I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4576 
To award a congressional gold medal to Francis Collins, in recognition of 
his outstanding contributions and leadership in the fields of medicine 
and genetics. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 13, 2007 
Mrs. BIGGERT (for herself, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. UPTON, Mr. GEORGE MIL-
LER of California, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. BORDALLO, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAS-
TLE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. EHLERS, Mrs. EMERSON, Ms. 
ESHOO, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mrs. 
MALONEY of New York, Mr. ROSKAM, and Mr. WOLF) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To award a congressional gold medal to Francis Collins, 
in recognition of his outstanding contributions and lead-
ership in the fields of medicine and genetics. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) Francis Collins, who was raised on a small 
farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, decided to 
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pursue a career in chemistry when he was a high 
school student; 
(2) in the 1970s, after studying DNA and 
RNA, Francis Collins recognized that a revolution 
was on the horizon and decided to study medicine 
and genetics; 
(3) Francis Collins received a Ph.D. in Physical 
Chemistry from Yale University in 1974, and an 
M.D. from the University of North Carolina in 
1977; 
(4) after a fellowship in genetics at Yale Uni-
versity, Francis Collins joined the faculty at the 
University of Michigan and discovered a new method 
to identify abnormal genes; 
(5) Francis Collins’ work led to major advances 
in modern medicine, including the identification of 
genes 
responsible 
for 
cystic 
fibrosis, 
neurofibromatosis, 
Huntington’s 
disease, 
and 
Hutchison-Gilford progeria syndrome; 
(6) in 1993, Francis Collins succeeded James 
Watson as Director of the National Center for 
Human Genome Research at the National Institutes 
of Health; 
(7) as Director of the National Center for 
Human Genome Research, Francis Collins was 
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charged with leading a 15-year effort to locate and 
map every gene in the human DNA by 2005, and 
then determine aspects of its function; 
(8) in June 2000, ahead of schedule and under 
budget, Francis Collins announced the completion of 
a first draft of the human genome; 
(9) the sequencing of the human genome, which 
was completed in April 2003, is one of the most sig-
nificant advances in modern science; 
(10) Francis Collins remains committed to 
making the data from the human genome accessible 
to the worldwide scientific community, and has been 
a tireless champion of genetic information non-
discrimination; 
(11) Francis Collins remains at the forefront of 
understanding the connection between genes and dis-
ease, which he believes will eventually lead to a new 
field of individualized, prevention-oriented medicine; 
and 
(12) Francis Collins has received numerous 
awards and honors for his work, including the Presi-
dential Medal of Freedom, and is a member of the 
Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of 
Sciences. 
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SEC. 2. 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 gold medal of ap-
propriate design to Francis Collins for his outstanding 
contributions in the fields of medicine and genetics. 
(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. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre-
scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2, 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 AS NATIONAL MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 
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 
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struck pursuant to this Act shall be considered numis-
matic items. 
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS 
OF SALE. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be charged against the United States 
Mint Public Enterprise Fund, such sums as may be nec-
essary to pay for the cost of the medals struck pursuant 
to this Act. 
(b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 
sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 
deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 
Fund. 
Æ 
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