I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 206
To award a congressional gold medal to the late James Cagney.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 7, 1997
Mr. KING introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Banking and Financial Services
A BILL
To award a congressional gold medal to the late James
Cagney.
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) James Cagney was one of the most talented
and popular stars of the American screen, exemplify-
ing in the characters he portrayed the indomitable
spirit and deep patriotism of all Americans in gen-
eral, and New Yorkers in particular.
(2) James Cagney’s film career had numerous
highlights—‘‘Angels With Dirty Faces’’, ‘‘Each
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Dawn I Die’’, ‘‘The Fighting 69th’’, ‘‘Public
Enemy’’, and ‘‘White Heat’’—topped by his Acad-
emy Award winning performance as George M.
Cohan in ‘‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’’.
(3) During the Second World War, James Cag-
ney devoted a great deal of his considerable talent
and energy in support of the war effort by volunteer-
ing for the USO and by serving as president of the
Screen Actors Guild and as chairman of the Holly-
wood Victory Committee.
(4) James Cagney coordinated the appearances
of more than 25,000 of his fellow Hollywood stars
and joined them in USO tours to entertain Amer-
ican servicemen and women both in the United
States and abroad, including tours at military bases
in England where he performed up to 12 shows a
day in spite of the possibility of German air raids.
(5) James Cagney’s vital role in organizing and
overseeing the Hollywood Victory Caravan, which
sold more than $12,000,000,000 in war bonds, had
an immeasurable and crucial impact on the United
States victory in the Second World War.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is
authorized to present, on behalf of the Congress, to the
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family of the late James Cagney a gold medal of appro-
priate design, in recognition of his great patriotism and
his contribution to American culture.
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary
of the Treasury shall strike a gold medal with suitable em-
blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the
Secretary.
(c) GIFTS AND DONATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury may accept, use, and disburse gifts or donations
of property or money to carry out this section.
(2) APPROPRIATION AUTHORIZED.—No amount
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
section.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary of the Treasury may strike and sell
duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant
to section 2 under such regulations as the Secretary may
prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof,
including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.
SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.
The medals struck pursuant to this Act are—
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(1) national medals, for purposes of chapter 51
of title 31, United States Code; and
(2) numismatic items, for purposes of section
5134 of such title.
SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF ANY PROFIT TO LIBRARY OF CON-
GRESS.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer, from
the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund to the Library
of Congress, an amount equal to the amount by which the
sum of any gifts and donations received by the Secretary
in accordance with section 2(c)(1) and any proceeds from
the sale of duplicate medals pursuant to section 3 exceeds
the total amount of the costs incurred by the Secretary
in carrying out this Act.
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