I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3765

To award a congressional gold medal to the late James Cagney.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 9, 1996

Mr. KING introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Banking and Financial Services

A BILL

To award a congressional gold medal to the late James

Cagney.

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 Congress finds the following:

5 (1) James Cagney was one of the most talented

6 and popular stars of the American screen, exemplify7 ing in the characters he portrayed the indomitable

8 spirit and deep patriotism of all Americans in gen9 eral, and New Yorkers in particular.

10 (2) James Cagney’s film career had numerous

11 highlights—‘‘Angels With Dirty Faces’’, ‘‘Each
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1 Dawn I Die’’, ‘‘The Fighting 69th’’, ‘‘Public

2 Enemy’’, and ‘‘White Heat’’—topped by his Acad3 emy Award winning performance as George M.

4 Cohan in ‘‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’’.

5 (3) During the Second World War, James Cag6 ney devoted a great deal of his considerable talent

7 and energy in support of the war effort by volunteer8 ing for the USO and by serving as president of the

9 Screen Actors Guild and as chairman of the Holly10 wood Victory Committee.

11 (4) James Cagney coordinated the appearances

12 of more than 25,000 of his fellow Hollywood stars

13 and joined them in USO tours to entertain Amer14 ican servicemen and women both in the United

15 States and abroad, including tours at military bases

16 in England where he performed up to 12 shows a

17 day in spite of the possibility of German air raids.

18 (5) James Cagney’s vital role in organizing and

19 overseeing the Hollywood Victory Caravan, which

20 sold more than $12,000,000,000 in war bonds, had

21 an immeasurable and crucial impact on the United

22 States victory in the Second World War.

23 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

24 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is

25 authorized to present, on behalf of the Congress, to the
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1 family of the late James Cagney a gold medal of appro2 priate design, in recognition of his great patriotism and

3 his contribution to American culture.

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

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

6 of the Treasury shall strike a gold medal with suitable em7 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the

8 Secretary.

9 (c) GIFTS AND DONATIONS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas11 ury may accept, use, and disburse gifts or donations

12 of property or money to carry out this section.

13 (2) APPROPRIATION AUTHORIZED.—No amount

14 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this

15 section.

16 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

17 The Secretary of the Treasury may strike and sell

18 duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant

19 to section 2 under such regulations as the Secretary may

20 prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof,

21 including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and

22 overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.

23 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.

24 The medals struck pursuant to this Act are—
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1 (1) national medals, for purposes of chapter 51

2 of title 31, United States Code; and

3 (2) numismatic items, for purposes of section

4 5134 of such title.

5 SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF ANY PROFIT TO LIBRARY OF CON6 GRESS.

7 The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer, from

8 the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund to the Library

9 of Congress, an amount equal to the amount by which the

10 sum of any gifts and donations received by the Secretary

11 in accordance with section 2(c)(1) and any proceeds from

12 the sale of duplicate medals pursuant to section 3 exceeds

13 the total amount of the costs incurred by the Secretary

14 in carrying out this Act.

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