Ritchie Boys Congressional Gold Medal Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3545 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3545

   To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the military intelligence 
professionals at Camp Ritchie, commonly known as the ``Ritchie Boys'', 
 in recognition of their groundbreaking contributions to the field of 
 human intelligence and their outstanding service during World War II.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 18, 2023

Mr. Trone (for himself and Mr. Timmons) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 
 addition to the Committee on House Administration, 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 the military intelligence 
professionals at Camp Ritchie, commonly known as the ``Ritchie Boys'', 
 in recognition of their groundbreaking contributions to the field of 
 human intelligence and their outstanding 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 ``Ritchie Boys Congressional Gold 
Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Ritchie Boys were a group of approximately 15,200 
        servicemembers who trained in United States Army Intelligence 
        methods at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, during World War II.
            (2) Most of the men and women assigned to Camp Ritchie 
        possessed critical language skills in German, Polish, Italian, 
        French, and other languages that became an asset to allied 
        forces during the war.
            (3) Approximately 14 percent of the Ritchie Boys were 
        Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria who had detailed 
        knowledge of German cultural attitudes and communication.
            (4) The Ritchie Boys were trained in methods of human 
        intelligence, including groundbreaking techniques in 
        interrogation, counterintelligence, and psychological warfare 
        that leveraged cultural knowledge as a tool for building 
        rapport with prisoners.
            (5) Consequently, the Ritchie Boys were able to gather 
        vital intelligence regarding the hierarchy, strategies, 
        motivations, and attitudes of the German military.
            (6) The Ritchie Boys who completed training at Camp Ritchie 
        went on to serve in units on the front lines in Europe, 
        conducting human intelligence operations and analyzing German 
        military plans to provide strategic intelligence to commanders 
        in the field.
            (7) The Ritchie Boys also conducted counterintelligence 
        operations aimed at demoralizing the enemy and convincing 
        German soldiers to abandon their units.
            (8) After the war, many of the Ritchie Boys helped shape 
        American culture and society through their continued work in 
        the intelligence community as well as governance, academia, and 
        other fields.
            (9) A United States Army report found that approximately 60 
        percent of the actionable intelligence gathered in Europe 
        during the war came from the Ritchie Boys.

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 the Congress, of a gold medal 
of appropriate design to the military intelligence professionals at 
Camp Ritchie, commonly known as the ``Ritchie Boys'', in recognition of 
their groundbreaking contributions to the field of human intelligence 
and their outstanding service during World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to 
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall strike the 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 in 
        honor of the military intelligence professionals, the ``Ritchie 
        Boys'', 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 elsewhere, 
        particularly at other locations associated with the Ritchie 
        Boys.

SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    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 bronze medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of 
machinery, and overhead expenses.

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    The gold medal struck pursuant to this Act is a national medal for 
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    (a) 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.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the 
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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