II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 35 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Officer Eugene Goodman. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 22, 2021 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. COONS, Mr. BROWN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. 

TILLIS, Mr. CASEY, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. PETERS, Mr. MORAN, Mr. BOOZMAN, 

Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. ROMNEY, Mrs. FISCHER, 

Mr. LANKFORD, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. TESTER, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. WARREN, Mr. REED, Ms. STABENOW, 

Mr. LEAHY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. ROSEN, and Mr. 

LUJA ́N) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Officer Eugene 

Goodman. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Officer Eugene Good5 man Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) On January 6, 2021, the United States 

2 Capitol Building was attacked by armed insurrec3 tionists. 

4 (2) Members of the United States Capitol Po5 lice force were quickly overrun, enabling insurrec6 tionists to breach the Capitol at multiple points. 

7 (3) Around 2:14 in the afternoon, United 

8 States Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman con9 fronted an angry group of insurrectionists who un10 lawfully entered the Capitol, according to video foot11 age taken by Igor Bobic, a reporter with the Huff12 ington Post. 

13 (4) Officer Goodman, alone, delayed the mob’s 

14 advance towards the United States Senate Chamber 

15 and announced the location of the incursion. 

16 (5) Upon reaching a second floor corridor, Offi17 cer Goodman noticed the entrance to the Senate 

18 Chamber was unguarded. 

19 (6) As the mob approached, Officer Goodman 

20 intentionally diverted attention away from the Sen21 ate entrance and led the mob to an alternate loca22 tion and additional awaiting officers. 

23 (7) At 2:15 in the afternoon, a Washington 

24 Post reporter from inside the Senate Chamber noted 


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1 ‘‘Senate sealed’’ with Senators, staff, and members 

2 of the press inside. 

3 (8) Officer Eugene Goodman’s selfless and 

4 quick-thinking actions doubtlessly saved lives and 

5 bought security personnel precious time to secure 

6 and ultimately evacuate the Senate before the armed 

7 mob breached the Chamber. 

8 (9) Amidst a shocking, unpatriotic attack on 

9 the Capitol, Officer Goodman’s heroism is recognized 

10 not only from Members of Congress and staff but 

11 also from the American people they represent. 

12 (10) By putting his own life on the line and 

13 successfully, single-handedly leading insurrectionists 

14 away from the floor of the Senate Chamber, Officer 

15 Eugene Goodman performed his duty to protect the 

16 Congress with distinction, and by his actions, Officer 

17 Goodman left an indelible mark on American his18 tory. 

19 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

20 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

21 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem22 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

24 medal of appropriate design to Officer Eugene Goodman. 


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

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

3 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec4 retary’’) shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, 

5 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec6 retary. 

7 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

8 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

9 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 

10 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

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

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

13 and the cost of the gold medal. 

14 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

15 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu16 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

17 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

18 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

19 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

20 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

Æ 


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