To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Mahatma Gandhi in recognition of his contributions to the Nation by the promotion of nonviolence.
Bill: H.R.5022 | Sponsor: Rep. Maloney, Carolyn B. (D-NY)
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
This bill directs Congress to present a Congressional Gold Medal to Mahatma Gandhi in recognition of his promotion of nonviolence. The Department of the Treasury must design and produce the medal and is authorized to sell bronze duplicates. The Smithsonian Institution shall display the medal and make it available for research.

To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Mahatma Gandhi in 
  recognition of his contributions to the Nation by the promotion of 
                              nonviolence.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Few people have had as significant and as positive an 
        impact on the world and freedom than Mohandas Karamchand 
        Gandhi.
            (2) Gandhi led the Indian people to independence from 
        British rule in August 1947 through non-violent means, staging 
        massive peaceful demonstrations against poverty while 
        supporting women's rights and religious tolerance.
            (3) Gandhi's legacy has inspired hundreds of millions of 
        people around the world to pursue non-violence as a means to 
        achieve freedom and equality, including Martin Luther King, 
        Jr.'s movement to end racial injustice in the United States and 
        Nelson Mandela's fight to end apartheid in South Africa.
            (4) For his efforts, Gandhi was given the title of Mahatma, 
        or ``Great Soul'' and was often called Bapu in India, which 
        means ``father''.
            (5) Over 2,000,000 people attended Gandhi's funeral and his 
        memory and teachings persist still today.
            (6) October 2, Gandhi's birthday was declared as 
        International Day of Non-Violence by the United Nations to 
        ``disseminate the message of non-violence, including through 
        education and public awareness'' and reaffirm ``the universal 
        relevance of the principle of non-violence'' and desire ``to 
        secure a culture of peace, tolerance, and understanding through 
        non-violence''.
            (7) Ensuring that people around the globe know about, 
        understand, and adopt Gandhi's principles of ahimsa (non-
        violence), satyagraha (appeal to, insistence on, or reliance on 
        the Truth), and swaraj (self-rule) are more important than 
        ever.

SEC. 2. 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 presentation, on behalf of Congress, 
of a gold medal of appropriate design, to Mahatma Gandhi, in 
recognition of his contributions to the Nation by the promotion of 
nonviolence.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the presentation 
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
(hereinafter in this Act referred to 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 should make the gold medal received 
        under paragraph (1) available for display at other locations, 
        particularly such locations as are associated with Mahatma 
        Gandhi.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, 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 of 
the bronze medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 
and overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

    The medals struck under this Act are national medals for purposes 
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
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