I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8542 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner, in recogni-
tion of his service to the United States during World War II and 
his contributions to the medical field, particularly gastroenterology. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 23, 2024 
Mr. MAST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Joseph B. 
Kirsner, in recognition of his service to the United States 
during World War II and his contributions to the med-
ical field, particularly gastroenterology. 
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. Joseph B. Kirsner 
Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner was born to Ukrain-
ian Jewish immigrants Harris and Ida Kirsner on 
September 21, 1909, in Boston, Massachusetts. 
(2) Dr. Kirsner earned his medical degree from 
Tufts University, graduating near the top of his 
class, in 1933. 
(3) In 1935, Dr. Kirsner joined the staff of the 
first academic gastroenterology unit in the United 
States at the University of Chicago. 
(4) Dr. Kirsner earned his PhD in gastro-
enterology from the University of Chicago in 1942. 
(5) Dr. Kirsner joined the United States Army 
Medical Corps as a First Lieutenant in September 
1943 and served three years with the 15th, 203rd, 
and 229th General Hospitals. 
(6) Dr. Kirsner was one of the few doctors con-
sulted on the refeeding of Holocaust survivors. 
(7) Dr. Kirsner continuously fought to increase 
and diversify research funding for gastroenterology. 
(8) In 1962, Dr. Kirsner, along with a group 
of his patients, the Section of Gastroenterology, and 
the University of Chicago established the Gastro-In-
testinal Research Foundation. 
(9) Dr. Kirsner received every major award and 
honor for gastroenterology throughout his career, ex-
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cept the one award he was ineligible to win, the 
American Digestive Health Foundation’s top prize 
for excellence in clinical research, the Joseph B. 
Kirsner Award. 
(10) Dr. Kirsner was a pioneer in gastro-
enterology who dedicated his life to medicine, teach-
ing, and patient care. 
(11) Dr. Kirsner conducted invaluable research 
on peptic ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, colitis, 
and Crohn’s disease, and made numerous break-
throughs in the field on patient management and 
cancer risk. 
(12) Dr. Kirsner trained over 200 fellows, in-
cluding more than 41 full professors, and 14 depart-
ment chairs in gastroenterology. 
(13) Throughout his career Dr. Kirsner au-
thored over 750 scientific papers and 18 textbooks, 
which are the leading teaching materials on gastro-
enterology. 
(14) Dr. Kirsner was instrumental in founding 
the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endos-
copy, the American Association for the Study of 
Liver Diseases, the Gastroenterology Research 
Group (American Gastroenterological Association), 
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and the National Foundation for Research in Ulcer-
ative Colitis, among others. 
(15) Dr. Kirsner continued to treat patients 
until he retired in 2010, at the age of 100. 
(16) Dr. Kirsner passed away from kidney fail-
ure on July 7, 2012, in Chicago, Illinois. 
(17) The Congress has awarded similar medals 
to other doctors for their outstanding contributions 
to the medical field, including Major Walter Reed 
and his associates in 1928, Dr. Thomas Anthony 
Dooley III in 1961, Dr. Jonas E. Salk in 1977, and 
Dr. Michael Ellis DeBakey in 2007. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) AWARD
AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 
House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 
of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 
award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal 
of appropriate design to Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner, in rec-
ognition of his service to the United States during World 
War II and his contributions to the medical field, particu-
larly gastroenterology. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 
award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 
Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, 
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devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec-
retary. The design shall bear an image of, and inscription 
of the name of, Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner. 
(c) JOSEPH B. KIRSNER LIBRARY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—After the award of the gold 
medal referred to in subsection (a), the gold medal 
shall be given to the University of Chicago, where it 
shall be displayed as appropriate in the Joseph B. 
Kirsner library and made available for research. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that the University of Chicago should 
make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 
available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 
locations and events associated with Dr. Joseph B. 
Kirsner. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 
sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, mate-
rials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck pursuant to 
this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 
of title 31, United States Code. 
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