Dr. Li Wenliang Congressional Gold Medal Act
Bill: H.R.896 | Sponsor: Rep. Roy, Chip (R-TX)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Dr. Li Wenliang Congressional Gold Medal Act
This bill directs Congress to make arrangements for the posthumous presentation of a gold medal in commemoration of Dr. Li Wenliang's efforts to save lives by drawing awareness to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) and his call for transparency in China.

To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Li Wenliang, in 
recognition of his efforts to save lives by drawing awareness to COVID-
               19 and his call for transparency in China.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Dr. Li Wenliang Congressional Gold 
Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Dr. Li Wenliang was a 34-year-old ophthalmologist in 
        Wuhan, China, who died from the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-
        19) after he sought to draw attention to the spread of the 
        virus despite the Chinese government's effort to suppress him.
            (2) Research indicates that the first patient infected with 
        COVID-19 exhibited symptoms in early December 2019, if not 
        earlier.
            (3) In December 2019, Dr. Li Wenliang notified his 
        colleagues in the medical community in China about the outbreak 
        of COVID-19.
            (4) On January 3, 2020, after raising concerns about the 
        spread of COVID-19, Dr. Li Wenliang and seven other doctors 
        were detained and questioned by Chinese officials. Dr. Li 
        Wenliang was forced to sign a statement retracting his warnings 
        about the virus and confessing that he had spread illegal 
        rumors.
            (5) Chinese government authorities played down dangers to 
        the public for weeks as COVID-19 continued to spread, with more 
        than 42,000 confirmed cases in China alone and at least 1,000 
        deaths reported as of February 11, 2020.
            (6) Dr. Li Wenliang continued to work at Wuhan Central 
        Hospital despite his knowledge of the outbreak, and appears to 
        have been infected himself with COVID-19 after coming in 
        contact with a patient he was treating.
            (7) In February 2020, in the hospital where he worked, Dr. 
        Li Wenliang died after contracting COVID-19.
            (8) Before his death, Dr. Li Wenliang stated, ``If the 
        officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier, 
        I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more 
        openness and transparency.''.
            (9) The people of China expressed their grief and anger on 
        social media after the death of Dr. Li Wenliang with the phrase 
        ``I want freedom of speech'', which was quickly censored by the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China.
            (10) The Chinese government inflicted incalculable damage 
        on their own people and the rest of the world by trying to 
        extinguish the news of the COVID-19 rather than mobilize global 
        efforts to battle it.
            (11) Awarding Dr. Li Wenliang the Congressional Gold Medal, 
        would not only recognize his bold actions to draw attention to 
        the spread of COVID-19, but call global attention to China's 
        lack of transparency and censorship of speech.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make 
appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of 
the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of 
Dr. Li Wenliang's efforts to save lives by drawing awareness to COVID-
19 and his call for transparency in China.
    (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 ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with suitable 
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
    (c) Smithsonian Institution.--
            (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal 
        under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the 
        Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be available for 
        display as appropriate and made available for research.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the Smithsonian Institution shall make the gold medal received 
        under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, 
        particularly at appropriate locations dedicated to preserving 
        the history of the Chinese pro-democracy movement.

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. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant 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.
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