I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3544
To authorize a gold medal to be awarded on behalf of the Congress to
Pope John Paul II in recognition of his many and enduring contributions
to peace and religious understanding, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 27, 2000
Mr. LEACH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Banking and Financial Services
A BILL
To authorize a gold medal to be awarded on behalf of the
Congress to Pope John Paul II in recognition of his
many and enduring contributions to peace and religious
understanding, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Pope John Paul II
Congressional Gold Medal Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that Pope John Paul II—
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(1) is the spiritual leader of more than one bil-
lion Catholic Christians around the world and mil-
lions of Catholic Christians in America and has led
the Catholic Church into its third millennium;
(2) is recognized in the United States and
abroad as a preeminent moral authority;
(3) has dedicated his Pontificate to the freedom
and dignity of every individual human being and
tirelessly traveled to the far reaches of the globe as
an exemplar of faith;
(4) has brought hope to millions of people all
over the world oppressed by poverty, hunger, illness,
and despair;
(5) transcending temporal politics, has used his
moral authority to hasten the fall of godless totali-
tarian regimes, symbolized in the collapse of the
Berlin wall;
(6) has promoted the inner peace of man as
well as peace among mankind through his faith-
inspired defense of justice; and
(7) has thrown open the doors of the Catholic
Church, reconciling differences within Christendom
as well as reaching out to the world’s other great re-
ligions.
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SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—On behalf of the
Congress, a gold medal of appropriate design is authorized
to be presented to Pope John Paul II in recognition of
his many and enduring contributions to peace and reli-
gious understanding. The modalities of the medal’s pres-
entation shall be determined by the President after con-
sultation with the Speaker of the United States House of
Representatives, Majority Leader of the United States
Senate, Minority Leader of the United States Senate and
the Minority Leader of the United States House of Rep-
resentatives.
(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
‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em-
blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the
Secretary.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3
under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe,
and at a price sufficient to cover the costs thereof, includ-
ing labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex-
penses, and the cost of the gold medal.
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SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS.
The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national
medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United
States Code.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS
OF SALE.
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
hereby authorized to be charged against the Numismatic
Public Enterprise Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000
to pay for the cost of the medal authorized by this Act.
(b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the
sales of duplicate bronze medals under section 4 shall be
deposited in the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund.
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