II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3287 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the recipients of assistance 

under the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (commonly referred 

to as the ‘‘GI Bill of Rights’’) in recognition of the great contributions 

such recipients made to the Nation in both their military and civilian 

service and the contributions of Harry W. Colmery in initiating actions 

which led to the enactment of that Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 29, 2010 

Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. ROBERTS, and Mr. BEGICH) 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 in honor of the recipients of assistance under the Servicemen’s Readjustment 

Act of 1944 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘GI Bill 

of Rights’’) in recognition of the great contributions such 

recipients made to the Nation in both their military 

and civilian service and the contributions of Harry W. 

Colmery in initiating actions which led to the enactment 

of that Act, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Achievements of the 

3 GI Bill Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) The life of Harry W. Colmery of Topeka, 

7 Kansas, was marked by exemplary service to his 

8 country. 

9 (2) Harry Colmery served the United States 

10 with distinction during World War I as a first lieu11 tenant and pilot instructor in the Army Air Corps. 

12 (3) Upon his return, Harry Colmery remained 

13 involved in issues important to the United States 

14 Armed Forces and veterans community through the 

15 American Legion, serving as the national com16 mander of the American Legion from 1936 to 1937. 

17 (4) In 1943, the United States faced an un18 precedented number of servicemen and women re19 turning from World War II to civilian life, more 

20 than 15,000,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Ma21 rines. 

22 (5) Harry Colmery, and others with the Amer23 ican Legion, helped spearhead efforts to ensure that 

24 government programs were in place to ensure that 

25 these members of the United States Armed Forces 

26 would face an easy transition back to civilian life. 


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1 (6) During a December 1943 emergency meet2 ing of American Legion leadership to address these 

3 concerns at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, 

4 DC, Harry Colmery crafted the initial draft of the 

5 Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, also known 

6 as the ‘‘GI Bill of Rights’’. 

7 (7) This pioneering piece of legislation sought 

8 to help GIs buy homes, start businesses, and attend 

9 college or technical school upon their return from 

10 World War II. 

11 (8) Due to Harry Colmery’s advocacy, Presi12 dent Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the GI Bill of 

13 Rights into law on June 22, 1944. 

14 (9) In the decade following World War II, more 

15 than 2,000,000 eligible men and women went to col16 lege using the GI Bill of Rights, and another 

17 5,000,000 received other schooling or job training 

18 under the GI Bill. 

19 (10) From 1944 to 1952, the Veterans Admin20 istration backed nearly 2,400,000 home loans for 

21 World War II veterans due to the GI Bill of Rights. 

22 (11) The GI Bill of Rights has been heralded 

23 as one of the most significant pieces of legislation 

24 ever produced by the Federal Government, one that 


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1 has impacted the United States socially, economi2 cally, and politically. 

3 SEC. 3. 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 Congress, of a single 

8 gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the recipients 

9 of assistance under the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 

10 1944 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘GI Bill of Rights’’), 

11 in recognition of the great contributions such recipients 

12 made to the Nation in both their military and civilian serv13 ice and the contributions of Harry W. Colmery in initi14 ating actions which led to the enactment of that Act. 

15 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the presen17 tation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of 

18 the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec19 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em20 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by 

21 the Secretary. 

22 (2) OBVERSE AND REVERSE.—The obverse of 

23 the gold medal shall bear the image of Harry W. 

24 Colmery and the reverse shall bear a design emblem25 atic of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 


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1 and the achievements of the recipients of assistance 

2 under such Act. 

3 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 

5 gold medal in honor of the recipients of assistance 

6 under the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 

7 under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given 

8 to the Smithsonian Institution, where it will be avail9 able for display as appropriate and made available 

10 for research. 

11 (2) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense 

12 of the Congress that the Smithsonian Institution 

13 should make the gold medal received under para14 graph (1) available for display elsewhere, particu15 larly at other appropriate locations selected by the 

16 Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of De17 fense, or the Secretary of Education. 

18 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

19 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

20 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

21 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

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

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

24 and the cost of the gold medal. 


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1 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

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

3 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

4 of title 31, United States Code. 

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

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

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

8 SEC. 6. 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 stuck 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. 

Æ 


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