II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2927 

To amend requirements for awarding the National Medal of Science, the 

National Medal of Arts, and the National Technology and Innovation 

Medal, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 4, 2021 

Mr. BOOKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend requirements for awarding the National Medal 

of Science, the National Medal of Arts, and the National 

Technology and Innovation Medal, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘National Civilian Med5 als Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. THE NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE AWARD. 

7 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish a National 

8 Medal of Science to provide recognition for individuals who 


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1 make outstanding contributions in the physical, biological, 

2 mathematical, engineering, behavioral, and social 

3 sciences.’’, approved August 25, 1959 (42 U.S.C. 1881), 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in the title, by striking ‘‘engineering, behav6 ioral, and social’’ and inserting ‘‘and engineering 

7 sciences’’; and 

8 (2) by amending section 2 to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 2. AWARD OF THE NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE. 

10 ‘‘(a) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The President shall 

11 award the National Medal of Science to an individual or 

12 a group who in the judgment of the President is deserving 

13 of special recognition by reason of outstanding contribu14 tions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathe15 matical, or engineering sciences on the basis of— 

16 ‘‘(1) information and evidence the President de17 termines appropriate; and 

18 ‘‘(2) recommendations received from— 

19 ‘‘(A) the President’s Committee on the Na20 tional Medal of Science (or a successor of such 

21 committee); 

22 ‘‘(B) the Director of the National Science 

23 Foundation; 

24 ‘‘(C) the President of the National Acad25 emy of Sciences; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the Director of the Office of Science 

2 and Technology Policy; and 

3 ‘‘(E) the Director of the National Insti4 tutes of Health. 

5 ‘‘(b) NUMBER; ANNUAL REQUIREMENT.—Annually, 

6 the President shall award at least 1 medal, and the Presi7 dent may not award more than 5 medals in any calendar 

8 year. 

9 ‘‘(c) CITIZENSHIP.— 

10 ‘‘(1) CITIZENSHIP OF AN INDIVIDUAL.—An in11 dividual may be awarded the medal only if at the 

12 time the award is made such individual— 

13 ‘‘(A) is a citizen or other national of the 

14 United States; or 

15 ‘‘(B) is an alien lawfully admitted to the 

16 United States for permanent residency who— 

17 ‘‘(i) has filed an application or peti18 tion for naturalization in the manner pre19 scribed by section 334 of the Immigration 

20 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1445); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) is eligible for naturalization. 

22 ‘‘(2) CITIZENSHIP OF A GROUP.—A group may 

23 be awarded the medal only if such group is orga24 nized or incorporated in the United States. 

25 ‘‘(d) CEREMONIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DATE REQUIREMENT.—The presentation 

2 of the award under subsection (a) shall be made by 

3 the President, during the month of April of each cal4 endar year, with such ceremonies as the President 

5 may determine proper. 

6 ‘‘(2) INVITATION TO CONGRESS AND THE SU7 PREME COURT.—The President shall invite appro8 priate Members of Congress and all Justices of the 

9 Supreme Court to attend the presentation under 

10 paragraph (1). 

11 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) POSTHUMOUS LIMITATION.—The Presi13 dent may not award the National Medal of Science 

14 posthumously. 

15 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFICIALS.—The Presi16 dent may not award the National Medal of Science 

17 to— 

18 ‘‘(A) the Vice President, the head of an 

19 Executive department, or a Member of Con20 gress; or 

21 ‘‘(B) the spouse, child, son-in-law, or 

22 daughter-in-law of an individual described in 

23 subparagraph (A), as determined under applica24 ble common law.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. THE NATIONAL MEDAL OF ARTS AWARD. 

2 Section 13 of the National Foundation on the Arts 

3 and the Humanities Act Amendments of 1983 (20 U.S.C. 

4 955b) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘subsection 

6 (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘this section’’; 

7 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The President shall 

10 award the National Medal of Arts, on the basis of rec11 ommendations from the National Council on the Arts, to 

12 an individual or a group who in the judgment of the Presi13 dent is deserving of special recognition by reason of out14 standing contributions to the excellence, growth, support, 

15 and availability of the arts in the United States.’’; 

16 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub17 section (g); and 

18 (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(c) NUMBER; ANNUAL REQUIREMENT.—Annually, 

21 the President shall award at least 1 National Medal of 

22 Arts, and the President may not award more than 5 of 

23 such medals in any calendar year. 

24 ‘‘(d) CITIZENSHIP.— 

25 ‘‘(1) CITIZENSHIP OF AN INDIVIDUAL.—An in26 dividual may be awarded the National Medal of Arts 


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1 only if at the time the award is made such indi2 vidual— 

3 ‘‘(A) is a citizen or other national of the 

4 United States; or 

5 ‘‘(B) is an alien lawfully admitted to the 

6 United States for permanent residency who— 

7 ‘‘(i) has filed an application or peti8 tion for naturalization in the manner pre9 scribed by section 334 of the Immigration 

10 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1445); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) is eligible to become a citizen of 

12 the United States. 

