I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 791 

To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Muhammad Ali, in 

recognition of his contributions to the Nation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2017 

Mr. CARSON of Indiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Muhammad Ali, in recognition of his contributions to the 

Nation. 

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) Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., on Janu6 ary 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, Muhammad 

7 Ali was the first child of Cassius, Sr., and Odessa 

8 Clay. 

9 (2) Muhammad Ali was one of the most cele10 brated athletes of the 20th century. He produced 


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1 some of America’s greatest sports memories, from 

2 winning a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics 

3 to lighting the Olympic torch at the 1996 Summer 

4 Olympics. 

5 (3) After an impressive amateur career, during 

6 which he recorded 131 wins and only 7 losses and 

7 won 2 National AAU light heavyweight titles, Mu8 hammad Ali became the first professional boxer in 

9 history to capture the heavyweight title 3 separate 

10 times. 

11 (4) Muhammad Ali defeated every challenger he 

12 faced in the ring. But, on April 28, 1967, he was 

13 stripped of his boxing title and barred from com14 peting for being a conscientious objector to the war 

15 in Vietnam on religious and moral grounds. How16 ever, following a unanimous United States Supreme 

17 Court decision in 1971, Muhammad Ali’s conscien18 tious objector status was confirmed, his boxing li19 cense was reinstated, and he was cleared of any 

20 wrongdoing. 

21 (5) As an African-American and a Muslim who 

22 lived in an era that continued to question his civil 

23 rights, Muhammad Ali battled issues of race and re24 ligion, and received recognition as one of the chamVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H791.IH H791

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1 pions of the Civil Rights Movement in the United 

2 States. 

3 (6) Muhammad Ali was the recipient of many 

4 awards for his sporting prowess and his support of 

5 racial harmony, including the Dr. Martin Luther 

6 King Memorial Award, the Spirit of America Award, 

7 the Amnesty International Lifetime Achievement 

8 Award, the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Es9 sence Living Legend Award, the Rainbow Coalition 

10 Lifetime Achievement Award, the XNBA Human 

11 Spirit Award, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and 

12 the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

13 (7) Muhammad Ali was acknowledged by many 

14 organizations for his achievements both inside and 

15 outside the boxing ring, including being crowned 

16 ‘‘Sportsman of the Century’’ by Sports Illustrated, 

17 being named ‘‘Athlete of the Century’’ by GQ maga18 zine, being named ‘‘Sports Personality of the Cen19 tury’’ by the British Broadcasting Corporation, 

20 being named ‘‘Kentucky Athlete of the Century’’ by 

21 the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, being named 

22 ‘‘Kentuckian of the Century’’ by the State of Ken23 tucky, being named ‘‘Louisvillian of the Century’’ by 

24 the Advertising Club of Louisville, being named 

25 ‘‘Boxer of the Century’’ by the World Sports Awards 


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1 of the Century, being recognized by the Inter2 national Boxing Hall of Fame, and receiving hon3 orary doctorate degrees from Muhlenberg College 

4 and Western Kentucky University, as well as an 

5 honorary doctorate of humanities at Princeton Uni6 versity’s 260th graduation ceremony. 

7 (8) Muhammad Ali received the prestigious 

8 ‘‘Otto Hahn Peace Medal in Gold’’ from the United 

9 Nations Association of Germany for his work with 

10 the United Nations and the Civil Rights Movement 

11 in the United States. 

12 (9) Muhammad Ali was selected by the Cali13 fornia Bicentennial Foundation for the U.S. Con14 stitution for personifying the vitality of the Bill of 

15 Rights in various high-profile activities. 

16 (10) Despite having been diagnosed with Par17 kinson’s Syndrome in the early 1980s, Muhammad 

18 Ali dedicated his life to the cause of universal 

19 human rights and freedom. His commitment to 

20 equal justice and peace touched the lives of hundreds 

21 of thousands of people worldwide. 

22 (11) President Jimmy Carter asked Muhammad 

23 Ali to meet with African leaders in Tanzania, Kenya, 

24 Nigeria, Liberia, and Senegal as part of President 


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1 Carter’s diplomatic efforts on behalf of human rights 

2 in the 1980s. 

3 (12) In 1990, Muhammad Ali traveled to the 

4 Middle East to seek the release of American and 

5 British hostages that were being held as human 

6 shields in the first Gulf War. As a result of his 

7 intervention, 15 United States hostages were freed 

8 on December 2nd of that year. 

9 (13) In 1998, Muhammad Ali was chosen as 

10 the ‘‘U.N. Messenger of Peace’’. 

