Title: Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017
This bill directs the House of Representatives and the Senate to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. merchant mariners of World War II in recognition of their service during World War II.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2127 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2127

To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the United States 
 merchant mariners of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated 
                 and vital service during World War II.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 15, 2017

Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. Sullivan, Ms. Baldwin, and Mr. Cochran) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
            Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the United States 
 merchant mariners of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated 
                 and vital service during World War II.

    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 ``Merchant Mariners of World War II 
Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory 
        in World War II and the restoration of peacetime across the 
        European and Pacific theaters.
            (2) The United States Merchant Marine (in this section 
        referred to as the ``Merchant Marine'') was integral in 
        providing the link between domestic production and the fighting 
        forces overseas, providing combat equipment, fuel, food, 
        commodities, and raw materials to troops stationed abroad.
            (3) Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King acknowledged the 
        indispensability of the Merchant Marine to the victory in a 
        1945 letter stating that, without the support of the Merchant 
        Marine, ``the Navy could not have accomplished its mission''.
            (4) President, and former Supreme Commander of the Allied 
        Forces, Dwight D. Eisenhower acknowledged that ``through the 
        prompt delivery of supplies and equipment to our armed forces 
        overseas, and of cargoes representing economic and military aid 
        to friendly nations, the American Merchant Marine has 
        effectively helped to strengthen the forces of freedom 
        throughout the world''.
            (5) Military missions and war planning were contingent upon 
        the availability of resources and the Merchant Marine played a 
        vital role in this regard, ensuring the efficient and reliable 
        transoceanic transport of military equipment and both military 
        and civilian personnel.
            (6) The Merchant Marine provided for the successful 
        transport of resources and personnel despite consistent and 
        ongoing exposure to enemy combatants from both the air and the 
        sea, including from enemy bomber squadrons, submarines, and 
        mines.
            (7) The efforts of the Merchant Marine were not without 
        sacrifices as the Merchant Marine bore a higher per-capita 
        casualty rate than any other branch of the military during the 
        war.
            (8) The Merchant Marine proved to be an instrumental asset 
        on an untold number of occasions, participating in every 
        landing operation by the United States Marine Corps, from 
        Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima.
            (9) The Merchant Marine provided the bulk tonnage of 
        material necessary for the invasion of Normandy, an invasion 
        which, according to a 1944 New York Times article, ``would not 
        have been possible without the Merchant Marine''.
            (10) In assessing the performance of the Merchant Marine, 
        General Eisenhower stated, ``every man in this Allied command 
        is quick to express his admiration for the loyalty, courage, 
        and fortitude of the officers and men of the Merchant Marine. 
        We count upon their efficiency and their utter devotion to duty 
        as we do our own; they have never failed us''.
            (11) During a September 1944 speech, President Franklin D. 
        Roosevelt stated that the Merchant Marine had ``delivered the 
        goods when and where needed in every theater of operations and 
        across every ocean in the biggest, the most difficult, and 
        dangerous transportation job ever undertaken. As time goes on, 
        there will be greater public understanding of our merchant 
        fleet's record during this war.''.
            (12) The feats and accomplishments of the Merchant Marine 
        are deserving of broader public recognition.
            (13) The United States will be forever grateful and 
        indebted to these merchant mariners for their effective, 
        reliable, and courageous transport of goods and resources in 
        enemy territory throughout theaters of every variety in World 
        War II.
            (14) The goods and resources transported by the Merchant 
        Marine saved thousands of lives and enabled the Allied Powers 
        to claim victory in World War II.
            (15) The Congressional Gold Medal would be an appropriate 
        way to shed further light on the service of the merchant 
        mariners in World War II and the instrumental role they played 
        in winning that war.

SEC. 3. 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 Congress, of a single gold 
medal of appropriate design to the United States merchant mariners of 
World War II, in recognition of their dedicated and vital service 
during World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award described 
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (in this Act referred 
to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike the gold medal with suitable 
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
    (c) American Merchant Marine Museum.--
            (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal 
        under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the 
        American Merchant Marine Museum, where it will be available for 
        display as appropriate and available for research.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the American Merchant Marine Museum should make the gold medal 
        given to the Museum under paragraph (1) available for display 
        elsewhere, particularly at appropriate locations associated 
        with the United States Merchant Marine and that preference 
        should be given to locations affiliated with the United States 
        Merchant Marine.

SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the 
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal 
struck under section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the 
medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--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 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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