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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 186 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 186

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins, 
Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, in recognition of 
  the 50th anniversary of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist 
 Church, where the 4 little Black girls lost their lives, which served 
              as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 30, 2013

  Mr. Shelby (for himself and Mr. Sessions) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 
                       Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins, 
Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, in recognition of 
  the 50th anniversary of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist 
 Church, where the 4 little Black girls lost their lives, which served 
              as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) September 15, 2013, will mark 50 years since the lives 
        of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and 
        Cynthia Wesley, known as the ``4 little Black girls'', were 
        suddenly taken by a bomb planted in the Sixteenth Street 
        Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
            (2) The senseless and premature death of the 4 little Black 
        girls sparked ``The Movement that Changed the World''.
            (3) On that tragic Sunday in September of 1963, the world 
        took notice of the violence inflicted in the struggle for equal 
        rights.
            (4) The fact that 4 innocent children lost their lives as 
        they prepared for Sunday School shook the world's conscience.
            (5) This tragedy galvanized the Civil Rights Movement and 
        sparked a surge of momentum that helped secure the passage of 
        the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and later the Voting Rights Act of 
        1965, which were signed into law by President Lyndon B. 
        Johnson.
            (6) Justice was delayed for these 4 little Black girls and 
        their families until 2002, 39 years after the bombing, when the 
        last of the Klansmen responsible for the bombing was convicted 
        of the crime.
            (7) The 4 little Black girls are emblematic of so many who 
        have lost their lives for the cause of freedom and equality, 
        including Virgil Ware and Johnny Robinson, who were children 
        also killed within hours of the 1963 church bombing.
            (8) The legacy that these 4 little Black girls left will 
        live on in the minds and hearts of us all for generations to 
        come.
            (9) Their extraordinary sacrifice sparked real and lasting 
        change as Congress began to aggressively pass legislation that 
        ensured equality.
            (10) Sixteenth Street Baptist Church remains a powerful 
        symbol of the movement for civil and human rights and will host 
        the 50th anniversary ceremony on Sunday, September 15, 2013.
            (11) It is befitting that Congress bestow the highest 
        civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, in 2013 to the 4 
        little Black girls, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole 
        Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, posthumously in recognition of 
        the 50th anniversary of the historical significance of the 
        bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall make 
appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, 
of a gold medal of appropriate design to commemorate the lives of Addie 
Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation referred 
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in 
this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with suitable 
emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck pursuant to section 2 under such regulations as the 
Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the cost 
thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.

SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--The medals struck under this Act are national 
medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of 
title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.

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

    (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such 
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck 
pursuant to this Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals authorized under section 3 shall be deposited into the 
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
                                 <all>
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