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 ‘‘Father Theodore M.
Hesburgh Congressional Gold Medal Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) Father Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., has
made outstanding and enduring contributions to
American society through his activities in civil
rights, higher education, the Catholic Church, the
Nation, and the global community;
(2) Father Hesburgh was a charter member of
the United States Commission on Civil Rights from
its creation in 1957 and served as chairperson of the
Commission from 1969 to 1972;
(3) Father Hesburgh was president of the Uni-
versity of Notre Dame from 1952 until 1987, and
has been president emeritus since 1987;
(4) Father Hesburgh is a national and inter-
national leader in higher education;
(5) Father Hesburgh has been honored with the
Elizabeth Ann Seton Award from the National
Catholic Education Association and with more than
130 honorary degrees;
(6) Father Hesburgh served as co-chairperson
of the nationally influential Knight Commission on
Intercollegiate Athletics and as chairperson, from
1994 to 1996, of the Board of Overseers of Harvard
University;
(7) Father Hesburgh served under President
Ford as a member of the Presidential Clemency
Board, charged with deciding the fates of persons
committing offenses during the Vietnam conflict;
(8) Father Hesburgh served as chairman of the
board of the Overseas Development Council and in
that capacity led fundraising efforts that averted
mass starvation in Cambodia in 1979 and 1980;
(9) Father Hesburgh served from 1979 to 1981
as chairperson of the Select Commission on Immi-
gration and Refugee Policy, which made rec-
ommendations that served as the basis of congres-
sional reform legislation enacted 5 years later;
(10) Father Hesburgh served as ambassador to
the 1979 United Nations Conference on Science and
Technology for Development; and
(11) Father Hesburgh has served the Catholic
Church in a variety of capacities, including his serv-
ice from 1956 to 1970 as the permanent Vatican
representative to the International Atomic Energy
Agency in Vienna and his service as a member of
the Holy See’s delegation to the United Nations.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is
authorized to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold
medal of appropriate design to Father Theodore M.
Hesburgh in recognition of his outstanding and enduring
contributions to civil rights, higher education, the Catholic
Church, the Nation, and the global community.
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary
of the Treasury (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems,
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. 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
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.
Passed the House of Representatives October 12,
1999.
Attest:
Clerk.