Ms. BUTLER (for herself, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. SMITH, Mrs. 

MURRAY, Ms. WARREN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. KAINE, and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To award posthumously the 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 the following: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4243 IS

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

2 African-American woman elected to Congress where 

3 she served until 1982. 

4 (2) Shirley Chisholm inspired and led the 

5 march of political achievement by African Americans 

6 and women in the 3 decades since she ran for the 

7 Presidency of the United States. 

8 (3) Her election to Congress and her candidacy 

9 for the Presidency raised the profile and aspirations 

10 of all African Americans and women in the field of 

11 politics. 

12 (4) Shirley Chisholm was recognized for her ac13 tivism, independence, and groundbreaking achieve14 ments in politics during and after the civil rights 

15 era. 

16 (5) Shirley Chisholm was born in Brooklyn, 

17 New York, on November 30, 1924, attended Brook18 lyn College, and earned a master’s degree from Co19 lumbia University. 

20 (6) Shirley Chisholm worked in education and 

21 social services before being elected to the New York 

22 State Assembly in 1964. 

23 (7) Shirley Chisholm established the Unity 

24 Democratic Club in 1960, which played a significant 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4243 IS

1 role in rallying Black and Hispanic voters in New 

2 York City. 

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

4 in the 91st Congress, representing New York’s 12th 

5 Congressional District in the House of Representa6 tives. 

7 (9) During her service in the House of Rep8 resentatives, Shirley Chisholm promoted the employ9 ment of women in Congress and was vocal in her 

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

11 while fervently opposing the Vietnam War. 

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

13 African American to seek the nomination of a major 

14 party for President of the United States. 

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

16 National Organization for Women. 

17 (12) A historic figure in American political his18 tory, Shirley Chisholm died at the age of 80 in Or19 mond Beach, Florida, on New Year’s Day 2005. 

20 SEC. 3. 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 posthumous presentation, on behalf of the ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:46 Jun 04, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4243.IS S4243

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4243 IS

1 gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo2 ration of Shirley Chisholm. 

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

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

5 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec6 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

7 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec8 retary. The design shall bear an image of, and an inscrip9 tion of the name of, Shirley Chisholm. 

10 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the award of the gold 

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

13 shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 

14 it will be displayed as appropriate and made avail15 able for research. 

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

17 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 

18 make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 

19 for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations 

20 and events associated with Shirley Chisholm. 

21 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

22 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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

24 a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:46 Jun 04, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4243.IS S4243

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4243 IS

1 ing labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead 

2 expenses. 

3 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

4 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck under this 

5 Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 

6 31, United States Code. 

7 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

8 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

9 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

10 items. 

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

12 SALE. 

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

14 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

15 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec16 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

17 this Act. 

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

19 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

20 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

21 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS