COVID-19 Vaccine Developers Gold Medal Act
This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to recognize all those whose efforts led to the development of COVID-19 vaccines that received emergency use authorizations.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5287 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5287
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to honor the contributions of all
of those whose efforts led to the successful development of life saving
vaccines to combat the novel coronavirus.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 17, 2021
Mr. Rush (for himself and Mr. Katko) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in
addition to the Committees on House Administration, and the Budget, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to honor the contributions of all
of those whose efforts led to the successful development of life saving
vaccines to combat the novel coronavirus.
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 ``COVID-19 Vaccine Developers Gold
Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The public-private partnership, Operation Warp Speed,
sought to develop, manufacture, and ship 300,000,000 doses of
COVID-19 vaccines around the United States.
(2) This effort would not have been possible without
researchers, scientists, doctors, epidemiologists, and others
around the world who have worked tirelessly and collaboratively
to develop lifesaving vaccines to combat the coronavirus by
reducing the likelihood of transmission, building immune
resiliency, avoiding hospitalizations, and reducing the
likelihood of death.
(3) Through the academic, research, and analytic expertise
of universities and their faculty, researchers, and students,
their efforts contributed to providing valuable information to
the public on the severity of the coronavirus worldwide and, in
some cases, contributed to vaccine development.
(4) Several of the resulting vaccines represent historic
breakthroughs in biopharmaceutical technology, which are
predicated on years of leading research conducted in
laboratories and hospitals that benefit from the significant
financial investment of United States taxpayers through the
Department of Health and Human Services, the National
Institutes of Health, including the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Biomedical Advanced
Research and Development Authority.
(5) As a response to COVID-19, Congress provided
$47,600,000,000 for the effort to support the private sector's
research and development into effective technologies, the
scale-up of manufacturing capacity for promising vaccine
candidates, and the distribution of vaccines that received
emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug
Administration.
(6) These professionals worked under record timelines to
develop safe, effective vaccines demonstrated in trials and
granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug
Administration. It shattered the typical timeline for vaccine
development and production from over a decade to less than 12
months.
(7) The first vaccine trial volunteers who lined up to have
shots administered in their arms paved the way for emergency
use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration and the
hundreds of millions of people of the United States that have
since been vaccinated.
(8) These remarkable achievements in medical science will
have positive implications for future vaccine development,
helping to combat new viruses, leading to improvements in
health and well-being.
(9) The tremendous efforts in vaccine development can be
celebrated and attributed to building diverse teams, including
the notable efforts of many individuals across the planet.
(10) Vaccines authorized for emergency use in the United
States benefitted greatly from global cooperation, strategic
partnerships, and collaboration with publicly funded agencies
and research capabilities of the academic community.
(11) As a result of the collaborative efforts, people
around the world are benefitting from the administration of
vaccines, although work remains to support governments around
the world in ensuring vaccines are equitably distributed.
(12) The United States, including through cooperation with
bilateral and multilateral partnerships, can help scale up
manufacturing and distribution to all corners of the globe.
(13) Operation Warp Speed successfully laid the groundwork
for reopening the United States economy, contributing to the
safety of the people of the United States, the reunion of
families, and is the greatest medical achievement in modern
times.
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 presentation, on behalf of Congress,
of a single gold medal of appropriate design in recognition of all
those whose efforts led to the successful development of vaccines that
received emergency use authorizations to respond to the coronavirus.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the award under
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this Act
as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal described in that
subsection with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be
determined by the Secretary.
(c) Smithsonian Institution.--
(1) In general.--After the award of the gold medal under
subsection (a), the medal shall be given to the Smithsonian
Institution where the medal shall be--
(A) available for display, as appropriate; and
(B) 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 this Act available for--
(A) the purpose of education, research, and the
encouragement of science, technology, engineering, and
math professions through the Smithsonian Science
Education Center; and
(B) display elsewhere, particularly at other
locations or events associated with Operation Warp
Speed or COVID-19 vaccine development.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in
bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3 at a price sufficient
to cover the cost of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use
of machinery, and overhead expenses.
(b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate
bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited in the
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
(c) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck
under this Act.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
(a) National Medals.--The 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.
SEC. 6. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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