I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5627 
To award the congressional gold medal to Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, in recogni-
tion of his courageous and unwavering commitment to democracy and 
human rights in Cuba. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 13, 2008 
Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida (for himself, Mr. SIRES, Ms. ROS- 
LEHTINEN, Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. BURTON of Indi-
ana, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To award the congressional gold medal to Dr. Oscar Elias 
Biscet, in recognition of his courageous and unwavering 
commitment to democracy and human rights in Cuba. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet was born on July 
20, 1961 in Havana, Cuba. 
(2) Dr. Biscet is married to fellow pro-democ-
racy leader, Elsa Morejo´n Hernandez. 
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(3) Dr. Biscet is currently serving a 25-year 
prison sentence for allegedly committing crimes 
against the Cuban regime. 
(4) In 1997, Dr. Biscet founded the Lawton 
Foundation for Human Rights to promote the study 
and defense of human rights and to denounce 
human rights violations inside Cuba and wherever 
else they are violated. 
(5) Dr. Biscet denounced the double standards 
and discrimination against the Cuban people of the 
Cuban National Health Care System, and as a re-
sult he was forbidden from practicing medicine. 
(6) On November 3, 1999, Dr. Biscet was im-
prisoned for 3 years for organizing a peaceful pro- 
democracy protest. 
(7) Once released in 2002, and unable to prac-
tice medicine, Dr. Biscet organized seminars on the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 
(8) On December 6, 2002, on his way to one 
such meeting, he and several of the seminar’s par-
ticipants were beaten and arrested. 
(9) On April 7, 2003, Dr. Biscet was sentenced 
to 25 years in prison and sent to the Kilo Cinco y 
Medio prison, in Pinar Del Rio province, and he has 
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subsequently been incarcerated in multiple prisons of 
the Cuban dictatorship. 
(10) Dr. Biscet has declared himself a 
‘‘plantado’’, a political prisoner who refuses to un-
dertake ideological ‘‘reeducation’’ or wear a common 
prisoner’s uniform, and he remains in Cuba’s polit-
ical gulag. 
(11) On November 5, 2007, President Bush 
recognized Dr. Biscet, presenting him (in absentia) 
with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, stating that 
‘‘Dr. Biscet is a champion in the fight against tyr-
anny and oppression. Despite being persecuted and 
imprisoned for his beliefs, he continues to advocate 
for a free Cuba in which the rights of all people are 
respected.’’. 
(12) Dr. Biscet is a follower of the teachings of 
Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. and 
continues to work each day from his jail cell to bring 
democracy and the rule of law to Cuba. 
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem-
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 
medal of appropriate design, to Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet in 
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recognition of his courageous and unwavering commitment 
to democracy and human rights in Cuba. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (hereafter referred to in this Act as the 
‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em-
blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 
Secretary. 
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary 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. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu-
ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 
51 of title 31, United States Code. 
(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 
5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 
struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 
items. 
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SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 
SALE. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 
authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 
Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec-
essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 
to this Act. 
(b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 
sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 
3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 
Enterprise Fund. 
Æ 
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