Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 537 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 537

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to 60 diplomats, in recognition of 
            their bravery and heroism during the Holocaust.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 26, 2023

  Ms. Salazar (for herself, Mr. Torres of New York, Ms. Tenney, Mrs. 
Bice, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Gimenez, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Wilson of Florida, 
 Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Kustoff, and 
Mr. Schneider) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to 60 diplomats, in recognition of 
            their bravery and heroism during the Holocaust.

    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 ``Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust 
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The following diplomats will be honored posthumously: 
        Per Anger (Sweden), Jose Maria Barreto (Peru), Lars Berg 
        (Sweden), Philippe Bernardini (Vatican / Italy), Hiram (Harry) 
        Bingham IV (United States), Friedrich Born (Switzerland), 
        Manuel Antonio Munoz Borrero (Ecuador), Carlos de Liz-Texeira 
        Branquinho (Portugal), Eduardo Propper de Callejon (Spain), 
        Samuel del Campo (Chile), Aracy Moebius Carvalho de Guimaraes 
        Rosa (Brazil), Jose Arturo Castellanos (El Salvador), Carl Ivan 
        Danielsson (Sweden), Luis Martins de Souza Dantas (Brazil), 
        Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz (Germany), Harald Feller 
        (Switzerland), Francis (Frank) Foley (United Kingdom), Jean-
        Edouard Friedrich (Switzerland), Carlos Almeida Afonseca de 
        Sampaio Garrido (Portugal), Raymond Herman Geist (United 
        States), Feng-Shan Ho (China), Constantin Karadja (Romania), 
        Alexander Kasser (Sandor Kasza) (Sweden / Hungary), Elow 
        Kihlgren (Sweden), Joseph Willem (Joop) Kolkman (Netherlands), 
        Julius Kuhl (Switzerland), Aleksander 4ados (Poland), Valdemar 
        Langlet (Sweden), Charles (Carl) Lutz (Switzerland), George 
        Mandel-Mantello (El Salvador), Florian Manoliu (Romania), 
        Aristides de Sousa Mendes (Portugal), Salomon Jacob (Sally) 
        Noach (Netherlands), Giorgio (Jorge) Perlasca (Spain / Italy), 
        Ernst Prodolliet (Switzerland), Franjo Puncuch (Yugoslavia / 
        Slovenia), Sebastian de Romero Radigales (Spain), Konstanty 
        Rokicki (Poland), Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (Vatican / Italy), 
        Angelo Rotta (Vatican / Italy), Albert Emile Routier (Turkey), 
        Stefan Ryniewicz (Poland), Gilberto Bosques Saldivar (Mexico), 
        Jose Ruiz Santaella (Spain), Angel Sanz-Briz (Spain), Abdol-
        Hossein Sardari (Iran), Henryk Slawik (Poland), Robert 
        Smallbones (United Kingdom), Jan Spisiak (Slovakia), Chiune 
        (Sempo) Sugihara (Japan), Ireanaeus Typaldos (Spain), Alexander 
        (Sandor) Ujvary (Vatican / Hungary), Selahattin Ulkumen 
        (Turkey), Gennaro Verolino (Vatican / Italy), Vladimir Vochoc 
        (Czech Republic), Ernst Vonrufs (Switzerland), Raoul Wallenberg 
        (Sweden), Guelfo Zamboni (Italy), Peter Zurcher (Switzerland), 
        and Jan Zwartendijk (Holland).
            (2) On September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis began 
        their invasion of Europe, which started World War II and threw 
        the world into chaos. The Nazi plan of mass murder of the 
        Jewish population was in full motion. As battles were being 
        fought between countries, Jews were being rounded up and sent 
        to concentration camps throughout Europe. This process began a 
        mass exodus of people out of Europe, especially those in the 
        Jewish community.
            (3) During the war, members of the Jewish community used 
        every tool and means at their disposal to flee Nazi tyranny. 
        Thousands tried to flee on trains or boats to escape from 
        Europe.
            (4) While the armies of countries were fighting each other, 
        a handful of diplomats, from around the world, stepped forward 
        and took heroic actions to save Jews fleeing Europe. This was 
        an incredibly dangerous process. If the Nazis discovered the 
        actions of these diplomats they would be expelled, as a few of 
        them were. Also, while worrying about the Nazis, diplomats had 
        to worry about their careers and livelihoods back home. Many of 
        them had strict orders from their home countries to not aid the 
        Jewish population in any way.
            (5) These diplomats used every means at their disposal to 
        help Jews fleeing persecution. One of the most powerful tools 
        the diplomats had to use was the issuing of passports and 
        travel visas contrary to the instruction of the governments of 
        the diplomats. This process alone is responsible for saving 
        hundreds of thousands of Jewish families in Europe. This was 
        not the only tool used as many of the diplomats were connected 
        with the local populations and were great communicators for 
        Jews trying to travel underground. They were able set up 
        safehouses and getaways to hide Jews and especially Jewish 
        children from Nazi authorities. In the most dangerous of times, 
        several of these diplomats confronted the Nazis directly on 
        behalf of the Jews and personally put themselves in grave 
        danger.
            (6) Every diplomat knew the dangers and knew what they were 
        up against, and still pushed forward to save those in the most 
        danger.
            (7) The Congressional Gold Medal authorized under this Act 
        will help remind humanity that when the diplomats were faced 
        with terrible crises, they went beyond the fold, including 
        risking their careers and the lives of themselves and their 
        families, to engage in this humanitarian mission. The diplomats 
        of today and future generations can look towards these heroes 
        and be inspired by their lives of heroism and sacrifice.

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 honor of the 60 
diplomats identified in section 2(1), in recognition of their brave and 
vital service of saving Jews during World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation referred 
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in 
this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with suitable 
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
    (c) Presentation of Medal.--The gold medal presented under 
subsection (a) shall be presented to the eldest next of kin of each of 
the 60 diplomats identified in section 2(1), who shall receive the 
medal as part of a delegation consisting of a senior official 
representative of the country that each diplomat served and the 
cochairs of the Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Committee.
    (d) United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.--
            (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in 
        honor of the 60 diplomats identified in section 2(1), the gold 
        medal shall be given to the United States Holocaust Memorial 
        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 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum should make the 
        gold medal awarded pursuant to this Act available for display 
        elsewhere, particularly at appropriate locations associated 
        with Holocaust remembrance.

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

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medal.--Medals struck pursuant to 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. 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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