I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 911
To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the Congress
to John Walsh in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contribu-
tions to the Nation through his work in the fields of law enforcement
and victims’ rights.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 7, 2001
Mr. BARCIA (for himself, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. KELLY, Mr.
KNOLLENBERG, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. PASCRELL,
Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. FROST, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. FOLEY, Mr.
SHIMKUS, Mr. COMBEST, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. REYES, and Mr. SHAW) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Fi-
nancial Services
A BILL
To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf
of the Congress to John Walsh in recognition of his
outstanding and enduring contributions to the Nation
through his work in the fields of law enforcement and
victims’ rights.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) John Walsh, host of the television program
‘‘America’s Most Wanted’’, has dedicated his life to
the pursuit and apprehension of felons and fugitives
who have committed murder, rape, robbery, kid-
naping, pedophilia, and other atrocious crimes
against the citizens of the United States.
(2) In doing so, John Walsh has sacrificed his
own personal safety and freedom for the good of all
citizens of the United States.
(3) On July 27, 1981, Adam Walsh, the 6-year-
old son of John Walsh, was abducted and brutally
murdered.
(4) John Walsh and his family have never ob-
tained closure for this heinous crime, because no
person was ever charged with the crime and the
prime suspect ultimately died in prison.
(5) After the death of his son, John Walsh be-
came a tireless advocate for victims’ rights.
(6) John Walsh has testified more than 35
times before the Congress in support of legislation,
and his efforts led to the passage in 1982 of the
Missing Children Act and in 1984 of the Missing
Children’s Assistance Act, which established the Na-
tional Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
(7) John Walsh has lobbied for a constitutional
amendment that would secure victims’ rights.
(8) John Walsh, not ceasing his dedication to
the safety and welfare of children with the enact-
ment of new protective statutes, established a public
information television program, ‘‘America’s Most
Wanted’’, to expose the criminal activity of various
fugitives throughout the United States and abroad.
(9) Four days after the debut of the program,
on February 11, 1988, the Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation announced the capture in New York City of
one of its 10 Most Wanted fugitives, David James
Roberts, as a direct result of tips from viewers of
the program.
(10) On May 29, 1988, the Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, William Sessions,
appeared on ‘‘America’s Most Wanted’’ to announce
the addition of 3 new fugitives to the Federal Bu-
reau of Investigation’s 10 Most Wanted list, one of
whom was captured within 24 hours after the an-
nouncement.
(11) On July 17, 1988, Robert Wayne Fisher,
a fugitive wanted for the murder of his wife, was
captured just 33 minutes after John Walsh profiled
him on ‘‘America’s Most Wanted’’.
(12) On May 7, 1989, John Walsh facilitated
the capture of a New Jersey mass murderer who
had been at large for nearly 18 years.
(13) On January 20, 2001, John Walsh
profiled 7 escapees from a maximum security prison
in Texas, known as the ‘‘Texas Seven’’, on ‘‘Amer-
ica’s Most Wanted’’, which led to the apprehension
of 5 of the escapees 2 days later and the 2 remain-
ing fugitives the following day.
(14) John Walsh profiled 2,034 fugitives from
justice on ‘‘America’s Most Wanted’’ as of December
3, 1998, 1,177 of whom have been captured, includ-
ing 647 who were captured as a direct result of
being profiled.
(15) On May 10, 1990, John Walsh and
‘‘America’s Most Wanted’’ for the first time helped
recover a missing child, Nicole Ravesi, and aided in
the arrest of her abductor, Kenneth Cole.
(16) In all, John Walsh has profiled 465 cases
involving missing or kidnapped persons, 30 of whom
have been reunited with their families.
(17) John Walsh has profiled 285 criminal sus-
pects whose identities were unknown to law enforce-
ment officials, and 6 of the suspects have been iden-
tified as a result of being profiled.
(18) At the request of law enforcement officials,
John Walsh has also profiled 35 unidentified victims
of foul play, and 2 of the victims have been identi-
fied as a result of being profiled.
(19) The outstanding contributions of John
Walsh to crime victims and the law enforcement
community have come at no cost to the taxpayers of
the United States.
(20) John Walsh, through ‘‘America’s Most
Wanted’’ and through other endeavors, continues to
serve law enforcement officials and crime victims
through his unfailing dedication to pursuing and
capturing dangerous fugitives, protecting the safety
of children, and bringing closure to victims of crime
in the United States.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is
authorized to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold
medal of appropriate design to John Walsh in recognition
of his outstanding and enduring contributions to the Na-
tion through his work in the fields of law enforcement and
victims’ rights.
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary
of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the