II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3856 

To authorize Congress to award a gold medal to Jerry Lewis, in recognition 

of his outstanding service to the Nation. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2006 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. ENSIGN, and Mr. LAUTENBERG) introduced 

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

on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize Congress to award a gold medal to Jerry Lewis, 

in recognition of his outstanding service 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 makes the following findings: 

5 (1) A native of New Jersey, Jerry Lewis is a 

6 gifted comedian and has been a fixture in the enter7 tainment community for more than 5 decades. 

8 (2) Born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, in 

9 Newark, New Jersey, Jerry Lewis began his career 

10 by performing in local nightclubs. 


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1 (3) With his hope of breaking into show busi2 ness fading, Jerry Lewis was encouraged by his fel3 low comedians to continue his act, and soon there4 after, he formed a show business partnership with 

5 Dean Martin that would skyrocket both to fame. 

6 While performing with Martin in New York City, the 

7 pair was approached by a motion picture executive 

8 who offered them a contract with Paramount Pic9 tures. They went on to make 16 major motion pic10 tures during their 10-year partnership. 

11 (4) Jerry Lewis’ talent and enthusiasm kept 

12 America laughing during some of the most turbulent 

13 periods in our history, World War II, the Cold War, 

14 and the assassinations of President John F. Ken15 nedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One of the 

16 most successful performers in show business, Jerry 

17 Lewis has received worldwide acclaim for his unique 

18 ability and style with both comedy and drama. He 

19 has been the star of stage, screen, radio, television, 

20 print, and recordings. He is considered among the 

21 elite in the history of comedy. 

22 (5) But aside from his comic persona, Jerry 

23 Lewis has been an active champion for the Muscular 

24 Dystrophy Association (MDA) since the early 1950s. 

25 In 1966, he began the ‘‘Jerry Lewis MDA Labor 


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1 Day Telethon,’’ an annual television program that 

2 benefits children and adults affected by muscular 

3 dystrophy and related neuromuscular diseases. Now 

4 in its 41st year, the show, which is broadcast on 

5 some 200 stations nationwide, including Puerto 

6 Rico, and worldwide on the Internet, raises tens of 

7 millions of dollars annually. 

8 (6) Jerry Lewis summed up why he devotes so 

9 much of his time and energy to this cause with the 

10 words: ‘‘I shall pass through this world but once. 

11 Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness 

12 that I can show to any human being let me do it 

13 now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not 

14 pass this way again.’’. 

15 (7) Jerry Lewis has received numerous awards 

16 for his outstanding service to our Nation. He was 

17 nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his dedica18 tion to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. 

19 (8) In June of 1978, the communications in20 dustry honored Jerry Lewis with the National Asso21 ciation of Television Program Executives Award of 

22 the Year for his humanitarian efforts in raising 

23 funds to combat neuromuscular diseases. Among his 

24 numerous awards are induction into the French Le25 gion of Honor as ‘‘Legion Commander,’’ the MurVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:13 Sep 09, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3856.IS S3856

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1 ray-Green Award for Community Service, the high2 est honor that the AFL–CIO bestows upon an indi3 vidual, the American Medical Association Lifetime 

4 Achievement Award, and the Governor’s Award 

5 (Emmy) from the Academy of Television Arts and 

6 Sciences. 

7 (9) In September of 1976, the United States 

8 Senate unanimously adopted a resolution expressing 

9 their appreciation of his philanthropic endeavors and 

10 in particular his fight to find a cure for muscular 

11 dystrophy. In February 2001, Jerry Lewis led a del12 egation of MDA scientists and clients to testify be13 fore a subcommittee of the United States Senate re14 sulting in the introduction and subsequent passage 

15 of the MD-Care Act (Public Law 107-84; 115 Stat. 

16 823), a first step toward securing a dramatic boost 

17 in Federal funding for research into all forms of 

18 muscular dystrophy. 

19 (10) Joining the ranks of distinguished Con20 gressional Gold Medal recipients would be a fitting 

21 accolade to this consummate entertainer, world-re22 nowned humanitarian and ‘‘living legend’’ who has 

23 served for some 5 decades as National Chairman of 

24 the Muscular Dystrophy Association. 


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1 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

2 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President 

3 Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House 

4 of Representatives are authorized to make appropriate ar5 rangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, 

6 of a gold medal of appropriate design to Jerry Lewis, in 

7 recognition of his outstanding service to the Nation. 

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

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

10 of the Treasury (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec11 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

12 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec13 retary. 

14 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

15 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre16 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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

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

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

20 and the cost of the gold medal. 

21 SEC. 4. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS. 

22 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 

23 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

24 of title 31, United States Code. 

25 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

26 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 


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1 struck pursuant to this Act shall be considered numis2 matic items. 

3 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS 

4 OF SALE. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be charged against the United States 

7 Mint Public Enterprise Fund, such sums as may be nec8 essary to pay for the cost of the medals struck pursuant 

9 to this Act. 

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

11 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 

12 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

13 Fund. 

Æ 


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