I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1821

To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the Congress

to Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. in recognition of his outstanding and enduring

contributions to the Nation.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 14, 1999

Mr. RANGEL (for himself, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. FROST, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr.

BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms. CARSON, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. OLVER, Mr. ROEMER, Mr. JACKSON of

Illinios, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island,

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. PHELPS, Mrs. CLAYTON, Ms. WATERS, Mr.

CUMMINGS, Mr. DIXON, Mr. FORD, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr.

TOWNS, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. OWENS, and Ms. BROWN of Florida)

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on

Banking and Financial Services

A BILL

To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf

of the Congress to Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. in recognition

of his outstanding and enduring 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,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. was born on Octo2 ber 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina.

3 (2) In 1965 Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. joined the

4 civil rights movement full-time, beginning his activ5 ism as a student leader in the sit-in movement and

6 continuing as a young organizer for the Southern

7 Christian Leadership Conference as an assistant to

8 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

9 (3) On June 30, 1968, Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

10 became an ordained minister, having attended the

11 Chicago Theological Seminary.

12 (4) Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. served as the national

13 director for Operation Breadbasket and, in 1971 in

14 Chicago, Illinois, founded People United to Save Hu15 manity, known as PUSH.

16 (5) In 1984 Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. founded the

17 National Rainbow Coalition, a national social justice

18 organization devoted to political empowerment and

19 to expanding educational and employment opportuni20 ties for disadvantaged people and for communities of

21 color.

22 (6) In 1996 Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. merged the

23 National Rainbow Coalition and PUSH to continue

24 the philosophies of both organizations and to maxi25 mize their resources.
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1 (7) Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. is, and has been for

2 more than 30 years, one of the foremost political fig3 ures in the United States, playing a pivotal role in

4 virtually every movement for human rights, civil

5 rights, peace, gender equality, empowerment, and

6 economic and social justice.

7 (8) Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. has been and con8 tinues to be counted on to serve as a champion and

9 spokesman for a segment of the population whose

10 voices all too often are not heard.

11 (9) Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. has been called the

12 ‘‘conscience of the Nation’’ and the ‘‘great unifier’’,

13 challenging the United States to establish just and

14 humane priorities.

15 (10) Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. has led a myriad of

16 successful delegations, marches, and missions for

17 justice, peace, and reconciliation.

18 (11) Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. is a highly respected

19 world leader who has acted on many occasions as an

20 international diplomat.

21 (12) In 1984 Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. secured the

22 release of a captured Navy pilot, Lieutenant Robert

23 Goodman, who was shot down over Lebanon. He

24 also negotiated the release of 22 Americans and 26

25 Cubans in Cuba during 1984.
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1 (13) In 1990 Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. won the re2 lease of hundreds of foreign nationals, including 47

3 Americans, being held in Iraq and Kuwait by Sad4 dam Hussein.

5 (14) In October 1997 Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

6 was appointed by President William Jefferson Clin7 ton and by Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright

8 as the Special Envoy of the President and the Sec9 retary of State for the Promotion of Democracy in

10 Africa.

11 (15) On May 2, 1999, Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

12 obtained the negotiated release of Army Specialist

13 Steven M. Gonzales and Staff Sergeants Christopher

14 J. Stone and Andrew Ramirez, 3 United States sol15 diers who had spent 32 days in captivity in Yugo16 slavia as prisoners of war and hostages.

17 (16) Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. has dedicated his

18 life to the principles of freedom, peace, justice, inter19 national good will, and the struggle for civil rights

20 and equality for Americans and for all peoples, at

21 home and abroad.

22 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

23 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is

24 authorized to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold

25 medal of appropriate design to Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. in
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1 recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions

2 to the Nation.

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

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

5 of the Treasury shall strike a gold medal with suitable em6 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the

7 Secretary.

8 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.—Effective

9 February 1, 1999, there are authorized to be appropriated

10 $30,000 to carry out this section.

11 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

12 (a) STRIKING AND SALE.—The Secretary of the

13 Treasury may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the

14 gold medal struck under section 2 under such regulations

15 as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient to

16 cover the cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use

17 of machinery, and overhead expenses, and the cost of the

18 gold medal.

19 (b) REIMBURSEMENT OF APPROPRIATION.—The ap20 propriation used to carry out section 2 shall be reimbursed

21 out of the proceeds of sales under subsection (a).

22 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

23 The medals struck under this Act are national medals

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

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