I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5561 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to former United States Senator 

Max Cleland. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 22, 2016 

Mr. BISHOP of Georgia (for himself, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, Mr. JOHNSON

of Georgia, Mr. WOODALL, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. CARTER

of Georgia, and Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to former United 

States Senator Max Cleland. 

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 ‘‘Max Cleland Congres5 sional Gold Medal Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Joseph Maxwell ‘‘Max’’ Cleland has dem9 onstrated the highest degree of professionalism and 


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1 has served as an inspiration to friends, family, vet2 erans, and many others while dedicating his life to 

3 the public service of the United States. 

4 (2) Max Cleland began his career in public serv5 ice when he joined the Reserve Officers’ Training 

6 Corps as a young college student, went on active 

7 duty in the United States Army (in this section re8 ferred to as the ‘‘Army’’) in 1965 as a Second Lieu9 tenant, and volunteered for service in Vietnam, ris10 ing to the rank of Captain. 

11 (3) The Army recognized Max Cleland with a 

12 Silver Star for his gallantry in action during the 

13 Battle of Khe Sanh in April of 1968. According to 

14 the letter of commendation from the Army, ‘‘The 

15 President of the United States of America, author16 ized by Act of Congress, July 8, 1918 (amended by 

17 Act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting 

18 the Silver Star to Captain (Signal Corps) Joseph 

19 Maxwell Cleland, United States Army, for gallantry 

20 in action while engaged in military operations involv21 ing conflict with an armed hostile force in the Re22 public of Vietnam.’’. 

23 (4) Max Cleland, a Battalion Signal Officer dis24 patched to set up a radio relay antenna, was severely 

25 wounded on the battlefield and, as a result, lost both 


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1 of his legs and his right arm. Cleland would endure 

2 18 months of extremely difficult rehabilitation and 

3 recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and 

4 hospitals of the Department of Veterans Affairs (in 

5 this section referred to as ‘‘VA hospitals’’) in Wash6 ington, DC. In 1969, Cleland testified before the 

7 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate on the 

8 hardships faced by veterans returning home from 

9 war. 

10 (5) Upon returning to Georgia, Max Cleland 

11 was determined to continue his public service and, in 

12 1970, at the age of 28, was elected as the youngest 

13 Georgia State senator and helped pass legislation to 

14 make public facilities accessible for veterans, older 

15 people, and individuals with disabilities. 

16 (6) Max Cleland later came to Washington, DC 

17 and joined the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Af18 fairs as a professional staff member, investigating 

19 VA hospitals across the country and the treatment 

20 of servicemembers returning from Vietnam. 

21 (7) In 1977, President Jimmy Carter named 

22 Max Cleland, then just 34 years old, the youngest 

23 ever individual and first Vietnam veteran to serve as 

24 Administrator of the Veterans Administration. As 

25 Administrator, Cleland helped create the ‘‘Vet CenVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jun 25, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5561.IH H5561

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1 ter’’ counseling program, which later expanded to 

2 300 facilities nationwide helping veterans and their 

3 families receive psychological care for post-traumatic 

4 stress disorders and other problems associated with 

5 warfare. 

6 (8) Following his term as Administrator of the 

7 Veterans Administration, Max Cleland returned to 

8 elective office in 1982 when he was elected as Sec9 retary of State of the State of Georgia. As Secretary 

10 of State, Cleland implemented the National Voter 

11 Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) 

12 in Georgia and added almost 1,000,000 new voters 

13 to the rolls. 

14 (9) Max Cleland was elected to the United 

15 States Senate in 1996 and would go on to chair the 

16 Subcommittee on Personnel of the Committee on 

17 Armed Services of the Senate. In the Senate, 

18 Cleland was known for his work in expanding bene19 fits for servicemembers and in improving veterans’ 

20 health care, education, and the environment. 

21 (10) After his service in the Senate, Max 

22 Cleland continued his distinguished career in public 

23 service by becoming a commissioner on the National 

24 Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United 

25 States (commonly referred to as the ‘‘9/11 CommisVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jun 25, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5561.IH H5561

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1 sion’’) and later as a member of the Board of Direc2 tors of the Export-Import Bank of the United 

3 States. 

4 (11) In 2009, President Barack Obama named 

5 Max Cleland Secretary of the American Battle 

6 Monuments Commission. As Secretary of the Com7 mission, Cleland is charged with commemorating 

8 both the permanent cemeteries of the United States 

9 located in foreign countries and the military memo10 rials, monuments, and markers demonstrating where 

11 members of the United States Armed Forces have 

12 served overseas since World War I. 

13 (12) In 2010, President Obama again called on 

14 Max Cleland to serve his country and Cleland again 

15 accepted. This time, Cleland agreed to serve as co16 chair, and eventually the inaugural chair, of the Ad17 visory Committee on Arlington National Cemetery, 

18 which was established to help fix the problems facing 

19 the final resting place for many of the heroes of the 

20 United States. After his tenure as chair, Cleland was 

21 awarded the Decoration for Distinguished Civilian 

22 Service of the Army, the highest honorary award 

23 that the Secretary of the Army can confer on a civil24 ian. 


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1 (13) After overcoming some of the most dif2 ficult challenges imaginable, Max Cleland has spent 

3 almost five decades of his life in service to the 

4 United States and the country is forever indebted to 

5 his service. 

6 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

7 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

8 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem9 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

11 medal of appropriate design to Joseph Maxwell ‘‘Max’’ 

12 Cleland. 

13 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 

14 presentation described in subsection (a), the Secretary of 

15 the Treasury (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

16 shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, 

17 and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. 

18 (c) DUPLICATE MEDALS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Under such regulations as 

20 the Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may 

21 strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal 

22 struck under this Act at a price sufficient to cover 

23 the costs of the medals, including labor, materials, 

24 dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 


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1 (2) SALE OF DUPLICATE MEDALS.—The 

2 amounts received from the sale of duplicate medals 

3 under paragraph (1) shall be deposited in the United 

4 States Mint Public Enterprise Fund. 

5 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

6 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck under this 

7 Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 

8 31, United States Code. 

9 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

10 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

11 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

Æ 


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