II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2060

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

to Charles M. Schulz in recognition of his lasting artistic contributions

to the Nation and the world, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 10, 2000

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BAUCUS, and

Mr. HELMS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

A BILL

To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf

of the Congress to Charles M. Schulz in recognition

of his lasting artistic contributions to the Nation and

the world, and for other purposes.

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) Charles M. Schulz was born on November

6 26, 1922, in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Carl

7 and Dena Schulz.
2

•S 2060 IS

1 (2) Charles M. Schulz served his country in

2 World War II, working his way up from infantryman

3 to staff sergeant and eventually leading a machine

4 gun squad. He kept morale high by decorating fellow

5 soldiers’ letters home with cartoons of barracks life.

6 (3) After returning from the war, Charles M.

7 Schulz returned to his love for illustration, and took

8 a job with ‘‘Timeless Topix’’. He also took a second

9 job as an art instructor. Eventually his hard work

10 paid off when the Saturday Evening Post began pur11 chasing a number of his single comic panels.

12 (4) It was in his first weekly comic strip, ‘‘L’il

13 Folks’’, that Charlie Brown was born. That comic

14 strip, which was eventually renamed ‘‘Peanuts’’, be15 came the sole focus of Charles M. Schulz’s career.

16 (5) Charles M. Schulz has drawn every frame

17 of his strip, which runs seven days a week, since it

18 was created in October 1950. This is rare dedication

19 in the field of comic illustration.

20 (6) The ‘‘Peanuts’’ comic strip appears in

21 2,600 newspapers around the world, and reaches ap22 proximately 335 million readers every day in 20 dif23 ferent languages. Because of this, Charles M. Schulz

24 is the most successful comic illustrator in the world.
3

•S 2060 IS

1 (7) Charles M. Schulz’s television special, ‘‘A

2 Charlie Brown Christmas’’, has run for 34 consecu3 tive years. In all, more than 60 animated specials

4 have been created based on ‘‘Peanuts’’ characters.

5 Four feature films, 1,400 books, and a hit Broadway

6 musical about the ‘‘Peanuts’’ characters have also

7 been produced.

8 (8) Charles M. Schulz is a leader in the field

9 of comic illustration and in his community. He has

10 paved the way for other artists in this field over the

11 last 50 years and continues to be praised for his out12 standing achievements.

13 (9) Charles M. Schulz has given back to his

14 community in many ways, including owning and op15 erating Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa Rosa,

16 California. The arena has become a favorite gath17 ering spot for people of all ages. Charles M. Schulz

18 finances a yearly ice show that draws crowds from

19 all over the San Francisco Bay Area.

20 (10) Charles M. Schulz has given the Nation a

21 unique sense of optimism, purpose, and pride.

22 Whether through the Great Pumpkin Patch, the

23 Kite Eating Tree, Lucy’s Psychiatric Help Stand, or

24 Snoopy’s adventures with the Red Baron, ‘‘Peanuts’’
4

•S 2060 IS

1 has embodied human vulnerabilities, emotions, and

2 potential.

3 (11) Charles M. Schulz’s lifetime of work has

4 linked generations of Americans and has become a

5 part of the fabric of our national culture.

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

7 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is

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

9 medal of appropriate design to Charles M. Schulz in rec10 ognition of his lasting artistic contributions to the Nation

11 and the world.

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

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

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

15 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em16 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the

17 Secretary.

18 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

19 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre20 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in

21 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 2 at a price

22 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor,

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

24 the cost of the gold medal.
5

•S 2060 IS

1 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

2 The medals struck under this Act are national medals

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

4 SEC. 5. FUNDING AND PROCEEDS OF SALE.

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—There is hereby authorized to

6 be charged against the United States Mint Public Enter7 prise Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for

8 the cost of the medals authorized by this Act.

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

10 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be

11 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise

12 Fund.

Æ