II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2939 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 20, 2014 

Received 

AN ACT 

To award the Congressional Gold Medal to Shimon Peres. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) Shimon Peres was born in Poland in 1923. 

4 (2) The Peres family emigrated to Tel Aviv in 

5 1934, and all of the family members of Shimon 

6 Peres who remained in Poland were murdered dur7 ing the Holocaust. 

8 (3) Before Israel gained independence, Shimon 

9 Peres earned the respect of senior leaders in the 

10 independence movement in Israel, most notably 

11 David Ben-Gurion. 

12 (4) The founding generation of Israel was cen13 tral to the development of Israel, and Shimon Peres 

14 is the only surviving member of that founding gen15 eration. 

16 (5) Shimon Peres has served in numerous high17 level cabinet positions and ministerial posts in Israel, 

18 including head of the Israeli Navy, Minister of De19 fense, Foreign Minister, Prime Minister, and Presi20 dent, among many others. 

21 (6) Shimon Peres has honorably served Israel 

22 for over 70 years, during which he has significantly 

23 contributed to United States interests and has 

24 played a pivotal role in forging the strong and un25 breakable bond between the United States and 

26 Israel. 


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1 (7) By presenting the Congressional Gold 

2 Medal to Shimon Peres, the first to be awarded to 

3 a sitting President of Israel, Congress proclaims its 

4 unbreakable bond with Israel and reaffirms its con5 tinual support for Israel as we commemorate the 

6 65th anniversary of the independence of Israel and 

7 the 90th birthday of Shimon Peres, which are both 

8 significant milestones in Israeli history. 

9 (8) Maintaining strong bilateral relations be10 tween the United States and Israel has been a pri11 ority of Shimon Peres since he began working with 

12 the United States in the days of John F. Kennedy. 

13 The strong bond is exemplified by the following: 

14 (A) President Reagan said to Shimon 

15 Peres upon his visit to the United States, ‘‘Mr. 

16 Prime Minister, I thank you very much for your 

17 visit. It’s been an occasion to renew a friend18 ship and to review and enhance the strength of 

19 our unique bilateral relationship.’’. 

20 (B) At another point President Reagan 

21 said of Shimon Peres, ‘‘His vision, his states22 manship and his tenacity are greatly appre23 ciated here.’’. 

24 (C) While visiting with Shimon Peres at 

25 the Residence of the President in Jerusalem, 


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1 President Obama described Shimon Peres as ‘‘* 

2 * * a son of Israel who’s devoted his life to 

3 keeping Israel strong and sustaining the bonds 

4 between our two nations’’. 

5 (D) On March 20, 2013, Shimon Peres re6 affirmed his belief in the relationship between 

7 the United States and Israel, stating, ‘‘America 

8 stood by our side from the very beginning. You 

9 support us as we rebuild our ancient homeland 

10 and as we defend our land. From Holocaust to 

11 redemption.’’. 

12 (E) On March 21, 2013, Shimon Peres 

13 stated, ‘‘* * * America is so great and we are 

14 so small. But I learned that you don’t measure 

15 us by size, but by values. When it comes to val16 ues, we are you and you are us * * * As I look 

17 back, I feel that the Israel of today has exceed18 ed the vision we had 65 years ago. Reality has 

19 surpassed our dreams. The United States of 

20 America helped us to make this possible.’’. 

21 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

22 (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The President pro tem23 pore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Rep24 resentatives shall make appropriate arrangements for the 


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1 award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of 

2 appropriate design in honor of President Shimon Peres. 

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

4 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

5 Treasury shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

6 devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec7 retary. 

8 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

9 Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treas10 ury may prescribe, the Secretary may strike duplicate 

11 medals in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to 

12 section 2 and sell such duplicate medals at a price suffi13 cient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, ma14 terials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 


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1 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

2 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national med3 als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 

4 Code. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 19, 2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 

By ROBERT F. REEVES, 

Deputy Clerk. 


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