13 ‘‘(2) CITIZENSHIP OF A GROUP.—A group may 

14 be awarded the National Medal of Arts only if such 

15 group is organized or incorporated in the United 

16 States. 

17 ‘‘(e) CEREMONIES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) DATE REQUIREMENT.—The presentation 

19 of the award under subsection (a) shall be made by 

20 the President, during the month of October of each 

21 calendar year, with such ceremonies as the President 

22 may determine proper. 

23 ‘‘(2) INVITATION TO CONGRESS AND THE SU24 PREME COURT.—The President shall invite appro25 priate Members of Congress and all Justices of the 


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1 Supreme Court to attend the presentation under 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) POSTHUMOUS LIMITATION.—The Presi5 dent may not award the National Medal of Arts 

6 posthumously. 

7 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFICIALS.—The Presi8 dent may not award the National Medal of Arts to— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Vice President, the head of an 

10 Executive department, or a Member of Con11 gress; or 

12 ‘‘(B) the spouse, child, son-in-law, or 

13 daughter-in-law of an individual described in 

14 subparagraph (A), as determined under applica15 ble common law.’’. 

16 SEC. 4. THE NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION 

17 MEDAL. 

18 Section 16 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno19 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3711) is amended— 

20 (1) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The President shall 

23 award the National Technology and Innovation Medal to 

24 an individual or a group who in the judgment of the Presi25 dent is deserving of special recognition by reason of outVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Oct 05, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2927.IS S2927

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1 standing contributions to the promotion of technology or 

2 technological manpower for the improvement of the eco3 nomic, environmental, or social well-being of the United 

4 States on the basis of— 

5 ‘‘(1) information and evidence the President de6 termines appropriate; and 

7 ‘‘(2) recommendations from— 

8 ‘‘(A) the National Medal of Technology 

9 and Innovation Nomination Evaluation Com10 mittee (or a successor of such committee); 

11 ‘‘(B) the Director of the United States 

12 Patent and Trademark Office; 

13 ‘‘(C) the Director of the Office of Science 

14 and Technology Policy; 

15 ‘‘(D) the Director of the National Institute 

16 of Standards and Technology; and 

17 ‘‘(E) the Director of the National Science 

18 Foundation.’’; 

19 (2) by striking subsection (c); and 

20 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(c) NUMBER; ANNUAL REQUIREMENT.—Annually, 

23 the President shall award at least 1 National Technology 

24 and Innovation Medal, and the President may not award 

25 more than 5 of such medals in any calendar year. 


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1 ‘‘(d) CITIZENSHIP.— 

2 ‘‘(1) CITIZENSHIP OF AN INDIVIDUAL.—An in3 dividual may be awarded the National Technology 

4 and Innovation Medal only if at the time the award 

5 is made such individual— 

6 ‘‘(A) is a citizen or other national of the 

7 United States; or 

8 ‘‘(B) is an alien lawfully admitted to the 

9 United States for permanent residency who— 

10 ‘‘(i) has filed an application or peti11 tion for naturalization in the manner pre12 scribed by section 334 of the Immigration 

13 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1445); and 

14 ‘‘(ii) is eligible to become a citizen of 

15 the United States. 

16 ‘‘(2) CITIZENSHIP OF A GROUP.—A group may 

17 be awarded the National Technology and Innovation 

18 Medal only if such group is organized or incor19 porated in the United States. 

20 ‘‘(e) CEREMONIES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) DATE REQUIREMENT.—The presentation 

22 of the award under subsection (a) shall be made by 

23 the President, during the month of April of each cal24 endar year, with such ceremonies as the President 

25 may determine proper. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INVITATION TO CONGRESS AND THE SU2 PREME COURT.—The President shall invite appro3 priate Members of Congress and all Justices of the 

4 Supreme Court to attend the presentation under 

5 paragraph (1). 

6 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) POSTHUMOUS LIMITATION.—The Presi8 dent may not award the National Technology and 

9 Innovation Medal posthumously. 

10 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFICIALS.—The Presi11 dent may not award the National Technology and 

12 Innovation Medal to— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Vice President, the head of an 

14 Executive department, or a Member of Con15 gress; or 

16 ‘‘(B) the spouse, child, son-in-law, or 

17 daughter-in-law of an individual described in 

18 subparagraph (A), as determined under applica19 ble common law.’’. 

20 SEC. 5. THE NATIONAL HUMANITIES MEDAL. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Na22 tional Humanities Medal, which shall be a medal of such 

23 design as is determined appropriate by the President. 

24 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The President shall award 

25 the National Humanities Medal, on the basis of recVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Oct 05, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2927.IS S2927

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1 ommendations from the National Council on the Human2 ities, to an individual or a group who in the judgment of 

3 the President is deserving of special recognition by reason 

4 of outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, 

5 support, and availability of the humanities in the United 

6 States. 

7 (c) NUMBER; ANNUAL REQUIREMENT.—Annually, 

8 the President shall award at least 1 National Humanities 

9 Medal, and the President may not award more than 5 of 

10 such medals in any calendar year. 

