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106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2076

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

to John Cardinal O’Connor, Archbishop of New York, in recognition

of his accomplishments as a priest, a chaplain, and a humanitarian.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 22, 2000

Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. SPECTER,

Mr. BAYH, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. LANDRIEU, and Mr. STEVENS) 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 John Cardinal O’Connor, Archbishop

of New York, in recognition of his accomplishments as

a priest, a chaplain, and a humanitarian.

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) His Eminence John Cardinal O’Connor is a

6 man of deep compassion, great intellect, and tireless
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1 devotion to both spiritual guidance and humani2 tarianism.

3 (2) John Joseph O’Connor was born on Janu4 ary 15, 1920, in southwest Philadelphia, the son of

5 Thomas J. O’Connor and Mary Gomple O’Connor.

6 (3) John Cardinal O’Connor joined the Navy

7 Chaplains Corps in June 1952 during the Korean

8 Conflict, served with elements of both the Navy and

9 the Marine Corps, and saw combat action in Viet10 nam. He later served as chaplain of the United

11 States Naval Academy and was appointed as Chief

12 of Chaplains of the Navy with the grade of rear ad13 miral, from which position he retired four years

14 later, in May 1979. On May 27, 1979, he was or15 dained a bishop by Pope John Paul II. He then

16 served as Vicar General of the Military Ordinariate

17 (now the Archdiocese for the Military Services) until

18 1984.

19 (4) John Cardinal O’Connor became Bishop of

20 Scranton, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1983, was

21 named Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of

22 New York on January 31, 1984, and was elevated

23 to the rank of Cardinal by Pope John Paul II on

24 May 25, 1985.
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1 (5) John Cardinal O’Connor has demonstrated

2 an unwavering commitment to public and parochial

3 school education. He has supported and strength4 ened Catholic schools in their mission to provide a

5 quality education to students of all races, ethnic

6 backgrounds, and religions in the Archdiocese of

7 New York and throughout the Nation.

8 (6) John Cardinal O’Connor has provided com9 fort and care to the sick, the elderly, and the dis10 abled and provided millions of people with spiritual

11 and emotional support. He led the effort to open

12 New York State’s first AIDS-only unit at St.

13 Claire’s Hospital, remaining a frequent visitor and

14 volunteer at the hospital.

15 (7) Throughout his life, John Cardinal O’Con16 nor has also served on behalf of the poor and the op17 pressed, as exemplified by his assistance on behalf of

18 famine victims in Ethiopia and victims in war-torn

19 Bosnia-Herzegovina.

20 (8) Throughout his career, John Cardinal

21 O’Connor has been a strong advocate of interfaith

22 healing and understanding, particularly among indi23 viduals of the Catholic and Jewish faiths, and has

24 played a significant role in helping to establish diplo25 matic ties between the Vatican and Israel.
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1 (9) John Cardinal O’Connor took the inspiring

2 words of the Declaration of Independence—‘‘Life,

3 Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’’—and trans4 formed them into a statement of purpose. He has

5 dedicated his life’s work to protecting and defending

6 these inalienable rights of all people.

7 (10) John Cardinal O’Connor celebrated his

8 80th birthday on January 15, 2000, and has dis9 played remarkable courage and the true power of his

10 faith in carrying on his life’s work in the face of life11 threatening illness.

12 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

13 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is

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

15 medal of appropriate design to John Cardinal O’Connor,

16 Archbishop of New York, in recognition of his accomplish17 ments as a priest, a soldier, and a humanitarian.

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

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

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

21 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em22 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the

23 Secretary.
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1 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

2 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre3 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in

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

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

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

7 the cost of the gold medal.

8 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

9 The medals struck under this Act are national medals

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

11 SEC. 5. FUNDING AND PROCEEDS OF SALE.

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

13 be charged against the United States Mint Public Enter14 prise Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for

15 the cost of the medals authorized by this Act.

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

17 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be

18 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise

19 Fund.

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