[Congressional Bills 108th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 3665 Introduced in House (IH)] 108th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3665 To award congressional gold medals to former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter in recognition of their outstanding service to the United States and to the world. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 8, 2003 Mr. Bishop of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To award congressional gold medals to former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter in recognition of their outstanding service to the United States and to the world. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. FINDINGS. The Congress finds the following: (1) President Jimmy Carter and his wife, First Lady Rosalynn Carter, epitomize the best qualities in American service, volunteerism, and statesmanship, through their life work in Plains, Georgia, and throughout the world. Since leaving the White House, the Carters have redefined the role of ex-President to help broker peace and fight disease worldwide. (2) President and Mrs. Carter have selflessly distinguished themselves as exemplary public servants, both in the United States and throughout the world. (3) Jimmy Carter, born James Earl Carter, Jr. in 1924, attended Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology and received his B.S. degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946. He then served the United States from 1946 until 1953, including service on the battleship USS Pomfret in the Pacific and on the nuclear submarine Sea Wolf. (4) Later, Mr. Carter did graduate work in nuclear physics at Union College. (5) After his service in the Navy, Mr. Carter returned to Plains and became a successful businessman and farmer. (6) In Plains, Mr. Carter dedicated himself to local public service as Chairman of the Sumter County School Board, Chairman of the County Hospital Authority, President of the Plains Development Corporation, and President of the Crop Improvement Association. (7) After the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education held that segregation in the public schools was unconstitutional, a White Citizens' Council movement in Plains was organized in opposition. When Mr. Carter refused to join in protest, his business was boycotted. (8) Jimmy Carter served two consecutive two-year terms in the Georgia Senate. Rosalynn Carter was an important confidant. (9) Mr. Carter was elected Governor of the State of Georgia in 1970, and called for an end to racial discrimination in his 1971 inaugural address. (10) President Carter was inaugurated as the thirty-ninth President of the United States on Jan. 20, 1977. (11) As First Lady of the United States, Rosalynn Carter focused national attention on the performing arts. She invited to the White House leading classical artists from around the world, as well as traditional American artists. She also took a strong interest in programs to aid mental health, the community, and the elderly. From 1977 to 1978, she served as the Honorary Chairperson of the President's Commission on Mental Health. She also served as the President's personal emissary to Latin American countries. (12) President Carter's domestic accomplishments included a long-term program designed to solve the mounting energy shortfalls, including a limit on imported oil, gradual price decontrol on domestically produced oil, a stringent program of conservation, and development of alternative sources of energy such as solar, nuclear, and geothermal power, oil and gas from shale and coal, and synthetic fuels; an overhaul of the civil- service system; creation of new Departments of Education and Energy; deregulation of the airlines to stimulate competition and lower fares; and environmental efforts that included passage of a law preserving vast wilderness areas of Alaska. (13) President Carter's foreign policy achievements included negotiating the Panama Canal treaties; the historic Camp David Accords between Israeli Premier Menahem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat, which provided the foundation for a settlement of the Middle East dispute that had eluded peacemakers for more than three decades; the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union; and the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. (14) After serving as President and First Lady of the United States, President and Mrs. Carter built the Carter Center in Atlanta, a nonprofit organization promoting international peace, human rights, conflict resolution, democracy and economic development and the fight against poverty, hunger and disease in some 65 countries throughout the world, and particularly in developing countries. Mrs. Carter currently serves as Vice Chair of the Carter Center, where she leads a program to diminish stigma against mental illness and to promote greater access to mental health care. (15) Since 1982, President and Mrs. Carter have been active volunteers and serve on the International Board of Advisors of the Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that helps needy people in the United States and in some 44 other countries renovate and build homes for themselves. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has built over 30,000 homes. (16) In December 2002, President Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize for his ``decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development''. (17) President Carter currently teaches Sunday school and is a deacon in the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains. He is a distinguished professor and lecturer at Emory University. SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDALS. (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 the Congress, of gold medals of appropriate design to former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter, in recognition of their life work and service to the United States. (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike gold medals with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medals struck pursuant to section 2 at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the bronze medals (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses) and the cost of the gold medals. SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. The medals struck under this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code. SEC. 5. FUNDING AND PROCEEDS OF SALE. (a) Authorization.--There is authorized to be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be necessary, not to exceed $60,000, to pay for the cost of the medals struck pursuant to this Act. (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund. <all>