I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2782 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. R. Adams Cowley, 
in recognition of his lifelong commitment to the advancement of trauma 
care. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2013 
Mr. RUPPERSBERGER
(for himself, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. 
EDWARDS, Mr. HOYER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. CUMMINGS, and Mr. 
DELANEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. 
R. Adams Cowley, in recognition of his lifelong commit-
ment to the advancement of trauma care. 
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 ‘‘Dr. R. Adams Cowley 
Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
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(1) Dr. Cowley was a pioneer in the practice of 
open-heart surgery, trauma mitigation and emer-
gency medical services. His goal through vigorous 
research into the impacts of trauma was to reduce 
the instances of death due to shock and was award-
ed a $100,000 contract from the Army to study the 
effects of shock in soldiers. 
(2) Dr. Cowley established the first clinical 
shock trauma unit in the Nation in 1960. Dr. 
Cowley’s realization of the importance of the first 60 
minutes of treatment after critical injury led to an 
idea called the ‘‘Golden Hour Theory’’. 
(3) Dr. Cowley’s advocacy of the Golden Hour 
theory led to the first medevac transport system in 
1969 after the opening of the new 5-story, 32-bed 
Center for the Study of Trauma in Baltimore, Mary-
land. 
(4) Dr. Cowley’s work continued to produce 
new advances in shock trauma treatment. In 1979, 
former Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel issued an 
Executive order establishing the Center for the 
Study of Trauma at the Maryland Institute for 
Emergency Medicine and Dr. Cowley was appointed 
Director of the Division of Emergency Medical Serv-
ices. 
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(5) Dr. Cowley was a tireless advocate for the 
Shock Trauma Center throughout his entire career 
testifying before Maryland legislators and fighting 
for funding for equipment, helicopters and anything 
else he needed to build the EMS System in Mary-
land. 
(6) Dr. Cowley’s hard work laid the foundation 
for emergency medicine to become a discipline of its 
own. Hundreds of medical personnel have trained at 
the Shock Trauma Center including members of the 
United States Military in preparation for deploy-
ment to Afghanistan and Iraq. 
SEC. 3. 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 posthumous presentation, on behalf of the Con-
gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo-
ration of Dr. R. Adams Cowley, in recognition of his life-
long commitment to the advancement of trauma care. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 
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devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec-
retary. 
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, 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. 5. 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 section 
5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 
under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 
Æ 
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