I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1027 

To provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf of Congress posthumously 

to Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., beloved Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York who passed away as the first recorded victim of 

the September 11, 2001, attacks in recognition of his example to the 

Nation of selfless dedication to duty and compassion for one’s fellow 

citizens. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2011 

Mr. WEINER (for himself, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. 

CROWLEY, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. 

KING of New York, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs. MALONEY, Mrs. MCCARTHY of 

New York, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. NADLER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. 

SERRANO, Mr. TONKO, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. HAYWORTH, Mr. GIBSON, 

Mr. GRIMM, Mr. HANNA, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Ms. CLARKE

of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf of 

Congress posthumously to Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., 

beloved Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York 

who passed away as the first recorded victim of the 

September 11, 2001, attacks in recognition of his example to the Nation of selfless dedication to duty and 

compassion for one’s fellow citizens. 


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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 ‘‘Father Mychal Judge, 

5 O.F.M., Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., beloved 

9 Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York 

10 passed away as the first recorded victim of the Sep11 tember 11, 2001, after courageously rushing to the 

12 World Trade Center to support, console, and admin13 ister last rites to the victims of the attacks. 

14 (2) A native of Brooklyn, New York, Judge was 

15 born on May 11, 1933, to Irish Catholic immigrants 

16 from County Leitrim. 

17 (3) After his father died of a long illness when 

18 Judge was 6 years old, Judge took odd jobs and 

19 shined shoes at Penn Station to help support his 

20 mother and 2 sisters. 

21 (4) Responding to his strong spiritual calling, 

22 Judge entered the Franciscans in 1954. 

23 (5) He trained at 4 seminaries in New York, 

24 New Jersey, New Hampshire, and the District of 


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1 Columbia and was ordained a Priest of the Francis2 can Order of Friars Minor in 1961. 

3 (6) From 1961 to 1986, Father Judge served 

4 at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Boston, Massachusetts, 

5 St. Joseph’s in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sa6 cred Heart in Rochelle Park, New Jersey, Siena Col7 lege in Loudonville, New York, and as pastor at St. 

8 Joseph’s in West Milford, New Jersey. 

9 (7) In 1986, Father Judge was assigned to the 

10 Monastery of St. Francis of Assisi Church on West 

11 31st Street, New York, where he served until his 

12 death in 2001. 

13 (8) Known for his tremendous capacity for com14 passion, Judge was beloved by the firefighters and 

15 by the city he served. 

16 (9) Judge would daily send notes or make tele17 phone calls to recognize birthdays, anniversaries, 

18 and other significant dates in the lives of the people 

19 he knew. 

20 (10) In 1994, Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., 

21 was named as one of the chaplains for the New York 

22 Fire Department serving the boroughs of Manhat23 tan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. 

24 (11) Father Judge was also well known for 

25 ministering to those often alienated by the Church, 


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1 including the homeless, immigrants, recovering alco2 holics, gays and lesbians, and people with AIDS. 

3 (12) In the early 1980s, Judge was also one of 

4 the first clergymen to minister to gay men with 

5 AIDS, their partners, and their families. 

6 (13) Father Mychal Judge’s funeral was held 

7 on September 15, 2001. 

8 (14) Cardinal Edward Egan presided over a 

9 Mass of 3,000 people, including city officials, Presi10 dent Bill Clinton, and Secretary Hillary Clinton, 

11 who called Judge a ‘‘bearer of light’’ and noted his 

12 death as a special loss. 

13 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

14 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

15 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem16 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

18 medal of appropriate design to the next of kin or personal 

19 representative of Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., in rec20 ognition of his example to the Nation of selfless dedication 

21 to duty and compassion for one’s fellow citizens. 

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

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

24 of the Treasury shall strike a gold medal with suitable emVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:24 Mar 12, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1027.IH H1027

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1 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 

2 Secretary. 

3 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

4 Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treas5 ury may prescribe, the Secretary may strike duplicate 

6 medals in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to 

7 section 2 and sell such duplicate medals at a price suffi8 cient to cover the costs of the duplicate medals (including 

9 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex10 penses) and the cost of the gold medal. 

11 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

12 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 

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

14 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF CHARGES.—There is author16 ized to be charged against the United States Mint Public 

17 Enterprise Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay 

18 for the cost of the medals authorized by this Act. 

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

20 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 

21 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

22 Fund. 

Æ 


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