I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2818
To award a congressional gold medal to the family of the late Rau´l Julia´. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2003
Mr. GUTIERREZ (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. REYES, 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA´, Mr. FROST, Mr. 
BERMAN, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. WATERS, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mrs. 
NAPOLITANO, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. LI-
PINSKI, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. PASTOR, Ms. 
SOLIS, Ms. LEE, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. 
HINOJOSA, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. 
BACA, Mr. MEEKS of New York, and Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of Cali-
fornia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To award a congressional gold medal to the family of the 
late Rau´l Julia´.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Rau´l Julia´ made his Broadway debut just 
a few weeks after arriving in New York City in 1964 
in Calderon’s ‘‘Life is a Dream’’.
sponsored scriptwriting competitions for high school 
students as a way to encourage teenagers to express 
their emotions through art rather than through vio-
lence. 
(8) Rau´l Julia´’s dedication to help Hispanic-
American film and television writers develop their 
work led him to co-found the Latino Playwrights 
Reading Workshops. 
(9) Rau´l Julia´ was instrumental in the forma-
tion of the now legendary Puerto Rico Traveling 
Theater, an off-Broadway nonprofit Puerto Rican 
theater that to this day continues to promote and 
showcase bilingual plays, new Hispanic playwrights 
and Spanish-speaking actors while bringing theater 
to those who cannot ordinarily afford it. 
(10) Rau´l Julia´ was a leader in the entertain-
ment industry, particularly as a tireless mentor and 
role model to emerging Latino actors. 
(11) Rau´l Julia´ was a dedicated activist and 
humanitarian who in his lifetime became a major 
supporter and spokesperson for the Hunger Project, 
a nonprofit organization committed to the eradi-
cation of world hunger. 
(12) Rau´l Julia´ was tireless in his commitment 
to the Puerto Rican film industry and to the making
of Spanish language films and continued to partici-
pate in small, independent, Spanish-language films 
even after having become a Hollywood star. 
(13) Rau´l Julia´ was an extremely successful 
stage, film and television actor who never abandoned 
his Puerto Rican heritage, never changed his name 
and never gave up his accent, thereby becoming an 
enduring role model for hundreds of Latino actors. 
(14) Rau´l Julia´ received the Hispanic Heritage 
Award recognizing his many career achievements for 
the Latino community, including his involvement in 
‘‘La Familia’’, a New York City outreach program 
for Latino families in need, the Puerto Rican trav-
eling theater, the Museo del Barrio, and the New 
York Shakespeare Festival. 
(15) Rau´l Julia´ received the National Board of 
Review Best Actor prize for his interpretation of the 
political prisoner Valentin in the award-winning 
landmark film ‘‘The Kiss of the Spider Woman’’, an 
award he shared with his co-star William Hurt. 
(16) Rau´l Julia´ posthumously received the pres-
tigious Emmy Award, Cable Ace Award, Golden 
Globe Award, and the SAG Award, given by his fel-
low actors for his most famous roles including Chico 
Mendes in ‘‘The Burning Season’’.
(17) Rau´l Julia´ was proud of his Puerto Rican 
heritage and his life and work reflected his strong 
commitment to his culture and the people of Puerto 
Rico. 
(18) Rau´l Julia´ was given a state funeral in 
Puerto Rico and since that time there have been 
many awards and honors created in his name: a 
scholarship at Julliard, a scholarship given to a 
promising young actor for the purpose of studying 
and performing Shakespeare at the Joseph Papp 
Public Theater, the Rau´l Julia´ Award for Excellence 
given annually by the National Endowment for the 
Hispanic Arts in Washington, DC, El Teatro Rau´l 
Julia´ in San Juan Puerto Rico, and the Rau´l Julia´ 
Global Citizen Award, an annual award being given 
this year for the first time by the Puerto Rican 
Family Institute based in New York City. 
(19) Rau´l Julia´ was recognized by the office of 
the Mayor of the city of New York with the creation 
of Rau´l Julia´ Day which was celebrated and com-
memorated in conjunction with Puerto Rican Herit-
age and Culture Month on November 21, 1994. 
SEC. 2. 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 presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 
medal of appropriate design, to the family of the late Rau´l 
Julia´, in recognition of his dedication to ending world hun-
ger and his great contributions to the Latino community 
and to the performing arts. 
(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, 
devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec-
retary. 
(c) GIFTS AND DONATIONS.—The Secretary may ac-
cept, use, and disburse gifts or donations of property or 
money to carry out this section. 
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 
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. 4. 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. 
SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 
SALE. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 
authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 
Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec-
essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 
to this Act. 
(b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 
sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 
3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 
Enterprise Fund. 
SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF ANY NET INCOME TO THE NEW YORK 
PUBLIC 
THEATER 
AND 
THE 
NEW 
YORK 
SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL. 
If the sum of any gifts and donations received by the 
Secretary under section 2(c) and any proceeds from the 
sale of duplicate medals pursuant to section 3 exceeds the 
total amount of the costs incurred by the Secretary in car-
rying out this Act, the Secretary shall transfer, from the
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, an amount 
equal to—
(1) 1/2 of such excess amount to the New York 
Public Theater; and 
(2) 1/2 of such excess amount to the New York 
Shakespeare Festival.
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