I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6865 
To award a congressional gold medal to Joseph Barnett Kirsner, M.D., 
Ph.D., in recognition of his many outstanding contributions to the Nation. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 10, 2008 
Mr. KIRK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To award a congressional gold medal to Joseph Barnett 
Kirsner, M.D., Ph.D., in recognition of his many out-
standing contributions to the Nation. 
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) Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner was born in Boston 
in 1909 to poor Ukrainian immigrants. 
(2) Dr. Kirsner earned his medical degree from 
Tufts University, graduating near the top of his 
class, in 1933. 
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(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 Ph.D. in gastro-
enterology from the University of Chicago in 1942. 
(5) Dr. Kirsner conducted invaluable research 
on peptic ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, colitis 
and Crohn’s disease, making numerous break-
throughs in the field on patient management and 
cancer risk. 
(6) In more than 60 years of teaching, Dr. 
Kirsner trained more than 200 of the field’s leading 
specialists, including more than 41 full professors 
and 14 department chairs. 
(7) Dr. Kirsner authored nearly 700 publica-
tions and 15 textbooks which are the leading teach-
ing materials on gastroenterology. 
(8) Dr. Kirsner helped found several profes-
sional societies, including the American Society for 
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the American Asso-
ciation for the Study of Liver Diseases. 
(9) Dr. Kirsner was unrelenting in raising 
funds for gastrointestinal programs around the 
country, leading to creation of the General Medicine 
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Study Section of the National Institutes of Arthritis, 
Metabolic, and Digestive Diseases. 
(10) In 1962, a group of Dr. Kirsner’s patients 
established the Gastro-Intestinal Research Founda-
tion, which provided immense support for research 
at the University of Chicago. 
(11) In 1984, the Gastro-Intestinal Research 
Foundation raised more than $2,000,000 to con-
struct the 17,000 square-foot Joseph B. Kirsner 
Center for the Study of Digestive Diseases. 
(12) Dr. Kirsner received every major award 
the field of gastroenterology has to offer, except the 
one he was not eligible to win: American Digestive 
Health Foundation’s top prize for excellence in clin-
ical research, the Joseph B. Kirsner Award 
(13) Aside for his military service in World War 
II, Dr. Kirsner has practiced medicine, conducted 
research, and educated young doctors for more than 
70 years straight. 
(14) To this day, Dr. Kirsner remains active in 
medicine, still seeing the patients he cares so much 
for. 
(15) The Congress has awarded similar medals 
to other doctors for their outstanding contributions 
to the medical field, including Major Walter Reed 
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and his associates in 1928, Dr. Thomas Anthony 
Dooley III in 1961, Dr. Jonas E. Salk in 1977, and 
Dr. Ellis DeBakey in 2007. 
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 Joseph Barnett Kirsner, 
M.D., Ph.D., in recognition of his many outstanding con-
tributions to the Nation. 
(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. 
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. 
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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 sections 
5134 and 5136 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. 
Æ 
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