II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2886 

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to James 

Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner to commemorate the 

lives they lost 50 years ago in an effort to bring justice and equality 

to Americans in Mississippi during Freedom Summer. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Mr. COCHRAN) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael 

Schwerner to commemorate the lives they lost 50 years 

ago in an effort to bring justice and equality to Americans in Mississippi during Freedom Summer. 

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) June 21, 2014, marks 50 years since the 

6 lives of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and MiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Oct 01, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2886.IS S2886

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1 chael Schwerner were brutally taken on the basis of 

2 racism and hatred. 

3 (2) Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner were as4 sisting Congress of Racial Equality in Mississippi 

5 during the Freedom Summer of 1964, wherein they 

6 risked their lives leading voting registration efforts 

7 for people who were denied the right to vote. 

8 (3) Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner were im9 prisoned in Neshoba County, Mississippi, without 

10 due process and released into the dead of the night 

11 into the hands of Klansmen. 

12 (4) The disappearance of these devoted civil 

13 rights activists captured national attention and led 

14 to an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Inves15 tigation. 

16 (5) Following a 44-day search by Federal 

17 agents, the grim remains of James Chaney, Andrew 

18 Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were discovered in 

19 an earthen dam. 

20 (6) This tragedy galvanized momentum for the 

21 Civil Rights Movement and helped to secure the pas22 sage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and later the 

23 Voting Rights Act of 1965 and led to the first per24 manent Federal Bureau of Investigation field office 

25 in the State of Mississippi. 


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1 (7) Justice was delayed 41 years, to the day, 

2 for these three brave men and their families until a 

3 Neshoba County jury found 1 of the 18 men origi4 nally charged in the case guilty on three counts of 

5 murder. 

6 (8) These three valiant activists are representa7 tive of countless individuals who lost their lives on 

8 a quest for justice and equality, including Henry 

9 Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie More whose bodies 

10 were also found during the massive search for 

11 Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. 

12 (9) Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner’s legacy 

13 of advocacy and unyielding resolve for justice in the 

14 face of peril is one that continues to be embodied in 

15 young adults across this great country. 

16 (10) It is befitting that Congress bestow the 

17 highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold 

18 Medal, in 2014 to James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, 

19 and Michael Schwerner, posthumously in recognition 

20 of the 50th commemoration of their kidnapping and 

21 subsequent murders. 

22 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

23 (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 

24 House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore 

25 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 


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1 presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of 

2 appropriate design, collectively, to James Chaney, Andrew 

3 Goodman, and Michael Schwerner to commemorate the 

4 lives they lost 50 years ago in an effort to bring justice 

5 and equality to Americans in Mississippi during Freedom 

6 Summer. 

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

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

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

10 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em11 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 

12 Secretary. 

13 (c) AWARD OF MEDAL.—Following the award of the 

14 gold medal described in subsection (a), the medal shall be 

15 given to Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi, where 

16 it shall be available for display or temporary loan to be 

17 displayed elsewhere, as appropriate. 

18 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may strike and sell 

20 duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under sec21 tion 2, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medal, 

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

23 overhead expenses. 


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1 (b) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 

2 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

3 of title 31, United States Code. 

4 (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

5 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

6 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

7 items. 

Æ 


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