11 (d) CITIZENSHIP.— 

12 (1) CITIZENSHIP OF AN INDIVIDUAL.—An indi13 vidual may be awarded the National Humanities 

14 Medal only if at the time the award is made such 

15 individual— 

16 (A) is a citizen or other national of the 

17 United States; or 

18 (B) is an alien lawfully admitted to the 

19 United States for permanent residency who— 

20 (i) has filed an application or petition 

21 for naturalization in the manner prescribed 

22 by section 334 of the Immigration and Na23 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1445); and 

24 (ii) is eligible to become a citizen of 

25 the United States. 


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1 (2) CITIZENSHIP OF A GROUP.—A group may 

2 be awarded the National Humanities Medal only if 

3 such group is organized or incorporated in the 

4 United States. 

5 (e) CEREMONIES.— 

6 (1) DATE REQUIREMENT.—The presentation of 

7 the award under subsection (a) shall be made by the 

8 President, during the month of October of each cal9 endar year, with such ceremonies as the President 

10 may determine proper. 

11 (2) INVITATION TO CONGRESS AND THE SU12 PREME COURT.—The President shall invite appro13 priate Members of Congress and all Justices of the 

14 Supreme Court to attend the presentation under 

15 paragraph (1). 

16 (f) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 

17 (1) POSTHUMOUS LIMITATION.—The President 

18 may not award the National Humanities Medal post19 humously. 

20 (2) CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFICIALS.—The Presi21 dent may not award the National Humanities Medal 

22 to— 

23 (A) the Vice President, the head of an Ex24 ecutive department, or a Member of Congress; 

25 or 


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1 (B) the spouse, child, son-in-law, or daugh2 ter-in-law of an individual described in subpara3 graph (A), as determined under applicable com4 mon law. 

5 SEC. 6. THE NATIONAL MEDAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 

6 AWARD. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Na8 tional Medal of Social Sciences, which shall be a medal 

9 of such design as is determined appropriate by the Presi10 dent. 

11 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The President shall award 

12 the National Medal of Social Sciences to an individual or 

13 a group who in the judgment of the President is deserving 

14 of special recognition by reason of outstanding contribu15 tions to knowledge in the social sciences, on the basis of— 

16 (1) information and evidence the President de17 termines appropriate; and 

18 (2) recommendations from— 

19 (A) the presidential committee established 

20 to award the medal described in this section; 

21 (B) the Director of the National Science 

22 Foundation; 

23 (C) the President of the National Academy 

24 of Science; and 


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1 (D) the Director of the National Institutes 

2 of Health. 

3 (c) NUMBER; ANNUAL REQUIREMENT.—Annually, 

4 the President shall award at least 1 Medal of Social 

5 Sciences, and the President may not award more than 5 

6 of such medals in any calendar year. 

7 (d) CITIZENSHIP.— 

8 (1) CITIZENSHIP OF AN INDIVIDUAL.—An indi9 vidual may be awarded the National Medal of Social 

10 Sciences only if at the time the award is made such 

11 individual— 

12 (A) is a citizen or other national of the 

13 United States; or 

14 (B) is an alien lawfully admitted to the 

15 United States for permanent residency who— 

16 (i) has filed an application or petition 

17 for naturalization in the manner prescribed 

18 by section 334 of the Immigration and Na19 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1445); and 

20 (ii) is eligible to become a citizen of 

21 the United States. 

22 (2) CITIZENSHIP OF A GROUP.—A group may 

23 be awarded the National Medal of Social Sciences 

24 only if such group is organized or incorporated in 

25 the United States. 


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1 (e) CEREMONIES.— 

2 (1) DATE REQUIREMENT.—The presentation of 

3 the award under subsection (a) shall be made by the 

4 President, during the month of April of each cal5 endar year, with such ceremonies as the President 

6 may determine proper. 

7 (2) INVITATION TO CONGRESS AND THE SU8 PREME COURT.—The President shall invite appro9 priate Members of Congress and all Justices of the 

10 Supreme Court to attend the presentation under 

11 paragraph (1). 

12 (f) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 

13 (1) POSTHUMOUS LIMITATION.—The President 

14 may not award the National Medal of Social 

15 Sciences posthumously. 

16 (2) CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFICIALS.—The Presi17 dent may not award the National Medal of Social 

18 Sciences to— 

19 (A) the Vice President, the head of an Ex20 ecutive department, or a Member of Congress; 

21 or 

22 (B) the spouse, child, son-in-law, or daugh23 ter-in-law of an individual described in subpara24 graph (A), as determined under applicable com25 mon law. 


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1 SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 A medal described in this Act, or an amendment 

3 made by this Act, shall be considered a ‘‘thing of value’’ 

4 for purposes of any Federal law with respect to bribery 

5 or corruption of a Government official. 

6 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

8 on the later of 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

9 Act or, after the date of enactment of this Act, on the 

10 date that the President awards at least 1 of each of the 

11 medals described in this Act and the amendments made 

12 by this Act. 

Æ 


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