I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 709 

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

recognition of his contributions to the Nation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2023 

Mr. CARSON (for himself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BOWMAN, 

Ms. BUSH, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mrs. CHERFILUSMCCORMICK, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 

COSTA, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. 

EVANS, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

KEATING, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. 

MCGARVEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MFUME, Ms. MOORE of 

Wisconsin, Mr. MRVAN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. 

THANEDAR, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. TORRES of New York, 

Ms. TLAIB, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, and 

Ms. WILSON of Florida) 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Muhammad Ali Con3 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., on Janu7 ary 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, Muhammad 

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

9 Clay. 

10 (2) Muhammad Ali was one of the most cele11 brated athletes of the 20th century. He produced 

12 some of America’s greatest sports memories, from 

13 winning a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics 

14 to lighting the Olympic torch at the 1996 Summer 

15 Olympics. 

16 (3) After an impressive amateur career, during 

17 which he recorded 131 wins and only 7 losses and 

18 won 2 National AAU light heavyweight titles, Mu19 hammad Ali became the first professional boxer in 

20 history to capture the heavyweight title 3 separate 

21 times. 

22 (4) Muhammad Ali defeated every challenger he 

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

24 stripped of his boxing title and barred from com25 peting for being a conscientious objector to the war 

26 in Vietnam on religious and moral grounds. HowVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H709.IH H709

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1 ever, following a unanimous United States Supreme 

2 Court decision in 1971, Muhammad Ali’s conscien3 tious objector status was confirmed, his boxing li4 cense was reinstated, and he was cleared of any 

5 wrongdoing. 

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

7 lived in an era that continued to question his civil 

8 rights, Muhammad Ali battled issues of race and re9 ligion, and received recognition as one of the cham10 pions of the Civil Rights Movement in the United 

11 States. 

12 (6) Muhammad Ali was the recipient of many 

13 awards for his sporting prowess and his support of 

14 racial harmony, including the Dr. Martin Luther 

15 King Memorial Award, the Spirit of America Award, 

16 the Amnesty International Lifetime Achievement 

17 Award, the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Es18 sence Living Legend Award, the Rainbow Coalition 

19 Lifetime Achievement Award, the XNBA Human 

20 Spirit Award, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and 

21 the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

22 (7) Muhammad Ali was acknowledged by many 

23 organizations for his achievements both inside and 

24 outside the boxing ring, including being crowned 

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


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1 being named ‘‘Athlete of the Century’’ by GQ maga2 zine, being named ‘‘Sports Personality of the Cen3 tury’’ by the British Broadcasting Corporation, 

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

5 the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, being named 

6 ‘‘Kentuckian of the Century’’ by the State of Ken7 tucky, being named ‘‘Louisvillian of the Century’’ by 

8 the Advertising Club of Louisville, being named 

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

10 of the Century, being recognized by the Inter11 national Boxing Hall of Fame, and receiving hon12 orary doctorate degrees from Muhlenberg College 

13 and Western Kentucky University, as well as an 

14 honorary doctorate of humanities at Princeton Uni15 versity’s 260th graduation ceremony. 

16 (8) Muhammad Ali received the prestigious 

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

18 Nations Association of Germany for his work with 

19 the United Nations and the Civil Rights Movement 

20 in the United States. 

21 (9) Muhammad Ali was selected by the Cali22 fornia Bicentennial Foundation for the U.S. Con23 stitution for personifying the vitality of the Bill of 

24 Rights in various high-profile activities. 


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1 (10) Despite having been diagnosed with Par2 kinson’s Syndrome in the early 1980s, Muhammad 

3 Ali dedicated his life to the cause of universal 

4 human rights and freedom. His commitment to 

5 equal justice and peace touched the lives of hundreds 

6 of thousands of people worldwide. 

7 (11) President Jimmy Carter asked Muhammad 

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

9 Nigeria, Liberia, and Senegal as part of President 

10 Carter’s diplomatic efforts on behalf of human rights 

11 in the 1980s. 

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

13 Middle East to seek the release of American and 

14 British hostages that were being held as human 

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

16 intervention, 15 United States hostages were freed 

17 on December 2nd of that year. 

