I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1401 

To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Muhammad Ali, in 

recognition of his contributions to the Nation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2021 

Mr. CARSON (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. 

RUSH, Ms. NORTON, Mr. JONES, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. COSTA, and Mr. SAN

NICOLAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Muhammad Ali, in recognition of his contributions to the 

Nation. 

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 ‘‘Muhammad Ali Con5 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., on Janu9 ary 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, Muhammad 


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1 Ali was the first child of Cassius, Sr., and Odessa 

2 Clay. 

3 (2) Muhammad Ali was one of the most cele4 brated athletes of the 20th century. He produced 

5 some of America’s greatest sports memories, from 

6 winning a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics 

7 to lighting the Olympic torch at the 1996 Summer 

8 Olympics. 

9 (3) After an impressive amateur career, during 

10 which he recorded 131 wins and only 7 losses and 

11 won 2 National AAU light heavyweight titles, Mu12 hammad Ali became the first professional boxer in 

13 history to capture the heavyweight title 3 separate 

14 times. 

15 (4) Muhammad Ali defeated every challenger he 

16 faced in the ring. But, on April 28, 1967, he was 

17 stripped of his boxing title and barred from com18 peting for being a conscientious objector to the war 

19 in Vietnam on religious and moral grounds. How20 ever, following a unanimous United States Supreme 

21 Court decision in 1971, Muhammad Ali’s conscien22 tious objector status was confirmed, his boxing li23 cense was reinstated, and he was cleared of any 

24 wrongdoing. 


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1 (5) As an African American and a Muslim who 

2 lived in an era that continued to question his civil 

3 rights, Muhammad Ali battled issues of race and re4 ligion, and received recognition as one of the cham5 pions of the Civil Rights Movement in the United 

6 States. 

7 (6) Muhammad Ali was the recipient of many 

8 awards for his sporting prowess and his support of 

9 racial harmony, including the Dr. Martin Luther 

10 King Memorial Award, the Spirit of America Award, 

11 the Amnesty International Lifetime Achievement 

12 Award, the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Es13 sence Living Legend Award, the Rainbow Coalition 

14 Lifetime Achievement Award, the XNBA Human 

15 Spirit Award, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and 

16 the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

17 (7) Muhammad Ali was acknowledged by many 

18 organizations for his achievements both inside and 

19 outside the boxing ring, including being crowned 

20 ‘‘Sportsman of the Century’’ by Sports Illustrated, 

21 being named ‘‘Athlete of the Century’’ by GQ maga22 zine, being named ‘‘Sports Personality of the Cen23 tury’’ by the British Broadcasting Corporation, 

24 being named ‘‘Kentucky Athlete of the Century’’ by 

25 the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, being named 


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1 ‘‘Kentuckian of the Century’’ by the State of Ken2 tucky, being named ‘‘Louisvillian of the Century’’ by 

3 the Advertising Club of Louisville, being named 

4 ‘‘Boxer of the Century’’ by the World Sports Awards 

5 of the Century, being recognized by the Inter6 national Boxing Hall of Fame, and receiving hon7 orary doctorate degrees from Muhlenberg College 

8 and Western Kentucky University, as well as an 

9 honorary doctorate of humanities at Princeton Uni10 versity’s 260th graduation ceremony. 

11 (8) Muhammad Ali received the prestigious 

12 ‘‘Otto Hahn Peace Medal in Gold’’ from the United 

13 Nations Association of Germany for his work with 

14 the United Nations and the Civil Rights Movement 

15 in the United States. 

16 (9) Muhammad Ali was selected by the Cali17 fornia Bicentennial Foundation for the U.S. Con18 stitution for personifying the vitality of the Bill of 

19 Rights in various high-profile activities. 

20 (10) Despite having been diagnosed with Par21 kinson’s Syndrome in the early 1980s, Muhammad 

22 Ali dedicated his life to the cause of universal 

23 human rights and freedom. His commitment to 

24 equal justice and peace touched the lives of hundreds 

25 of thousands of people worldwide. 


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1 (11) President Jimmy Carter asked Muhammad 

2 Ali to meet with African leaders in Tanzania, Kenya, 

3 Nigeria, Liberia, and Senegal as part of President 

4 Carter’s diplomatic efforts on behalf of human rights 

5 in the 1980s. 

6 (12) In 1990, Muhammad Ali traveled to the 

7 Middle East to seek the release of American and 

8 British hostages that were being held as human 

9 shields in the first Gulf War. As a result of his 

10 intervention, 15 United States hostages were freed 

11 on December 2nd of that year. 

12 (13) In 1998, Muhammad Ali was chosen as 

13 the ‘‘U.N. Messenger of Peace’’. 

