110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 474

AN ACT

To award a congressional gold medal to Michael Ellis 

DeBakey, M.D.

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

2 The Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) Michael Ellis DeBakey, M.D., was born on 

4 September 7, 1908, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to 

5 Shaker and Raheeja DeBakey. 

6 (2) Dr. DeBakey, at the age of 23 and still a 

7 medical student, reported a major invention, a roller 

8 pump for blood transfusions, which later became a 

9 major component of the heart-lung machine used in 

10 the first successful open-heart operation. 

11 (3) Even though Dr. DeBakey had already 

12 achieved a national reputation as an authority on 

13 vascular disease and had a promising career as a 

14 surgeon and teacher, he volunteered for military 

15 service during World War II, joining the Surgeon 

16 General’s staff and rising to the rank of Colonel and 

17 Chief of the Surgical Consultants Division. 

18 (4) As a result of this first-hand knowledge of 

19 military service, Dr. DeBakey made numerous rec20 ommendations for the proper staged management of 

21 war wounds, which led to the development of mobile 

22 army surgical hospitals or ‘‘MASH’’ units, and 

23 earned Dr. DeBakey the Legion of Merit in 1945. 

24 (5) After the war, Dr. DeBakey proposed the 

25 systematic medical follow-up of veterans and rec26 ommended the creation of specialized medical cen-
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1 ters in different areas of the United States to treat 

2 wounded military personnel returning from war, and 

3 from this recommendation evolved the Veterans Af4 fairs Medical Center System and the establishment 

5 of the Commission on Veterans Medical Problems of 

6 the National Research Council. 

7 (6) In 1948, Dr. DeBakey joined the Baylor 

8 University College of Medicine, where he developed 

9 the first surgical residency program in the city of 

10 Houston, and today, guided by Dr. DeBakey’s vi11 sion, the College is one of the most respected health 

12 science centers in the Nation. 

13 (7) In 1953, Dr. DeBakey performed the first 

14 successful procedures to treat patients who suffered 

15 aneurysms leading to severe strokes, and he later de16 veloped a series of innovative surgical techniques for 

17 the treatment of aneurysms enabling thousands of 

18 lives to be saved in the years ahead. 

19 (8) In 1964, Dr. DeBakey triggered the most 

20 explosive era in modern cardiac surgery, when he 

21 performed the first successful coronary bypass, once 

22 again paving the way for surgeons worldwide to offer 

23 hope to thousands of patients who might otherwise 

24 succumb to heart disease. 
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1 (9) Two years later, Dr. DeBakey made med2 ical history again, when he was the first to success3 fully use a partial artificial heart to solve the prob4 lems of a patient who could not be weaned from a 

5 heart-lung machine following open-heart surgery. 

6 (10) In 1968, Dr. DeBakey supervised the first 

7 successful multi-organ transplant, in which a heart, 

8 both kidneys, and lung were transplanted from a 

9 single donor into 4 separate recipients. 

10 (11) In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson 

11 appointed Dr. DeBakey to the position of Chairman 

12 of the President’s Commission on Heart Disease, 

13 Cancer and Stroke, leading to the creation of Re14 gional Medical Programs established ‘‘to encourage 

15 and assist in the establishment of regional coopera16 tive arrangements among medical schools, research 

17 institutions, and hospitals, for research and train18 ing’’. 

19 (12) In the mid-1960s, Dr. DeBakey pioneered 

20 the field of telemedicine with the first demonstration 

21 of open-heart surgery to be transmitted overseas by 

22 satellite. 

23 (13) In 1969, Dr. DeBakey was elected the 

24 first President of Baylor College of Medicine. 
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1 (14) In 1969, President Lyndon B. Johnson be2 stowed on Dr. DeBakey the Presidential Medal of 

3 Freedom with Distinction, and in 1985, President 

4 Ronald Reagan conferred on him the National Medal 

5 of Science. 

6 (15) Working with NASA engineers, he refined 

7 existing technology to create the DeBakey Ventric8 ular Assist Device, one-tenth the size of current 

9 versions, which may eliminate the need for heart 

10 transplantation in some patients. 

11 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

12 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

13 the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem14 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

16 medal of appropriate design, to Michael Ellis DeBakey, 

17 M.D., in recognition of his many outstanding contribu18 tions to the Nation. 

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

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

21 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec22 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

23 devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec24 retary. 
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1 SEC. 3. 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. 4. 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 sections 

13 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

14 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

15 items. 

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

17 SALE. 

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

19 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

20 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec21 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 

22 to this Act. 

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

24 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 
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1 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

2 Enterprise Fund. 

Passed the Senate March 27, 2007. 

Attest:

Secretary. 
110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 474

AN ACT

To award a congressional gold medal to Michael 

Ellis DeBakey, M.D.