I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8231 

To award a congressional gold medal to James Earl Jones, an American 

icon, in recognition of a remarkable life in reshaping perceptions, dismantling racial barriers, and advocating for equal opportunities for people 

of all backgrounds in film and theatre. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 2, 2024 

Mr. LAWLER (for himself, Mr. TORRES of New York, and Mr. MOLINARO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a congressional gold medal to James Earl Jones, 

an American icon, in recognition of a remarkable life 

in reshaping perceptions, dismantling racial barriers, and 

advocating for equal opportunities for people of all backgrounds in film and theatre. 

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 ‘‘James Earl Jones Con5 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) James Earl Jones, born on January 17, 

2 1931, in Arkabutla Township, Mississippi, was 

3 raised largely by his grandparents after his father 

4 left. Following the family’s move to Michigan, he de5 veloped a serious stutter that led to him rarely 

6 speaking. 

7 (2) James Earl Jones started writing poetry 

8 while still in school and used this to break free of 

9 his stutter. Inspired by the grapefruit that the Fed10 eral Government gave to Mississippians during the 

11 wartime shortage, Jones penned a poem titled ‘‘Ode 

12 to Grapefruit’’. Jones continued to write, play, and 

13 compete and as a result, he was awarded a scholar14 ship to the University of Michigan and won a public 

15 speaking competition. 

16 (3) Jones enlisted in the Army in 1953 and re17 ported to Fort Benning, Georgia, for Ranger School 

18 and the Officers Basic Course. He was commis19 sioned as a second lieutenant. Following his train20 ing, Jones was tasked with assisting in the establish21 ment of a cold weather training command at the 

22 defunct Camp Hale in Colorado. 

23 (4) Jones relocated to New York City and took 

24 a job as a janitor to support himself while attending 


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1 the American Theatre Wing after receiving an hon2 orable discharge as a first lieutenant. 

3 (5) Jones’ Broadway debut was in 1957, where 

4 he performed in several Shakespeare plays, including 

5 Othello, Hamlet, Coriolanus, and King Lear. In 

6 1963, Jones received his first major nomination, re7 ceiving a Primetime Emmy Awards nomination for 

8 his role in ‘‘East Side/West Side’’. 

9 (6) ‘‘Dr. Strangelove’’, directed by Stanley 

10 Kubrick, was Jones’ feature picture debut. 

11 (7) Jones’ performance in the play ‘‘The Great 

12 White Hope’’, which was about the first Black 

13 heavyweight boxing champion, earned him his first 

14 Tony Award in 1969. 

15 (8) Throughout his career, Jones has provided 

16 the voices of well-known global characters, such as 

17 Mufasa in the animated film ‘‘The Lion King’’ and 

18 Darth Vader in the ‘‘Star Wars’’ series. 

19 (9) Throughout his professional life, Jones has 

20 been nominated for two Academy Awards, five Tony 

21 Awards, eight Primetime Emmy Awards, three 

22 Grammy Awards, and five Golden Globe Awards. 

23 (10) Jones is one of the rare performers to 

24 have received an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, 

25 and Tony). Jones was honored with three Tony 


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1 Awards, an Honorary Academy Award, a Grammy 

2 Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. 

3 (11) In 1985, Jones was inducted into the 

4 American Theater Hall of Fame. 

5 (12) In 1992, President George H.W. Bush and 

6 First Lady Barbara Bush presented Jones with the 

7 National Medal of the Arts at the White House in 

8 recognition of his career. 

9 (13) In 2002, Jones was selected to be a recipi10 ent of the 2002 Kennedy Center Honors for his con11 tributions to the cultural life of the Nation at the 

12 John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. 

13 (14) On May 12 2009, President and First 

14 Lady Obama invited James Earl Jones to perform 

15 Shakespeare’s ‘‘Othello’’ at the White House 

16 Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word. 

17 (15) On September 12, 2022, the Cort Theatre, 

18 a Broadway theater in the Theater District of Mid19 town Manhattan in New York City, was renamed the 

20 James Earl Jones Theatre. 

21 (16) James Earl Jones has been recognized for 

22 his independence, activism, and groundbreaking 

23 achievements and has been described as one of the 

24 greatest actors in American history. 


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1 (17) James Earl Jones’ career showcases talent 

2 and resilience in an industry that historically faced 

3 challenges related to representation. 

4 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

5 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

6 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem7 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

9 medal of appropriate design to James Earl Jones, in rec10 ognition of his contribution to the United States and his 

11 achievements of paving the way for inclusion and equal 

12 opportunities for people of all backgrounds in film and 

13 theatre. 

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

15 presentation described in subsection (a), the Secretary of 

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

17 shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, 

18 and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary. The 

19 design shall bear an image of, and inscription of the name 

20 of, James Earl Jones. 

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 17:31 Jun 06, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8231.IH H8231

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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 section 

8 5134 and section 5136 of title 31, United States Code, 

9 all medals struck under this Act shall be considered to 

10 be numismatic 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 


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