I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 149

To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Celia Cruz. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2005

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced the 

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

A BILL

To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Celia 

Cruz.

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 ‘‘Congressional Tribute 

5 to Celia Cruz Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alonso was raised 

9 as one of 14 children in the Santa Suarez district 

10 of Havana, Cuba. 
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1 (2) In 1960, Cruz and members of her band 

2 fled Cuba for the United States to escape the op3 pressive regime of Fidel Castro. 

4 (3) Celia Cruz and Pedro Knight, her husband 

5 of 40 years, chose to make America their permanent 

6 home, where she became a naturalized American cit7 izen. 

8 (4) While best known for her work as an enter9 tainer, Celia Cruz influenced the lives of millions of 

10 people as an ambassador of Latino culture and a 

11 powerful voice of freedom. 

12 (5) Over a prolific 50-year career as an enter13 tainer, Celia Cruz became known as the ‘‘Queen of 

14 Salsa’’. 

15 (6) She recorded over 50 albums, and her col16 laborative efforts with other performers helped break 

17 down ethnic and cultural barriers. 

18 (7) The musical talent of Celia Cruz earned her 

19 hundreds of awards worldwide, most notably a 1990 

20 Grammy Award and Billboard Magazine’s ‘‘Lifetime 

21 Achievement Award’’ in 1995. 

22 (8) In 1994, Cruz was recognized by President 

23 Clinton with the National Endowment of the Arts 

24 Award. 
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1 (9) On July 17, 2003, ‘‘Celia Cruz’’, as she was 

2 more commonly known, passed away at her Fort 

3 Lee, New Jersey, home after battling brain cancer. 

4 (10) Celia Cruz was much more than just a 

5 singer to millions of fans worldwide, especially to 

6 Latinos in America, and her contributions to music, 

7 Latino culture, and American society make her most 

8 deserving of America’s highest civilian award, the 

9 Congressional Gold Medal. 

10 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

11 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

12 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem13 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

14 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of the Con15 gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo16 ration of Celia Cruz, in recognition of her enduring con17 tributions to music, Latino culture, and American society. 

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

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

20 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec21 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

22 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec23 retary. 
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1 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

2 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

3 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

4 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

5 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

6 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

7 and the cost of the gold medal. 

8 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

9 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu10 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

11 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

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

13 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

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

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

16 SALE. 

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

18 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

19 Public Enterprise Fund, such amounts as may be nec20 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 

21 to this Act. 

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

23 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

24 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

25 Enterprise Fund.

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