H. R. 2939 

One Hundred Thirteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and fourteen 

An Act 

To award the Congressional Gold Medal to Shimon Peres. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

Congress makes the following findings: 

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

(2) The Peres family emigrated to Tel Aviv in 1934, and 

all of the family members of Shimon Peres who remained 

in Poland were murdered during the Holocaust. 

(3) Before Israel gained independence, Shimon Peres 

earned the respect of senior leaders in the independence movement in Israel, most notably David Ben-Gurion. 

(4) The founding generation of Israel was central to the 

development of Israel, and Shimon Peres is the only surviving 

member of that founding generation. 

(5) Shimon Peres has served in numerous high-level cabinet 

positions and ministerial posts in Israel, including head of 

the Israeli Navy, Minister of Defense, Foreign Minister, Prime 

Minister, and President, among many others. 

(6) Shimon Peres has honorably served Israel for over 

70 years, during which he has significantly contributed to 

United States interests and has played a pivotal role in forging 

the strong and unbreakable bond between the United States 

and Israel. 

(7) By presenting the Congressional Gold Medal to Shimon 

Peres, the first to be awarded to a sitting President of Israel, 

Congress proclaims its unbreakable bond with Israel and 

reaffirms its continual support for Israel as we commemorate 

the 65th anniversary of the independence of Israel and the 

90th birthday of Shimon Peres, which are both significant 

milestones in Israeli history. 

(8) Maintaining strong bilateral relations between the 

United States and Israel has been a priority of Shimon Peres 

since he began working with the United States in the days 

of John F. Kennedy. The strong bond is exemplified by the 

following: 

(A) President Reagan said to Shimon Peres upon his 

visit to the United States, ‘‘Mr. Prime Minister, I thank 

you very much for your visit. It’s been an occasion to 

renew a friendship and to review and enhance the strength 

of our unique bilateral relationship.’’. 
H. R. 2939—2 

(B) At another point President Reagan said of Shimon 

Peres, ‘‘His vision, his statesmanship and his tenacity are 

greatly appreciated here.’’. 

(C) While visiting with Shimon Peres at the Residence 

of the President in Jerusalem, President Obama described 

Shimon Peres as ‘‘* * * a son of Israel who’s devoted 

his life to keeping Israel strong and sustaining the bonds 

between our two nations’’. 

(D) On March 20, 2013, Shimon Peres reaffirmed his 

belief in the relationship between the United States and 

Israel, stating, ‘‘America stood by our side from the very 

beginning. You support us as we rebuild our ancient homeland and as we defend our land. From Holocaust to redemption.’’. 

(E) On March 21, 2013, Shimon Peres stated, ‘‘* * 

* America is so great and we are so small. But I learned 

that you don’t measure us by size, but by values. When 

it comes to values, we are you and you are us * * * 

As I look back, I feel that the Israel of today has exceeded 

the vision we had 65 years ago. Reality has surpassed 

our dreams. The United States of America helped us to 

make this possible.’’. 

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

(a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The President pro tempore of the 

Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall 

make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in honor of 

President Shimon Peres. 

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

referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions 

to be determined by the Secretary. 

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may 

prescribe, the Secretary may strike duplicate medals in bronze 

of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 and sell such duplicate medals at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, 

including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead 

expenses. 
H. R. 2939—3 

SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for 

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

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.