IIB
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5138
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JULY 23, 2002
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs
AN ACT
To posthumously award congressional gold medals to govern-
ment workers and others who responded to the attacks
on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and per-
ished and to people aboard United Airlines Flight 93
who helped resist the hijackers and caused the plane
to crash, to require the Secretary of the Treasury to
mint coins in commemoration of the Spirit of America,
recognizing the tragic events of September 11, 2001,
and for other purposes.
HR 5138 RFS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘True American Heroes
Act of 2002’’.
TITLE I—MEDALS FOR
RESPONDERS AND RESISTERS
SEC. 101. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDALS FOR GOVERN-
MENT WORKERS WHO RESPONDED TO THE
ATTACKS ON THE WORLD TRADE CENTER
AND PERISHED.
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—In recognition of
the bravery and self-sacrifice of officers, emergency work-
ers, and other employees of State and local government
agencies, including the Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey, and of the United States Government and
others, who responded to the attacks on the World Trade
Center in New York City, and perished in the tragic events
of September 11, 2001 (including those who are missing
and presumed dead), the Speaker of the House and the
President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appro-
priate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of the
Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design for each
such officer, emergency worker, employee, or other indi-
vidual to the next of kin or other personal representative
HR 5138 RFS
of each such officer, emergency worker, employee, or other
individual.
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary
of the Treasury shall strike gold medals with suitable em-
blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the
Secretary to be emblematic of the valor and heroism of
the men and women honored.
(c) DETERMINATION
OF RECIPIENTS.—The Sec-
retary of the Treasury shall determine the number of med-
als to be presented under this section and the appropriate
recipients of the medals after consulting with appropriate
representatives of Federal, State, and local officers and
agencies and the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey.
(d) DUPLICATIVE GOLD MEDALS FOR DEPART-
MENTS AND DUTY STATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury shall strike duplicates in gold of the gold medals
struck pursuant to subsection (a) for presentation to
each of the following, for permanent display in the
respective offices, houses, stations, or places of em-
ployment:
(A) The Governor of the State of New
York.
HR 5138 RFS
(B) The Mayor of the City of New York.
(C) The Commissioner of the New York
Police Department, the Commissioner of the
New York Fire Department, the head of emer-
gency medical services for the City of New
York, and the Chairman of the Board of Direc-
tors of the Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey.
(D) Each precinct house, fire house, emer-
gency response station, or other duty station or
place of employment to which each person re-
ferred to in subsection (a) was assigned on Sep-
tember 11, 2001, for display in each such place
in a manner befitting the memory of such per-
sons.
(e) DUPLICATE BRONZE MEDALS.—Under such reg-
ulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary
may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal
struck under subsection (a) at a price sufficient to cover
the costs of the bronze medals (including labor, materials,
dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses) and the
cost of the gold medal.
(f) USE OF THE UNITED STATES MINT AT WEST
POINT, NEW YORK.—It is the sense of the Congress that
the medals authorized under this section should be struck