II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2697 

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

of the Congress to the seven members of the crew of the space shuttle 

Columbia in recognition of their outstanding and enduring contributions 

to the Nation. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 20, 2004 

Mrs. HUTCHISON 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 the seven members 

of the crew of the space shuttle Columbia in recognition 

of their outstanding and enduring 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 The Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) On Saturday, February 1, 2003, the space 

6 shuttle Columbia exploded upon re-entering the at7 mosphere following a 16-day mission. 
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1 (2) Before the Columbia started its tragic de2 scent, the shuttle crew completed some 80 scientific 

3 experiments and much of their research data had al4 ready been relayed to Houston where it has added 

5 to the pool of scientific knowledge. 

6 (3) The Nation pays tribute to the memory of 

7 Colonel Rick Husband, Lieutenant Colonel Michael 

8 Anderson, Commander Laurel Clark, Captain David 

9 Brown, Commander William McCool, Dr. Kapana 

10 Chawla, and Ilan Ramon, a colonel in the Israeli air 

11 force. The diversity of crew represented the ideals of 

12 our Nation. 

13 (4) These seven courageous explorers paid the 

14 ultimate price to improve our understanding of the 

15 universe, to advance our medical and engineering 

16 sciences, to make the Nation safer and more secure, 

17 and to keep the United States economy on the cut18 ting edge of technology. 

19 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

20 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is 

21 authorized, on behalf of the Congress, to award a gold 

22 medal of appropriate design to each of the seven crew 

23 members of the space shuttle Columbia— 

24 (1) Rick D. Husband; 

25 (2) Michael P. Anderson; 
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1 (3) Laurel Clark; 

2 (4) David M. Brown; 

3 (5) William C. McCool; 

4 (6) Kapana Chawla; and 

5 (7) Ilan Ramon. 

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

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

8 of the Treasury shall strike a gold medal with suitable em9 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 

10 Secretary. 

11 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

12 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

13 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

14 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, 

15 and at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, includ16 ing labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead 

17 expenses, and the cost of the gold medal. 

18 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

19 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 

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

21 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 

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

23 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

24 Public Enterprise Fund an amount not to exceed 
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1 $30,0000 to pay for the cost of the medals authorized by 

2 this Act. 

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

4 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 

5 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

6 Fund. 

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