II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2850 

To authorize the President to posthumously award a gold medal on behalf 

of the Congress to Fred McFeely Rogers, in recognition of his lasting 

contributions to the application of creativity and imagination in the 

early education of our Nation’s children, and to his lasting example 

to the Nation and the world of what it means to be a good neighbor. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2004 

Mr. SANTORUM (for himself and Mr. SPECTER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL

To authorize the President to posthumously award a gold 

medal on behalf of the Congress to Fred McFeely Rogers, in recognition of his lasting contributions to the 

application of creativity and imagination in the early 

education of our Nation’s children, and to his lasting 

example to the Nation and the world of what it means 

to be a good neighbor.

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 that— 
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1 (1) born in 1928 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, 

2 Fred McFeely Rogers, was raised in an environment 

3 where education was highly valued, and which fos4 tered an active imagination; 

5 (2) Fred Rogers earned his bachelor’s degree in 

6 music composition at Rollins College in Winter Park, 

7 Florida in 1951; 

8 (3) upon graduation, he was hired by NBC tele9 vision in New York as an assistant producer for 

10 ‘‘The Voice of Firestone’’, and later as floor director 

11 for ‘‘The Lucky Strike Hit Parade’’, ‘‘The Kate 

12 Smith Hour’’, and the ‘‘NBC Opera Theatre’’; 

13 (4) Fred Rogers later studied child development 

14 at the University of Pittsburgh, attended Pittsburgh 

15 Theological Seminary, and was ordained as a Pres16 byterian minister; 

17 (5) in 1953, Fred Rogers began production of 

18 the television program ‘‘The Children’s Corner’’, one 

19 of his first efforts as a producer, which was a live, 

20 daily, hour-long variety show that incorporated his 

21 talents as a musician and puppeteer; 

22 (6) in 1955, ‘‘The Children’s Corner’’ won the 

23 Sylvania Award for the best locally produced chil24 dren’s program in the country; 
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1 (7) it was on this program that Fred Rogers 

2 developed and first introduced us to his puppet char3 acters, such as King Friday XIII, Daniel Striped 

4 Tiger, X the Owl, Henrietta Pussycat, and Lady 

5 Elaine Fairchilde; 

6 (8) Fred Rogers produced ‘‘Mister Rogers’ 

7 Neighborhood’’, and hosted the show on the Public 

8 Broadcasting Service (PBS) from 1968 until the air9 ing of the final episode in 2001; 

10 (9) it was through ‘‘Mister Rogers’ Neighbor11 hood’’ that Fred Rogers invited both grownups and 

12 children alike to actively engage their imaginations, 

13 and through the use of stories, songs, and puppets, 

14 Fred Rogers infused laughter and life lessons into 

15 each episode; 

16 (10) time spent in Mr. Rogers’ home taught 

17 children about being a good neighbor, sharing, and 

18 expressing thoughts and emotions; 

19 (11) transported by the famous trolley to the 

20 ‘‘Land of Make Believe’’, ‘‘Mister Rogers’ Neighbor21 hood’’ allowed children to escape to a safe place that 

22 creatively encouraged them to use their imaginations 

23 and showed them the benefits of being a friendly 

24 neighbor; 
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1 (12) ‘‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’’ was the 

2 longest-running program on PBS, and was created 

3 and filmed in Fred Rogers’ hometown of Pittsburgh, 

4 Pennsylvania; 

5 (13) Fred Rogers’ caring, genuine spirit re6 flected the values shared by the people of south7 western Pennsylvania and by so many neighborhoods 

8 throughout the country; 

9 (14) ‘‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’’ continues 

10 to air as a nurturing, educational program for chil11 dren, emphasizing the value of every individual and 

12 helping children understand how they fit into their 

13 families, communities, and country; 

14 (15) each episode of ‘‘Mister Rogers’ Neighbor15 hood’’ was carefully crafted by Fred Rogers to con16 vey wholesome, uplifting messages for the children 

17 who watched; 

18 (16) Fred Rogers was appointed Chairman of 

19 the Forum on Mass Media and Child Development 

20 of the White House Conference on Youth in 1968; 

21 (17) winning 4 Emmy Awards, ‘‘Lifetime 

22 Achievement’’ Awards from the National Academy of 

23 Television Arts and Sciences and the TV Critics As24 sociation, and 2 George Foster Peabody Awards, 

25 Fred Rogers won every major award in television for 
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1 which he was eligible, and was inducted into the Tel2 evision Hall of Fame in 1999; 

3 (18) President George W. Bush awarded Fred 

4 Rogers the Presidential Medal of Honor in 2002, 

5 and throughout his lifetime, Fred Rogers was pre6 sented with over 40 honorary degrees from colleges 

7 and universities; and 

8 (19) in a country where children face neglect 

9 and may live without the benefit of loving parents, 

10 Fred McFeely Rogers succeeded, through his simple 

11 television program, in connecting with children on 

12 an intellectual and emotional level, while teaching 

13 them to value themselves and others. 

14 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

15 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is 

16 authorized, on behalf of the Congress, to posthumously 

17 award a gold medal of appropriate design to Fred McFeely 

18 Rogers. 

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

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

21 of the Treasury shall strike a gold medal with suitable em22 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 

23 Secretary. 
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1 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

2 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

3 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2, 

4 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, 

5 and at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, includ6 ing labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead 

7 expenses, and the cost of the gold medal. 

8 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

9 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 

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

11 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 

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

13 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

14 Public Enterprise Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000, 

15 to pay for the cost of the medals authorized by this Act. 

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

17 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 

18 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

19 Fund.

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