I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2503 

To provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf of Congress posthumously 

to Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., beloved Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York who passed away as the first recorded victim of 

the September 11, 2001, attacks in recognition of his example to the 

Nation of selfless dedication to duty and compassion for one’s fellow 

citizens. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 12, 2011 

Mr. KING of New York (for himself and Mr. GRIMM) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf of 

Congress posthumously to Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., 

beloved Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York 

who passed away as the first recorded victim of the 

September 11, 2001, attacks in recognition of his example to the Nation of selfless dedication to duty and 

compassion for one’s fellow citizens. 

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 ‘‘Father Mychal Judge, 

3 O.F.M., Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., beloved 

7 Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York 

8 passed away as the first recorded victim of the Sep9 tember 11, 2001, after courageously rushing to the 

10 World Trade Center to support, console, and admin11 ister last rites to the victims of the attacks. 

12 (2) A native of Brooklyn, New York, Judge was 

13 born on May 11, 1933, to Irish Catholic immigrants 

14 from County Leitrim. 

15 (3) After his father died of a long illness when 

16 Judge was 6 years old, Judge took odd jobs and 

17 shined shoes at Penn Station to help support his 

18 mother and 2 sisters. 

19 (4) Responding to his strong spiritual calling, 

20 Judge entered the Franciscans in 1954. 

21 (5) He trained at 4 seminaries in New York, 

22 New Jersey, New Hampshire, and the District of 

23 Columbia and was ordained a Priest of the Francis24 can Order of Friars Minor in 1961. 

25 (6) From 1961 to 1986, Father Judge served 

26 at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Boston, Massachusetts, 

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1 St. Joseph’s in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sa2 cred Heart in Rochelle Park, New Jersey, Siena Col3 lege in Loudonville, New York, and as pastor at St. 

4 Joseph’s in West Milford, New Jersey. 

5 (7) In 1986, Father Judge was assigned to the 

6 Monastery of St. Francis of Assisi Church on West 

7 31st Street, New York, where he served until his 

8 death in 2001. 

9 (8) Known for his tremendous capacity for com10 passion, Judge was beloved by the firefighters and 

11 by the city he served. 

12 (9) Judge would daily send notes or make tele13 phone calls to recognize birthdays, anniversaries, 

14 and other significant dates in the lives of the people 

15 he knew. 

16 (10) In 1994, Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., 

17 was named as one of the chaplains for the New York 

18 Fire Department serving the boroughs of Manhat19 tan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. 

20 (11) Father Judge was also well known for 

21 ministering to those often alienated by the Church, 

22 including the homeless, immigrants, recovering alco23 holics, gays and lesbians, and people with AIDS. 

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1 (12) In the early 1980s, Judge was also one of 

2 the first clergymen to minister to gay men with 

3 AIDS, their partners, and their families. 

4 (13) Father Mychal Judge’s funeral was held 

5 on September 15, 2001. 

6 (14) Cardinal Edward Egan presided over a 

7 Mass of 3,000 people, including city officials, Presi8 dent Bill Clinton, and Secretary Hillary Clinton, 

9 who called Judge a ‘‘bearer of light’’ and noted his 

10 death as a special loss. 

11 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

12 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

13 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem14 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

16 medal of appropriate design to the next of kin or personal 

17 representative of Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., in rec18 ognition of his example to the Nation of selfless dedication 

19 to duty and compassion for one’s fellow citizens. 

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

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

22 of the Treasury shall strike a gold medal with suitable em23 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 

24 Secretary. 

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1 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

2 Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treas3 ury may prescribe, the Secretary may strike duplicate 

4 medals in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to 

5 section 2 and sell such duplicate medals at a price suffi6 cient to cover the costs of the duplicate medals (including 

7 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex8 penses) and the cost of the gold medal. 

9 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

10 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 

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

12 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF CHARGES.—There is author14 ized to be charged against the United States Mint Public 

15 Enterprise Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay 

16 for the cost of the medals authorized by this Act. 

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

18 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 

19 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

20 Fund. 

Æ 

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