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

19 the ‘‘U.N. Messenger of Peace’’. 

20 (14) Several Presidents of the United States 

21 recognized Muhammad Ali, including President 

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

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

24 world, billions of people know Muhammad Ali as a 

25 brave, compassionate, and charming man, and the 


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1 American people are proud to call Muhammad Ali 

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

3 that Muhammad Ali ‘‘captured the world’s imagina4 tion and its heart. Outside the ring, Muhammad Ali 

5 has dedicated his life to working for children, feed6 ing the hungry, supporting his faith, and standing 

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

8 and more humane world, breaking down barriers 

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

10 telling how many tens of millions of people had their 

11 hearts swell with pride and their eyes swell with 

12 tears in 1996 when Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic 

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

14 greatest’’, President Jimmy Carter who cited Mu15 hammad Ali as ‘‘Mr. International Friendship’’, and 

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

17 framed picture of Muhammad Ali hanging in his of18 fice, and before announcing his intentions to run for 

19 President, Obama visited with Muhammad Ali at the 

20 Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. 

21 (15) Muhammad Ali encouraged humanity 

22 through his perseverance and the support of thou23 sands of people. He helped such organizations as the 

24 Chicago-based adoption agency, The Cradle; the 

25 Make-A-Wish Foundation; the Special Olympics’ orVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Feb 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H709.IH H709

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1 ganization, Best Buddies; and Herbert E. Birch 

2 Services, an organization that runs a school for 

3 handicapped children and young adults, in addition 

4 to a summer camp for children with AIDS. 

5 (16) Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie were 

6 the founding directors of the Muhammad Ali Par7 kinson Center in Phoenix, Arizona, and helped raise 

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

9 Center’s mission is to provide excellence in treat10 ment, research, and education for patients and fami11 lies affected by Parkinson’s disease and other move12 ment disorders, regardless of their ability to pay. 

13 (17) Muhammad Ali was an inspiration to 

14 countless individuals with Parkinson’s disease, in15 cluding members of the Rock Steady Boxing Foun16 dation in Indianapolis, Indiana, which was founded 

17 to give people with Parkinson’s disease hope by im18 proving their quality of life using boxing for fitness. 

19 (18) Muhammad Ali was one of the founding 

20 members of Athletes for Hope, an organization cre21 ated by a few very successful athletes of exemplary 

22 character who have a deep commitment to charitable 

23 and community causes. 

24 (19) Muhammad Ali also established the Mu25 hammad Ali Center in his hometown of Louisville, 


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1 Kentucky, which promotes respect, hope, and under2 standing, and inspires people everywhere to be as 

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

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

5 found the courage, the dedication, and the discipline 

6 to become a world champion; how he found the con7 viction to stand up for what he believed; and how he 

8 turned his passion for excellence in the ring to a 

9 passion for peace on the world stage. 

10 (20) Like Muhammad Ali himself, the Muham11 mad Ali Center focuses on what brings individuals 

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

13 gathering place’’ to which people can come, both on14 line and in person, to learn, share, and celebrate our 

15 commonalities as human beings and to formulate 

16 ways of advancing humanity. 

17 (21) Muhammad Ali helped to provide more 

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

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

20 on average, more than 200 days per year for human21 itarian causes. 

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

23 greatest,’’ transcended the glamour and glory of 

24 being a sports champion to become not only one of 


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1 the greatest sports figures, but one of the greatest 

2 role models of our time. 

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

4 the age of 74. 

5 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

6 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

7 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem8 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

10 medal of appropriate design, to Muhammad Ali, in rec11 ognition of his contributions to the Nation. 

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

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

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

15 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em16 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 

17 Secretary. 

18 (c) TRANSFER OF MEDAL AFTER PRESENTATION.— 

19 Following the presentation of the gold medal in honor of 

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

21 be given to his wife, Lonnie Ali. 

22 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

23 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre24 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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


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1 a price sufficient to cover the cost of the bronze medals, 

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

3 overhead expenses. 

4 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

5 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 

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

7 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

8 SALE. 

9 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

10 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

11 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec12 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

13 this Act. 

14 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

15 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

16 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

17 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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