II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 369 

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Giuseppe Garibaldi, 

and to Recognize the Republic of Italy on the 150th Anniversary of 

its Unification. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2011 

Mr. ENZI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to 

Giuseppe Garibaldi, and to Recognize the Republic of 

Italy on the 150th Anniversary of its Unification. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 The Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Giuseppe Garibaldi was born on July 4, 

6 1807, in Nice. 

7 (2) The Garibaldi family’s involvement in coast8 al trade drew him to a life at sea. He was certified 

9 in 1832 as a merchant marine captain. 


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1 (3) As a young man, Garibaldi joined the move2 ment of La Giovine Italia (‘‘Young Italy’’), which 

3 was founded by Giuseppe Mazzini, who was an im4 passioned proponent of Italian unification. 

5 (4) Garibaldi participated in various independ6 ence struggles throughout Central and South Amer7 ica. 

8 (5) Garibaldi came to the United States, where 

9 he applied for citizenship and began learning 

10 English. He lived for a time with inventor Antonio 

11 Meucci in his home in Staten Island, New York. 

12 (6) The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum is a place 

13 where Italian-American heritage and culture can be 

14 celebrated, as well as where the lives of Giuseppe 

15 Garibaldi and Antonio Meucci can be remembered. 

16 (7) The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum was listed on 

17 the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 

18 1980. 

19 (8) In 1854, Giuseppe Garibaldi left Staten Is20 land, New York, and returned to Italy as the com21 mander in the conflicts of the Risorgimento, to lead 

22 military forces that would provide for the unification 

23 of Italy. 

24 (9) The Risorgimento’s progress was eagerly 

25 followed in a United States ideologically opposed to 


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1 European dynastic ‘‘tyranny’’. The victory was 

2 viewed in this country as a powerful vindication of 

3 the right of the individual to political self-determina4 tion. 

5 (10) Giuseppe Garibaldi, who led Italy to unifi6 cation in 1861, was offered a command as Major 

7 General in the Union Army by President Abraham 

8 Lincoln. Garibaldi declined, but to honor him, the 

9 39th New York Infantry was known as ‘‘The Gari10 baldi Guard’’. Approximately 150 of its 850 men 

11 were Italian. It fought in the Union Army from Bull 

12 Run to Appomattox. 

13 (11) Garibaldi was an active freemason, and 

14 thought of masonry as a network to unite men as 

15 brothers, both within nations and as members of a 

16 global community. 

17 (12) Garibaldi spent the rest of his life in 

18 Caprera with his wife, Francesca Armosino, and 

19 their children and family members. He died on June 

20 2, 1882. 

21 (13) Giuseppe Garibaldi is one of the most sym22 bolic figures of the Republic of Italy and a national 

23 hero. Five Italian Navy ships have been named after 

24 him, including the Italian navy’s current flagship, 

25 the aircraft carrier ‘‘Giuseppe Garibaldi’’. 


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1 (14) On March 17, 2011, the Republic of Italy 

2 will officially celebrate Italy’s 150th Anniversary 

3 with a series of activities across the nation of Italy, 

4 in Washington, DC, and throughout the United 

5 States, to highlight the unique partnership between 

6 Italy and the United States. As long-time allies, both 

7 nations share a common set of values, historical ties, 

8 and cultural relations that span multiple centuries. 

9 (15) From the arts and sciences to political 

10 thinking and beyond, the lives and ideas of great 

11 men like Andrea Palladio and Thomas Jefferson, 

12 Benjamin Franklin, Antonio Meucci, Giuseppe Gari13 baldi, and Abraham Lincoln have inspired and en14 lightened one another. 

15 (16) Today, the legacy of immigrants is found 

16 throughout the United States in the millions of 

17 American men, women, and children of Italian de18 scent and the community organizations such as the 

19 National Italian American Foundation and others 

20 that serve to strengthen and enrich our country. 

21 (17) Upon arrival to a new home, the Italian 

22 American community faced racial, social, and reli23 gious discrimination. Yet, Italian Americans per24 severed with hope and hard work to reach the Amer25 ican dream, flourished in all areas of public and ecoVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:53 Feb 17, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S369.IS S369

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1 nomic life, and helped build our great country, while 

2 preserving their proud Italian traditions. As proud 

3 service members, they have also defended the liberty 

4 and integrity of the United States of America since 

5 the Revolutionary War, during both World Wars, the 

6 wars in Vietnam, Korea, and the Persian Gulf up 

7 until today’s current conflicts. 

8 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

9 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Speaker of the House of 

11 Representatives and the President pro tempore of 

12 the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for 

13 the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 

14 medal of appropriate design in recognition of the 

15 contributions of Giuseppe Garibaldi to the Nation. 

16 (2) DISPLAY OF MEDAL IN CAPITOL VISITOR

17 CENTER.—The Architect of the Capitol shall arrange 

18 for the gold medal presented under this subsection 

19 to be displayed in the Capitol Visitor Center, as part 

20 of an exhibit honoring Giuseppe Garibaldi. 

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

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

23 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec24 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 


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1 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec2 retary. 

3 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

4 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

5 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2, 

6 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

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

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

9 and the cost of the gold medal. 

10 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

11 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 

12 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

13 of title 31, United States Code. 

14 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

15 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

16 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

17 items. 

18 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

19 SALE. 

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

21 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

22 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec23 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 

24 to this Act. 


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

2 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

3 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

4 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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