[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2011 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2011
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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 10, 2021
Mr. Coons (for himself and Mr. Blunt) 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 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) Researchers, scientists, doctors, epidemiologists, and
others around the world 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) 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, outpacing the typical vaccine development
timeframe of 5 to 10 years and beating the previous record by 3
years.
(5) 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.
(6) 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.
(7) 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.
(8) 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.
(9) The United States, including through cooperation with
bilateral and multilateral partnerships, can help scale up
manufacturing and distribution to all corners of the globe.
(10) The vaccines developed are contributing to the safety
of people of the United States, rebuilding the United States
economy, and the reunion of families.
SEC. 3. 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 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 awards 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 paragraph (1) 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) on display at a physical Smithsonian museum or
on loan, as appropriate, so that the medal may be
displayed elsewhere.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
Under regulations that the Secretary may promulgate, 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.
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 sections 5134 and 5136 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 sums
as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medal authorized under
section 3.
(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.
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