II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2439

To award a congressional gold medal to Michael Ellis DeBakey, M.D. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19, 2004

Mrs. HUTCHISON (for herself, Mr. FRIST, and Mr. CORNYN) 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 Michael Ellis 

DeBakey, M.D.

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 makes the following findings: 

5 (1) Michael Ellis DeBakey, M.D., was born on 

6 September 7, 1908 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to 

7 Shaker and Raheeja DeBakey. 

8 (2) Dr. DeBakey, at the age of 23 and still a 

9 medical student, reported a major invention, a roller 

10 pump for blood transfusions, which later became a 
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1 major component of the heart-lung machine used in 

2 the first successful open-heart operation. 

3 (3) Even though Dr. DeBakey had already 

4 achieved a national reputation as an authority on 

5 vascular disease and had a promising career as a 

6 surgeon and teacher, he volunteered for military 

7 service during World War II, joining the Surgeon 

8 General’s staff and rising to the rank of Colonel and 

9 Chief of the Surgical Consultants Division. 

10 (4) As a result of this first-hand knowledge of 

11 military service, Dr. DeBakey made numerous rec12 ommendations for the proper staged management of 

13 war wounds, which led to the development of mobile 

14 army surgical hospitals or MASH units, and earned 

15 Dr. DeBakey the Legion of Merit in 1945. 

16 (5) After the war, Dr. DeBakey proposed the 

17 systematic medical follow-up of veterans and rec18 ommended the creation of specialized medical cen19 ters in different areas of the United States to treat 

20 wounded military personnel returning from war, and 

21 from this recommendation evolved the Veterans Af22 fairs Medical Center System and the establishment 

23 of the Commission on Veterans Medical Problems of 

24 the National Research Council. 
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1 (6) In 1948, Dr. DeBakey joined the Baylor 

2 University College of Medicine, where he developed 

3 the first surgical residency program in the City of 

4 Houston, and today, guided by Dr. DeBakey’s vi5 sion, the College is one of the most respected health 

6 science centers in the Nation. 

7 (7) In 1953, Dr. DeBakey performed the first 

8 successful procedures to treat patients who suffered 

9 aneurysms leading to severe strokes, and he later de10 veloped a series of innovative surgical techniques for 

11 the treatment of aneurysms enabling thousands of 

12 lives to be saved in the years ahead. 

13 (8) In 1964, Dr. DeBakey triggered the most 

14 explosive era in modern cardiac surgery, when he 

15 performed the first successful coronary bypass, once 

16 again paving the way for surgeons world-wide to 

17 offer hope to thousands of patients who might other18 wise succumb to heart disease. 

19 (9) Two years later, Dr. DeBakey made med20 ical history again, when he was the first to success21 fully use a partial artificial heart to solve the prob22 lems of a patient who could not be weaned from a 

23 heart-lung machine following open-heart surgery. 

24 (10) In 1968, Dr. DeBakey supervised the first 

25 successful multi-organ transplant, in which a heart, 
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1 both kidneys, and lung were transplanted from a 

2 single donor into 4 separate recipients. 

3 (11) In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson 

4 appointed Dr. DeBakey to the position of Chairman 

5 of the President’s Commission on Heart Disease, 

6 Cancer and Stroke, leading to the creation of Re7 gional Medical Programs established ‘‘to encourage 

8 and assist in the establishment of regional coopera9 tive arrangements among medical schools, research 

10 institutions, and hospitals, for research and train11 ing’’. 

12 (12) In the mid-1960’s, Dr. DeBakey pioneered 

13 the field of telemedicine with the first demonstration 

14 of open-heart surgery to be transmitted overseas by 

15 satellite. 

16 (13) In 1969, Dr. DeBakey was elected the 

17 first President of Baylor College of Medicine. 

18 (14) In 1969, President Lyndon B. Johnson be19 stowed on Dr. DeBakey the Presidential Medal of 

20 Freedom with Distinction, and in 1985, President 

21 Ronald Reagan conferred on him the National Medal 

22 of Science. 

23 (15) Working with NASA engineers, he refined 

24 existing technology to create the DeBakey Ventric25 ular Assist Device, one-tenth the size of current 
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1 versions, which may eliminate the need for heart 

2 transplantation in some patients. 

3 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

4 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

5 the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem6 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

8 medal of appropriate design, to Michael Ellis DeBakey, 

9 M.D., in recognition of his many outstanding contribu10 tions to the Nation. 

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

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

13 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec14 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

15 devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec16 retary. 

17 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

18 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

19 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

20 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

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

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

23 and the cost of the gold medal. 
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1 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

2 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu3 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

4 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

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

6 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

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

8 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

9 SALE. 

10 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

11 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

12 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec13 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 

14 to this Act. 

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

16 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

17 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

18 Enterprise Fund.

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