11 (14) Several Presidents of the United States 

12 recognized Muhammad Ali, including President 

13 George W. Bush who, on November 17, 2002, called 

14 him ‘‘a man of peace’’ and stated that ‘‘across the 

15 world, billions of people know Muhammad Ali as a 

16 brave, compassionate, and charming man, and the 

17 American people are proud to call Muhammad Ali 

18 one of our own’’, President Bill Clinton who stated 

19 that Muhammad Ali ‘‘captured the world’s imagina20 tion and its heart. Outside the ring, Muhammad Ali 

21 has dedicated his life to working for children, feed22 ing the hungry, supporting his faith, and standing 

23 up for racial equality. He always fought for a just 

24 and more humane world, breaking down barriers 

25 here in America and around the world. There is no 


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1 telling how many tens of millions of people had their 

2 hearts swell with pride and their eyes swell with 

3 tears in 1996 when Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic 

4 torch, because we know, now and forever, he is the 

5 greatest’’, President Jimmy Carter who cited Mu6 hammad Ali as ‘‘Mr. International Friendship’’, and 

7 President Barack Obama who, as a Senator, had a 

8 framed picture of Muhammad Ali hanging in his of9 fice, and before announcing his intentions to run for 

10 President, Obama visited with Muhammad Ali at the 

11 Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. 

12 (15) Muhammad Ali encouraged humanity 

13 through his perseverance and the support of thou14 sands of people. He helped such organizations as the 

15 Chicago-based adoption agency, The Cradle; the 

16 Make-A-Wish Foundation; the Special Olympics’ or17 ganization, Best Buddies; and Herbert E. Birch 

18 Services, an organization that runs a school for 

19 handicapped children and young adults, in addition 

20 to a summer camp for children with AIDS. 

21 (16) Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie were 

22 the founding directors of the Muhammad Ali Par23 kinson Center in Phoenix, Arizona, and helped raise 

24 over $50,000,000 for Parkinson’s research. The 

25 Center’s mission is to provide excellence in treatVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Feb 08, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H791.IH H791

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1 ment, research, and education for patients and fami2 lies affected by Parkinson’s disease and other move3 ment disorders, regardless of their ability to pay. 

4 (17) Muhammad Ali was an inspiration to 

5 countless individuals with Parkinson’s disease, in6 cluding members of the Rock Steady Boxing Foun7 dation in Indianapolis, Indiana, which was founded 

8 to give people with Parkinson’s disease hope by im9 proving their quality of life using boxing for fitness. 

10 (18) Muhammad Ali was one of the founding 

11 members of Athletes for Hope, an organization cre12 ated by a few very successful athletes of exemplary 

13 character who have a deep commitment to charitable 

14 and community causes. 

15 (19) Muhammad Ali also established the Mu16 hammad Ali Center in his hometown of Louisville, 

17 Kentucky, which promotes respect, hope, and under18 standing, and inspires people everywhere to be as 

19 great as they can be. A visitor of the Muhammad Ali 

20 Center experiences the ‘‘hows’’ of Ali’s life: How he 

21 found the courage, the dedication, and the discipline 

22 to become a world champion; how he found the con23 viction to stand up for what he believed; and how he 

24 turned his passion for excellence in the ring to a 

25 passion for peace on the world stage. 


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1 (20) Like Muhammad Ali himself, the Muham2 mad Ali Center focuses on what brings individuals 

3 together, not what sets them apart, and is a ‘‘global 

4 gathering place’’ to which people can come, both on5 line and in person, to learn, share, and celebrate our 

6 commonalities as human beings and to formulate 

7 ways of advancing humanity. 

8 (21) Muhammad Ali helped to provide more 

9 than 22,000,000 aid packets to assist people in 

10 need, and until the last years of his life, he traveled, 

11 on average, more than 200 days per year for human12 itarian causes. 

13 (22) Muhammad Ali, known simply as ‘‘the 

14 greatest,’’ transcended the glamour and glory of 

15 being a sports champion to become not only one of 

16 the greatest sports figures, but one of the greatest 

17 role models of our time. 

18 (23) On June 3, 2016, Muhammad Ali died at 

19 the age of 74. 

20 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

21 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

22 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem23 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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


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1 medal of appropriate design, to Muhammad Ali, in rec2 ognition of his contributions to the Nation. 

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

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

5 of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 

6 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em7 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 

8 Secretary. 

9 (c) TRANSFER OF MEDAL AFTER PRESENTATION.— 

10 Following the presentation of the gold medal in honor of 

11 Muhammad Ali under subsection (a), the gold medal shall 

12 be given to his wife, Lonnie Ali. 

13 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

14 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre15 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

16 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 at 

17 a price sufficient to cover the cost of the bronze medals 

18 (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 

19 overhead expenses) and the cost of the gold medal. 

20 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

21 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 

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

Æ 


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