I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5627 

To award the congressional gold medal to Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, in recognition of his courageous and unwavering commitment to democracy and 

human rights in Cuba. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 13, 2008 

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida (for himself, Mr. SIRES, Ms. ROSLEHTINEN, Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award the congressional gold medal to Dr. Oscar Elias 

Biscet, in recognition of his courageous and unwavering 

commitment to democracy and human rights in Cuba. 

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 as follows: 

5 (1) Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet was born on July 

6 20, 1961 in Havana, Cuba. 

7 (2) Dr. Biscet is married to fellow pro-democ8 racy leader, Elsa Morejo ́n Hernandez. 


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1 (3) Dr. Biscet is currently serving a 25-year 

2 prison sentence for allegedly committing crimes 

3 against the Cuban regime. 

4 (4) In 1997, Dr. Biscet founded the Lawton 

5 Foundation for Human Rights to promote the study 

6 and defense of human rights and to denounce 

7 human rights violations inside Cuba and wherever 

8 else they are violated. 

9 (5) Dr. Biscet denounced the double standards 

10 and discrimination against the Cuban people of the 

11 Cuban National Health Care System, and as a re12 sult he was forbidden from practicing medicine. 

13 (6) On November 3, 1999, Dr. Biscet was im14 prisoned for 3 years for organizing a peaceful pro15 democracy protest. 

16 (7) Once released in 2002, and unable to prac17 tice medicine, Dr. Biscet organized seminars on the 

18 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

19 (8) On December 6, 2002, on his way to one 

20 such meeting, he and several of the seminar’s par21 ticipants were beaten and arrested. 

22 (9) On April 7, 2003, Dr. Biscet was sentenced 

23 to 25 years in prison and sent to the Kilo Cinco y 

24 Medio prison, in Pinar Del Rio province, and he has 


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1 subsequently been incarcerated in multiple prisons of 

2 the Cuban dictatorship. 

3 (10) Dr. Biscet has declared himself a 

4 ‘‘plantado’’, a political prisoner who refuses to un5 dertake ideological ‘‘reeducation’’ or wear a common 

6 prisoner’s uniform, and he remains in Cuba’s polit7 ical gulag. 

8 (11) On November 5, 2007, President Bush 

9 recognized Dr. Biscet, presenting him (in absentia) 

10 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, stating that 

11 ‘‘Dr. Biscet is a champion in the fight against tyr12 anny and oppression. Despite being persecuted and 

13 imprisoned for his beliefs, he continues to advocate 

14 for a free Cuba in which the rights of all people are 

15 respected.’’. 

16 (12) Dr. Biscet is a follower of the teachings of 

17 Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. and 

18 continues to work each day from his jail cell to bring 

19 democracy and the rule of law to Cuba. 

20 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

21 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

22 the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem23 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

25 medal of appropriate design, to Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet in 


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1 recognition of his courageous and unwavering commitment 

2 to democracy and human rights in Cuba. 

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

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

5 of the Treasury (hereafter referred to in this Act as the 

6 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em7 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 

8 Secretary. 

9 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

10 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

11 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

12 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

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

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

15 and the cost of the gold medal. 

16 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

17 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu18 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

19 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

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

21 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

22 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

23 items. 


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

2 SALE. 

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

4 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

5 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec6 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 

7 to this Act. 

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

9 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

10 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

11 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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