14 (14) Several Presidents of the United States 

15 recognized Muhammad Ali, including President 

16 George W. Bush who, on November 17, 2002, called 

17 him ‘‘a man of peace’’ and stated that ‘‘across the 

18 world, billions of people know Muhammad Ali as a 

19 brave, compassionate, and charming man, and the 

20 American people are proud to call Muhammad Ali 

21 one of our own’’, President Bill Clinton who stated 

22 that Muhammad Ali ‘‘captured the world’s imagina23 tion and its heart. Outside the ring, Muhammad Ali 

24 has dedicated his life to working for children, feed25 ing the hungry, supporting his faith, and standing 


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1 up for racial equality. He always fought for a just 

2 and more humane world, breaking down barriers 

3 here in America and around the world. There is no 

4 telling how many tens of millions of people had their 

5 hearts swell with pride and their eyes swell with 

6 tears in 1996 when Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic 

7 torch, because we know, now and forever, he is the 

8 greatest’’, President Jimmy Carter who cited Mu9 hammad Ali as ‘‘Mr. International Friendship’’, and 

10 President Barack Obama who, as a Senator, had a 

11 framed picture of Muhammad Ali hanging in his of12 fice, and before announcing his intentions to run for 

13 President, Obama visited with Muhammad Ali at the 

14 Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. 

15 (15) Muhammad Ali encouraged humanity 

16 through his perseverance and the support of thou17 sands of people. He helped such organizations as the 

18 Chicago-based adoption agency, The Cradle; the 

19 Make-A-Wish Foundation; the Special Olympics’ or20 ganization, Best Buddies; and Herbert E. Birch 

21 Services, an organization that runs a school for 

22 handicapped children and young adults, in addition 

23 to a summer camp for children with AIDS. 

24 (16) Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie were 

25 the founding directors of the Muhammad Ali ParVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:48 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1401.IH H1401

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1 kinson Center in Phoenix, Arizona, and helped raise 

2 over $50,000,000 for Parkinson’s research. The 

3 Center’s mission is to provide excellence in treat4 ment, research, and education for patients and fami5 lies affected by Parkinson’s disease and other move6 ment disorders, regardless of their ability to pay. 

7 (17) Muhammad Ali was an inspiration to 

8 countless individuals with Parkinson’s disease, in9 cluding members of the Rock Steady Boxing Foun10 dation in Indianapolis, Indiana, which was founded 

11 to give people with Parkinson’s disease hope by im12 proving their quality of life using boxing for fitness. 

13 (18) Muhammad Ali was one of the founding 

14 members of Athletes for Hope, an organization cre15 ated by a few very successful athletes of exemplary 

16 character who have a deep commitment to charitable 

17 and community causes. 

18 (19) Muhammad Ali also established the Mu19 hammad Ali Center in his hometown of Louisville, 

20 Kentucky, which promotes respect, hope, and under21 standing, and inspires people everywhere to be as 

22 great as they can be. A visitor of the Muhammad Ali 

23 Center experiences the ‘‘hows’’ of Ali’s life: How he 

24 found the courage, the dedication, and the discipline 

25 to become a world champion; how he found the conVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:48 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1401.IH H1401

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1 viction to stand up for what he believed; and how he 

2 turned his passion for excellence in the ring to a 

3 passion for peace on the world stage. 

4 (20) Like Muhammad Ali himself, the Muham5 mad Ali Center focuses on what brings individuals 

6 together, not what sets them apart, and is a ‘‘global 

7 gathering place’’ to which people can come, both on8 line and in person, to learn, share, and celebrate our 

9 commonalities as human beings and to formulate 

10 ways of advancing humanity. 

11 (21) Muhammad Ali helped to provide more 

12 than 22,000,000 aid packets to assist people in 

13 need, and until the last years of his life, he traveled, 

14 on average, more than 200 days per year for human15 itarian causes. 

16 (22) Muhammad Ali, known simply as ‘‘the 

17 greatest,’’ transcended the glamour and glory of 

18 being a sports champion to become not only one of 

19 the greatest sports figures, but one of the greatest 

20 role models of our time. 

21 (23) On June 3, 2016, Muhammad Ali died at 

22 the age of 74. 

23 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

24 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

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1 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

3 medal of appropriate design, to Muhammad Ali, in rec4 ognition of his contributions to the Nation. 

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

6 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

7 of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 

8 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em9 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 

10 Secretary. 

11 (c) TRANSFER OF MEDAL AFTER PRESENTATION.— 

12 Following the presentation of the gold medal in honor of 

13 Muhammad Ali under subsection (a), the gold medal shall 

14 be given to his wife, Lonnie Ali. 

15 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

16 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre17 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

18 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 at 

19 a price sufficient to cover the cost of the bronze medals 

20 (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 

21 overhead expenses) and the cost of the gold medal. 

22 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

23 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 

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

Æ 


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